Do Poultry Mourn Over The Loss Of A Flock Mate?

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

Very sweet.

Well written article. My favorite hen, Sweetie, lost her best friend from a hawk attack. Sweetie spent the next two days searching the yard and making mournful sounds. Sweetie taught me so many things. One of them is that hens do mourn after the loss of their best friend. Fortunately, she didn’t stop eating.

Beautifully written and full of emotion. I have always wondered this, particularly since I’ve twice had to remove keets from their broody hen mom so they could live with the other guineas. It seems they cry and cry, alarm call and if they are out will immediately head for mom’s run to sit outside the fence and stare at her. It is heartbreaking to watch but they do, eventually, become independent and do well with their own kind. I also had a rooster who decided the coop with the girls of his breed (plus some other large hens in the adjoining coop) were his destiny and started to completely ignore the hen in the coop where he lived, as she decided to ignore him because he would run across the yard and hang out with them as long as he could- until he absolutely had to go back with his former girlfriend. He stopped mounting her and he cried constantly if he heard any of the other hens make a sound. I couldn’t conceive of a rooster mourning the loss of hens he hadn’t lived with but it was obvious he was distressed and I eventually gave up and housed them together. The hen he was cheating on was completely unconcerned at his sudden loss and seemed to revel in her new freedom. So much for mourning an adulterous mate! ?

Five stars...easily six if possible.

Good article about birds missing flock mates when they are gone

This article made me tear up, but it also made me realize that I need to think twice before choosing who, when and if I should eat birds from my flock that aren’t strictly meat birds.

What a sweet article. Yes, I'm sure they mourn. Last June we had a bald eagle attack, which left one dead, one mortally wounded and a third in shock. They were from my original flock, so about 3 1/2 years old. I lost all 3 that week. The only remaining hen from that flock, Lucy, was the top hen before that day. She has been off by herself ever since. She's not the top hen anymore, but also doesn't take any guff from anyone. She started using the small coop she shared with Ethel by herself. A few weeks later, another one died suddenly in the run. She had been out with the others in the morning acting and eating just fine. In the afternoon, I arrived to find her dead on the ground, with Lucy and Girlie Girl sitting next to her. I checked her over and couldn't determine a cause, but I think she just keeled over with a heart attack or something like that. After that, Girlie Girl moved in with Lucy, but Lucy still stayed by herself during the day. She sure seemed depressed to me.

I just added two pullets, Alice and Abby, to Lucy's coop. I kept Lucy's run closed to everyone else for a few days so they would learn to go to that coop at night. I knew I could trust Lucy with them. Girlie Girl wasn't too sure about the newbies, and went back to the big coop to stay. Now that I've been able to integrate the pullets with the rest of the hens, Lucy seems to be coming back to life. She still has not resumed her position as top hen, but is hanging out with the other hens more. It has been months since I saw her run to or from anything, but I finally did this week. She has the cutest gate of all the chickens. It was good to see her get excited over something again.

Oh, yes, and when I first took Alice and Abby away from Mad Hatter, it was at the end of the day. Mad was certain they were gone forever. (He had been getting too rough with them at about 5 mos old, and I was concerned for their wellbeing.) The next morning, Mad's crow was different. It sounded like he was crying out for his lost girls. Normally the last syllable is high and loud, but this time is was drawn out and descending into nothingness. When I walked out and let Alice and Abby out of their coop, Mad was elated. His crow changed. When they moved to the fence line near him, he started his little cooing to them. It was amazing.

Do they mourn? I don't know about anyone else's chickens, but I've seen it in mine.

My conclusion: birds DO mourn. They have some semblance of emotion just like other animals do. Good read, thank you

This is an excellent article and expression of something many poultry keepers never really think about. It is perfectly articulated and well-researched. Wonderful job, Leyla!!

I have had several chickens mourn their friends or a baby that did not make it. The first time I let my BSL hen hatch eggs, one of the chicks ended up passing shortly after hatch and she was super upset when I went up there to check and she was very distressed and was acting upset for a few hours at least. I am glad this article is here because I felt like I was the only one noticing this in chickens and every time I told some people that they do mourn like other animals do, they laughed Such a good article and thanks!