Could Dotty really be this sulky and this smart?

I talk to the chickens all the time and I use their names all the time, but because they all hang so close together, I don’t expect them to recognise their names. However I have had to keep telling Dotty off for bullying Bluebell and so am constantly saying her name while stopping her pecking at Bluebell. This may of course just be a coincidence but yesterday when I rattled the tub of meal worms for the evening treat they all came running except Dotty who was engrossed in something up the garden end of the run. I called out “Dotty” and she came running up, full speed and joined in. Does this mean she knows her name?

This morning she looked hunched and dejected again. I started worrying again that there may be something wrong with her. When I went back later she kept going over and looking at the empty treats feeders and I thought maybe she is just missing them being filled. As I haven’t put anything in them for two days, I decided to relent and filled both with lettuce and tomato. When I went back in with them, Dotty jumped at them in my hand before I could hang them up, which she has never done before. She was back to her perky self. Could she have been having a sulk because I hadn’t filled them for a couple of days? I stood back to see if there would be any bullying and couldn’t believe what I saw. Not once did Dotty leave her feeder on the right hand side to go chase Bluebell from the feeder on the left hand side. They all fed in harmony with no attempt by Dotty to chase Bluebell away. Could she have learned a lesson? I don’t want to try to put human emotions on to the chickens but her behaviour really seemed as if she missed those treats and knew she had to behave to get them. I may be wrong but it certainly feels that way.

Treacle,Pepper and Dotty stay at the right hand feeder

Bluebell stays at the left hand feeder

The girls stay at the different feeders and there is no pecking

I would be interested to to know if any one else has experienced something like this. Dotty is a month younger than the other three so I wonder if it’s a sort of stroppy teenager type of behaviour.