Do chickens feel sad when I take her eggs??

[EweSheep]

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She is adorable....y scary!

I know chickens dont have human emotions, but some things they do are definitely funny. I have one that gets jealous, I have two that have to be together or they do that weird crying chirp thingy, my one girl jumps on me for protection from one of the other girls and other funny things... like I said not human, but they arent emotionless.

Only an ignoramus

states that chickens are emotionless!

How emotional are they? Only they know but they sure let you know that they feel something! Fear, joy to see you, hunger, jealousy...​

Chickens do NOT have human emotions.

They do know hunger, thirsty, fear, see human as food bringing to them (more like Pavlov conditioning), those are the basic needs of chickens. However they do not have the complex reasonings like humans do.

Hen goes rrrrrrrrrrrrrr when you attempt to get her eggs. Normal response from a hen that is broody, she will defend her eggs from you. Would she be "sad"? No. Would she get angry? Yes, with the angry cackling but goes right back to the nest and try again. Or she would take it on the others.

I never hear them say things like in soap operas "I love you honey!" "I'll divorce you if you go after that hussy!" Emotions and feelings are two different things. So is innate behaviors and Pavlov conditioning toward humans.

 

[clairabean]

This went from silly to interesting. I have never really thought about it.... They lay, we take. Simple. Like they have a choice.

 

[kla37]

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LOVE that stink eye! She's thinking, "Just try it buster..."

 

[humpbacks1962]

Chickens do NOT have human emotions

Chill first.

Then, re-read my post. You are arguing with yourself, because I never claimed chickens have human emotions.

But it IS illiterate to claim they are emotionless​

 

[skunknchatter]

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I keep my hens as pets but have never given thought to weather or not they get sad when I take their eggs. However, I get sad when they don't lay eggs for me to eat. Some hens will try to protect their eggs when you go to take them but after you take it look at her 5 minutes later. She isn't moping around wondering where her egg went. But everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

 

[JakRat]

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If they didnt get "sad" when alone then why arent they ok with just themselves right? I have read on here constantly about a hen/rooster being by themselves and some one saying "you need to get them a friend".

 

[CarolJ]

Once they lay an egg, the hens usually hop out of the nest box and go about their business. It's interesting to wonder about whether/how a chicken thinks. I like to consider the eggs as something the hen produces and is proud of. So when I gather them, I usually give the girls verbal praise on their accomplishment.

If you have a hen go broody, you could let her try to hatch some eggs.

 

[Nikki82]

The only time my girls don't want me around the nest is when they are trying to lay an egg, after the egg is laid they couldn't care less about it. I've litterally taken eggs right out from under them and they don't care. The only time hens care about their eggs, is when their hormones are telling them to hatch eggs. If the eggs don't hatch, their bodies stop producing the hormones and they go back to the way they were. The only emotions chickens seem to have relate to flock members. Their instincts tell them that they should be around others of their own kind, and they become upset if they are separated. My girls are 'happy' to see me because I'm the bringer of food and the one that lets them out of their pen to free-range. And to some extent I'm the 'rooster' as well, because they squat for me. They have a younger 'friend' now, who I think is probably a boy. But he's so far down the social ladder with them right now that I can't keep him with them full time yet. They won't let him eat if I put them together in the main pen, but they are fine free ranging together. It's funny, he spends much of his time tring to get into the pen with the girls, but once he's in there he wants out.

 

[enjoyin' my chickens]

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That is with mine too, only I can pet their backs as they are trying to lay and it seems to reassure them of what they are doing. Sort of like having your husband coaching you through the birth. The only time that I have had any of them get "angry" with me was when Little Red watched me take an egg and he pecked my finger. Other than that I have had them practically lay in my hand so I could get the freshest egg of the day.

 

[eggdd]

isn't a more honest answer 'no one really knows'?