A lot of folks dont think chickens have emotions...

I do have to wonder about this though, because I KNOW my Fussy gets terribly jealous if I am paying attention to any of the other birds than her. Also she poops on me when she is torqued. This afternoon she beat the crap out of my shirt with her beak, letting me know NOT letting her out in the evening is UNacceptable.

I hadnt let them out to free range the last two nights, as I had to work late. Well this morning, when it came time to go in the pen, did we go in? Nope! Momma had to play chase and catch. Grrrr.... So, they seemed very much like DEFIANT chickens. (is defiant an emotion?) They were like this...

And we all know the saying..."madder than a wet hen"....

Jill

I am a believer in the emotions of a chicken and that of any animal.
The more you put into something the more you get out of it!!!

Quote:
I’ve never heard that phrase before, I must be sheltered or something I guess.

I think all animals have emotions, I’m not sure what the extent of those emotions are; now that I’m thinking about it, maybe some animals have different emotions then we do, just like many animals have different or more acute senses, maybe they have emotions we don't even have a clue about.

Let’s face it, emotions are nothing more then chemical reactions in the brain to the physical world; even fish show emotion, otherwise they wouldn’t swim away from you, right?


No I'm not a vegitarian.
Just full of B.S.

I get such a kick out of them. I agree, Bantymum, you get what you give.

Mom laughed and laughed when she saw Fussy beating me up. It was like, "I WANT to hurt you for neglecting me...but not really actually hurt you, so...I will take it out on your shirt!"

I sure love those silly goofy chickens.

Edited to add: Barg, Yes you MUST be sheltered, havent heard of that saying nor chiggers. You sure you werent raised in another country?

Yeah, "Madder than a wet hen" is a very common saying. Heard that all the time growing up. And me and Jill are almost on opposite sides of the country, too.

There is a word, "anthropomorphism", that means attributing human traits or emotions to animals.

I think chickens and all animals have emotions. I don't think anyone could say that a raging bull is not angry or that a grieving elephant is not sad. (Or especially, that a wet hen is not mad!!)

I looked up that word because at work the other day I found myself saying, "OH C**P, I forgot to let my chickens out. boy are they going to be MAD at me!" My co-worker said something like "you don't really think they get mad, do you?" Funny thing was, when I got home my husband told me, "I let your chickens out when I got home, boy were they MAD!"

My Buff Orpingtons have been the only of my standard chickens to really want to be held.
The other day i picked up and australorp and one of the BO's started to peck at it. I thought nothing of it and shooooo'd the BO away and said "stop it" ........ a few seconds later the BO grabbed the neck feathers and ripped the australorp right off my lap. I could not believe my sweetest of birds would do such a thing. Very Jealous!!!!

I don't close the door on mine in the evenings. Is that a bad thing? They just come and go as they will. Granted, I am within ity limits and have a small flock.
I saw a black cat on the fence the other day, but I think he had second thoughts of coming into the yard when he saw the chickens. Haven't seen him since.

To those that care:we know that our chickens have feelings.

Well, my chicken is out there at this moment giving me 'what for'. Not sure whats thats all about, except I had the babies out in the kitchen last night. The babies were REAL curious but the big ones, Lily stuck the tip of her beak in one of their ventilation holes after walking around them a 100 times, then Red stuck her beak back out. lol It was too funny.
Little Dash is oblivious of anyone other than Lily and going around squeaking all the time. She really sounds like a squeaky wheel when I feed them or anything. Her happy sounds are wheel squeaks tho, she sounds like something that needs a good dose of WD-40.

Lily continues to be VERY independent. She likes having the lil one around, but that doesnt stop her from "exploring". She is very curious. She will bite my lips and teeth if I have her close to my face, I need to break her of THAT one!
She is very dark, isnt that a sign of the girls, Cyn? I will try to post pics later today after I actually wake up.

Yup, I definitely think my chickens have feelings!