Over the years, I've become known for adding various items to both my baby chicks' brooder, as well as the chicken coop to keep them busy, prevent them from getting bored, and provide enrichment for them. 

Things like perches, swings, hanging treat baskets, and even a xylophone (that was a failure - my chickens showed no musical ability nor interest at all!). Another item I like to add is a mirror. 

I've watched baby chicks peer curiously into it. And my adult hens seem to love preening in front of the larger mirror in the coop. But is it just curiosity ... or do they actually recognize themselves?

I was curious, so I did some research.

Do Chickens Recognize Themselves in a Mirror?

It turns out that studies have been done to determine if various types of animals actually recognize that what they're looking at in a mirror is themselves. 

Normally, the test consists of watching to see if the animal will notice and touch a mark made on its body that it can only see when it's looking in the mirror. Interestingly, apes, dolphins, elephants and ants are a few species that have demonstrated that they can pass the test.

Human babies start to recognize that the face in the mirror is their own around 18 months.

Generally, dogs, cats and other animals that rely on their sense of smell primarily to identify objects don't seem to respond well to testing their reactions to their own reflection and can often act aggressively.

For chickens, the test they used was a bit different. And it all hinged on roosters taking their job seriously! 

A rooster will crow to alert their flock when they spot a hawk or other predator when they're in the presence of other chickens. When they're alone, a rooster will remain silent. After all, there's no sense in warning yourself.

The Mirror Test 

So to conduct the research, a silhouette of a hawk was passed overhead the rooster test subjects. When another chicken was within eyesight, the rooster would crow and sound an alarm. 

When the rooster was placed in front of a mirror and could only see his own reflection, he didn't crow. 

Researchers believe that this proves that the roosters knew that they were looking at a reflection of themselves and therefore there was no reason to sound an alarm. 

Interestingly, when there was another rooster present, but hidden behind the mirror, the test rooster also didn't crow. That seemed to point to the idea that chickens recognize each other by sight versus sound or smell. 

Which makes sense because they don't have a great sense of smell,  although their sense of hearing is pretty darned good.

I have heard from people on social media (and yes, I generally take anything I read on social with a grain of salt) saying that they put up a mirror in their coop and their rooster attached his reflection. 

I have had roosters and mirrors with no problems, so I can't say I've experienced that personally. And based on these studies, the roosters recognize that the reflection is them, not a strange rooster. 

Bottom line, having a mirror for your chickens not only will provide them entertainment, but it's also fun to watch them checking themselves out in the mirror. 

Especially now that I am pretty sure they understand it's their own reflection they're looking at.

Like our mirror? You can get yours here.

As for the ducks, the jury is still out on that! I personally think that while ducks might not recognize that the image they are seeing is themself, a single duck would recognize the reflection as company and not be so lonely. This is a completely non-scientific deduction.