Do Poultry Mourn Over The Loss Of A Flock Mate?

Poultry do indeed mourn, and I am glad to see an article that goes over this and explains how the brains of birds are far more complicated than humans believe. Rather than being the mindless and emotionless animals that chickens are stereotyped to be, they are intelligent and capable of complex thinking.

I personally have an example of chickens mourning. I used to have three chickens who were inseparable, and they seemed to not care about the pecking order and behaved as their own, peaceful mini-flock. There was Basil, a Blue Marans; Sable, another Blue Marans; and Hazel, a Cream Legbar. They were the friendliest to humans and love attention, and they did everything together. One day, Sable got sick and we had to move her in a separate box so she could heal and not transfer her sickness to her friends. But it only did her worse to be away from them, and she would not eat or drink. The next day, seeing that she had no improvement, we put Basil and Hazel in the box. Sable immediately lightened up and started eating and drinking, and she eventually got over the illness.

Hazel was the next to get sick months later, with something wrong with her respiratory. She was gasping for air and she couldn't breathe correctly. Hazel unfortunately ended up dying, and both Basil and Sable were depressed after that.

As if that was not enough, Sable started to get weak when something unknown was keeping her from producing droppings, and she would throw up water. She died from the issue, and we never figured out what it could have been.

Basil was never the same after both of her best friends passed away. She would cry all day with a mournful call, and eventually got over making so much noise, but anyone could tell she was still mourning. She had been so nice to humans, but suddenly she was flighty and hated being touched, as if attention reminded her of the days where she still had friends. Basil has calmed down a bit, but still is wary.

A very informative, and endearing article! I must admit, I got a little emotional reading these stories. What beautiful and special bonds. I too have always believed that birds mourn the loss of their loved ones, and this article just proves it! Thank you again for this well written, and touching article!

Grief and depression in birds is real. They do mourn, and at varying levels based on species. We are currently dealing with a Pilgrim gander, Bob, that has been diagnosed by our avian and livestock veterinarians.

His mate made a clumsy attempt at flying out of the electrified poultry netting that we move around to give for fuel reduction, and to give them fresh forage. The clumsy goose landed on a log and cut her chest in a way that I could not suture. I was sick, so a neighbor was caring for her, and unfortunately, she passed due to infection. He quickly attached to a goose that needed to go to auction due to a leg issue. That was only a week or two, but it was too much for Bob, and we found him down the hill from the coops, unable to stand for long, let alone get himself back up from where the others were eating as a group.

I had to give 500 MLS of sub-q fluids a day and a half ago, and started a course of IM Tylan because his system is so depressed overall. He was so dehydrated that his bill was wrinkled and dry. He the fluids made a huge difference in how he looked, and in his willingness to drink on his own.

Both vets insist that the only way to break them is to keep Bob with other geese. That we can continue with Nutri-drench, Poultry Cell, and Rooster Booster to hold him over. They both said to continue emergency care inside for a day or two, but that he must be outside with other geese as soon as possible. I am trying to find females to even things out. We have him with a younger male that got the short straw in and doesn't have a mate for now.

The bachelors are in our fenced backyard/upper garden. They have plenty to munch on. We found the depressed goose next to the food dish when we got home from a family dinner after dark. They are spending nights in a garden shed to keep the underweight gander from using more calories than necessary when it has been below freezing at night. Fingers crossed that we find females for both males, that Bob recovers, and that the supplements help him while he puts weight back on.

Edit: We keep mostly rare, heritage breed chickens. They seem to mourn losses as well, although with a large flock it does not seem to be for long. We lost a rooster and hen from a breeding trio of (not-so-rare) bobtail bantam Cochin around the dame time as the . The remaining hen ran around for days on her own. I do not know if she went off feed for any length, but seems to be doing fine and has been hanging out with others at about one month out.

This is a great article about how chickens and other poultry mourn.

*sob* - We're still mourning over here with the loss of 2 of 4. I don't care what anyone else thinks, there is simply no question that mourning is going on over here. Even with the acquisition of 2 new hens, the others are most clearly not forgotten. 100% certain.

Beautiful stories, great observations. My grandma told us that the stork nesting on the old chimney in her village lost his mate and after that he flew very very high, folded his wings, hit the ground and killed himself. I am certain all the animals mourn, no difference from people.

A few of my old hens lost close flock mates…. hens that spent most moments together for many years. I watched them wander and call, sit alone and sad. They no longer happily strolled around, clucking and scratching. They seemed very lost. Eventually, they did perk up, but they are a little different now…. a little less happy perhaps. I’ve also seen strength through loss…. a male cardinal (a regular to my feeders) lost his mate (I found her dead under the tree where they roost). He cautiously returned to the feeders alone for awhile. Then, one day he returned with two babies he had been raising with her. It warmed my heart to see that he raised them up on his own.

Wow. I fully believe animals mourn in their own ways that we might not see. There is no way animals that spend endless hours together imediately forget eachother when they are gone. Great article. Thank you!

What a good article! You are very careful to present just the facts, but I think you make very strong cases here. Of course, you're preaching to the choir.

I have seen a mare whose foal was euthanized run in a frenzy up and down the field, calling, and calling for her child. I have seen crows march around a killed flock mate. And those same crows never forgave the foolish fox that killed the crow! They mobbed the fox wherever it went and spoiled its hunting and its life.

At the other extreme, I had parakeets, and when one of a pair passed away, it seemed to be no big deal as long as they had another parakeet to be with. If you're not with the one you love, love the one you're with. I guess people encompass both extremes, too, come to think of it!

Excellent article. I am very new to chicken keeping and my birds are only 12 weeks old however I see relationships forming. If one goes to far they worry. I can easily see them mourning a loss. I have read so many stories that leave little doubt that chickens feel a range of emotions including the feeling of loss. Wonderful article on a sad but fascinating subject.

Good article. I have had many hens die, some even inside the coop, and none of my chickens did any mourning. While my grandma was dying though, Odile started squawking for me to pick her up. She has become a lap chicken, and was an angel in disguise. Really a miracle hen. She could tell that I was sad and she did, and still does, the best she can to help.

Loved reading this, I've seen many grieving wild birds, many were brought to the avian rescue after losing mates. I've seen companion birds mourn, too. My Cockatiel, Pearl, sat still & wouldn't eat when her mate died suddenly the night we had a terrible, loud thunderstorm. I always closed the shades & provided a night light, so car head lights or lightening would not startle my birds. The storm had thunder so loud it shook the house. She mourned for 2 months & I actually hand fed her to save her. Eventually she began eating & preening again, but it was a year before she started chirping & whistling again, and it was 2 years before she'd accept attention from another male. My oldest male Tiel rescue, complete with bald, head, named Old Man already, before I got him...he'd gently try to preen her crest, she'd make her "annoyed" whistle, peck at him & scoot away, but he was persistent & gentle. Eventually, she put her head down one day & let him preen her. They became mates & even raised some young. Years later, she passed at 21, and Old Man passed a few days later despite my best efforts. I'm not sure how old he was but he was older than Pearl. I agree wholeheartedly that animals, including birds, can mourn & grieve.

Very well written. I believe that poultry mourn their dead, and that they are so much more then just a source of eggs and meat.

I totally believe this. Years ago we had a white silkie that hatched 2 BB Mille Fleur d'uccle (along with some others). The two d'Uccle pullets were full grown when I went into the coop to find Sylvia (the hen) dead on the floor. One of the pullets had her head pushed under her mom's wing, while the other pullet stood over them and kept the other chickens away. We'd had other instances where birds that had died were cannibalised, but there wasn't a mark on Sylvia. Blew me away. I have two hens who were the only ones to survive a hatch and they do everything together. If they lose sight of each other the noise is quite something. They have to be able to see each other at all times.

Very interesting read. Well written.

What a compelling and very touching set of stories. Very well written.

Good article! Great use of personal observation as well as experiences of other members

Excellent and touching examples describing poultry behaviors, including mourning over the loss of their flockmates.

I feel like I'm parroting many others above by saying, " it seems logical that these bird do *feel* as it's just - well..... If I hadn't seen "x" with my own eyes..... Kinda thinking. Ya-know?"

A moving tribute