CHICK DIED!!! HOW TO HELP THE OTHERS?

Thanks everyone for your input! Im sticking to what I believe and you all can do the same obviously. Just as I "don't know" anything about their mental or emotional life neither does anyone else really. We can break it down to the fact that we are human and mammal and they are not so how can we relate or accurately measure anything they do. We only have our experiences with them. Just as I speculate that they mourn, however brief that mourning period may be, some of you speculate that they are emotionless. I have no desire to prove you wrong or change your mind. Just telling what I witnessed, as are you guys, and asking for advice. So I appreciate all your inputs and opinions thanks.
I don't think they're emotionless at all... I just think they are driven by instinct, and that all different animals have different instincts based on if they are prey, predator, bird, mammal, so on and so forth. Chickens definitely have emotion. There's a big difference between a content, happy chicken and a stressed/depressed one, IMO.
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I don't think they're emotionless at all... I just think they are driven by instinct, and that all different animals have different instincts based on if they are prey, predator, bird, mammal, so on and so forth. Chickens definitely have emotion. There's a big difference between a content, happy chicken and a stressed/depressed one, IMO.
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Of course there is a difference, and the physical health of the bird will show you this. But the birds don't sit around thinking woe is me I'm so sad. They have very basic "Feelings". Most would call these "feelings" instinct" or a survival intuition. But it is fun to set down with your birds and pretend they love you for who you are. I enjoy talking to them like they understand what I'm saying. I treat them as if they had true emotion even though I'm quite positive its pure survival instinct that motivates them.
 
Of course there is a difference, and the physical health of the bird will show you this. But the birds don't sit around thinking woe is me I'm so sad. They have very basic "Feelings". Most would call these "feelings" instinct" or a survival intuition. But it is fun to set down with your birds and pretend they love you for who you are. I enjoy talking to them like they understand what I'm saying. I treat them as if they had true emotion even though I'm quite positive its pure survival instinct that motivates them.

Exactly! You put what I was trying to say in better words, lol. I "humanize" my chickens in the sense that I'll have some food scraps, think "oh, the chickens would like this" and take it out to them. But I fully understand that when I give them said treat they just pile on and grab it because it's their instinct, not because they're excited I was nice and brought them something tasty.
 
Its kind of cool how this conversation turned into such an interesting discussion! I love reading all these different perspectives its so neat!
 
Not to contradict anyone in here who has said otherwise, but chickens can in fact experience grief if a close friend dies. Our Polish crested hen Buckbuck Bjork became very lethargic and asocial when her best friend Tina Eggturner was killed by an opossum. It took her about a week or so to recover, and I think she only did so because another Polish hen named Bubbles apparently became concerned by Bjork's behavior and kept her company until she was alright again. I've known of hens who pined for the loss of a close friend to the point that they starved themselves, and we all know an upset to the social norm in a flock can put hens off laying for a while. While it's quite common for chickens to disregard their dead and even cannibalize each other (if they have the thought to do so), they can also be deeply affected by the death of a fellow chicken. It just all depends on the individual bird and the circumstances.

That being said, it's important not to anthropomorphise a chicken's emotions--doing so is a discredit to the chickens themselves, who have their own way of interacting with and interpreting the world around them. They are deep and complex enough without us trying to twist their behaviors to fit our human notions of what is normal. I know the Dog Whisperer is always having to educate owners that their dogs--while intelligent and capable of a wide range of emotions--are not furry little people. They're different animals with their own ways of existing, and chickens are much the same. While they can be loving and intelligent, they aren't people. They feel and think their own way.

Now, I don't believe the baby chicks were grieving, because just like with human babies, they simply aren't developed enough to have those strong social bonds yet. More likely they had a sense of normalcy--they were accustomed to having four chicks there, and suddenly there were only three. Something was missing and they were distressed by that. When you added more chicks, you not only replaced what was missing, but made them feel safer with a bigger crowd to surround them.
 
I've been raising since 1970something. I spoil them to no end. They have always been my buddies. I talk to them and interact with them everyday. I have never noticed a grieving/pining chicken. I've seen Mamma hens lose chicks and its business as usual. She cares for the rest without any remorse for a missing baby...she cant count. But what I have noticed that's interesting is when a mamma hen loses all her chicks, be it by disease or predator, she isn't quite right for a day or two. Maternal instinct and no chicks. She is a little confused for a few days.
 
I've been raising since 1970something. I spoil them to no end. They have always been my buddies. I talk to them and interact with them everyday. I have never noticed a grieving/pining chicken. I've seen Mamma hens lose chicks and its business as usual. She cares for the rest without any remorse for a missing baby...she cant count. But what I have noticed that's interesting is when a mamma hen loses all her chicks, be it by disease or predator, she isn't quite right for a day or two. Maternal instinct and no chicks. She is a little confused for a few days.
In my case it was two full-grown chickens who had grown up together and rarely left each other's side. I've not had any chickens before or since who were as attached as Tina and Bjork were.
 
In my case it was two full-grown chickens who had grown up together and rarely left each other's side. I've not had any chickens before or since who were as attached as Tina and Bjork were.
Chickens by nature are flock animals. Tina and Bjork were their preferred flock. When you separate a chicken from their flock they aren't quite right.
 

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