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

[jenichick]

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hee, hee, I luv it! I think I'll leave mine out in the coop, I'm so negectful, of their feelings.

 

[thndrdancr]

OMG, this has turned into the funniest post!

I am not saying they have humany emotions but like others have said, chickeny emotions. We all know they dont feel compassion, at least NORMALLY. Altho the story of the roo putting his wing over the hen in the drenching rainstorm does make you wonder what exactly that was, if not some sort of compassion. I have heard of it happening several times. How would he know to do that?

Anyhows, they do feel some sort of sorrow when one of their own passes, have seen that. I have seen one of mine actually dejected/depressed for several days when the other started laying. I dont mean to put human emotions on them, becuz I KNOW they are not human, but they do feel in some sort of strange way.

On the other hand, they can turn around and be the meanest things alive to each other. So whats THAT about?

Anyhow, this thread really had me laughing, didnt mean to bring it back to serious. Keep up the giggles.

 

[Zenbirder]

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I'll argue that one with you David. My dog can guess by observing physical cues while we are still at home that we are going to the vet. He will tuck tail and try to hide, isn't that prevention based on perceived threat? If the ice chest comes out it means a ride for a picnic and a joyous romping celebration before we have even packed the lunch, emotion based on anticipation of a future event. He will go worry and cower by the door if I get my hiking shoes out of the closet because he is not sure if it is an event he will be invited along on or not.
Now he is extremely intelligent even for a dog, and I certainly would never expect a chicken to be on his level. But what about a parrot? I think there is a scale of intelligence that leads to the level of thought an animal is capable of having about an emotion. We are very high on the scale, a chicken is fairly low, but nowhere near the lowest.

 

[Davaroo]

Altho the story of the roo putting his wing over the hen in the drenching rainstorm does make you wonder what exactly that was, if not some sort of compassion. I have heard of it happening several times. How would he know to do that?

I dont know that it did. It's only hearsay, typically found among special interest groups. Thats like illegal aliens sayig immigration laws are harmful - well, yeah, you might expect them to say that.

Anyhows, they do feel some sort of sorrow when one of their own passes, have seen that. I have seen one of mine actually dejected/depressed for several days when the other started laying. I dont mean to put human emotions on them, becuz I KNOW they are not human, but they do feel in some sort of strange way.

On the other hand, they can turn around and be the meanest things alive to each other. So whats THAT about?

Exactly. This dichotomy is an example. They APPEAR to do things that remind us of emotional reaction, but nothing is to say that is what we are seeing. We assume that is what it is.

My dog can guess by observing physical cues while we are still at home that we are going to the vet. He will tuck tail and try to hide, isn't that prevention based on perceived threat?

No that is fear based on empirical evidence. If you looked up and saw the trees whipping around and a funnel cloud approaching, empirical experience would tell you to run and hide - a tornado was coming. Your emotions at that moment would be a different matter. Fear in the face of imminent threat is NOT an emotion. although it may cause them. Now, if the mutt had taken the vet notice and eaten it before you saw it, THAT that might be considered preemptive, based on dread.

"...emotion based on anticipation of a future event. He will go worry and cower by the door if I get my hiking shoes out of the closet because he is not sure if it is an event he will be invited along on or not."

He knows that these things might mean outdoor experience, new smells, new things to dig and hopefully chase and probably a big wad of bologna sammiches somewhere along the line. He knows this since they have meant that in past experience. But who wouldnt want that, if they were a dog? Compare that with the results of a vet trip.
These are learned responses were talking about here. Admittedly, he is intelligent enough to put the two together. But does that mean he experiences unbounded joy? I dunno - he's happy or tail tucking, I'll give you that.

I think there is a scale of intelligence that leads to the level of thought an animal is capable of having about an emotion. We are very high on the scale, a chicken is fairly low, but nowhere near the lowest.

Thank you. Thats precisely my point. Just because they are above mollusks, doesn't automatically mean they are endowed with feelings or emotions. That is wishful thinking, rationalization on our part to make them seem more like us.
I think we do it mostly since chickens are so different from us... it helps us relate to them by making them more LIKE us.

Granted, they may have SOMETHING, but we haven't proven anything, only made assumptions based on our wants.​

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I guess what I'm wondering, is why you don't think other species have emotions? Why would you think that species that have the same type of brain structure, brain chemicals, nervous systems, etc. as we do, wouldn't have that function? All their other body systems and organs that are similar to ours, work like ours do. Drugs given to effect the brain chemistry of humans, are given to animals and birds with the same problems.

The scientific community used to think that animals didn't feel pain or have emotions. They vastly underestimated intelligence, communication skills and cognitive skills in animals and birds, for many years. We were just arrogant and ignorant. Fortunately, there's been a lot more research over the last 50 years.

 

[jenichick]

What makes humans different from other creatures on earth is our ability to reason, laugh and cry. Not fear or flight response. Tears are unique to humans only....however primates other than humans do appear to cry and laugh through vocalizatoons but lack the ability to sob uncontrollably like a human. Other primates also exibit some reasoning functions based on their language with some thought like processes. Although we are distinctly different in that no scientist has ever found any other species with tears they have confirmed the presence of types emotions, especially in mated or bonded pairs, where one is injured or hurt and the other wails and moans in distress and emotional pain, as in apes and monkeys. It has been documented that baby apes and monkeys will wail when there mother dies, without tears.

Language is essential to communicating thoughts and emotions, and different species communicate on different levels based on their language. Some species can communicate distress but may not actually feel it. It isn't really safe to compare the emotion of a human to that of another species (we are after all the only human species), because we project our feelings onto them, which does not apply.

Because we are unique, we have empathy (another unique human trait) and that makes us more understanding of our pets and other creatures needs and language. We sense their state of being at times even better than they themselves can or do.

In essence it becomes a play on words.....what we know as humans doesn't fit anywhere else, so some say no other creatures have them. If define emotions as a range such as fear, comfort, peace, affection, etc etc. then it can apply to many species.

 

[mdbucks]

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Maybe that explains why REAL men dont cry, were more like our ancesters then you know and women call that evolving, emotions are for women and wimps.

 

[jenichick]

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Maybe that explains why REAL men dont cry, were more like our ancesters then you know and women call that evolving, emotions are for women and wimps.

Ha, ha, I wouldn't totally disagree with the barbaric ape man reference, either

Of course football can make some you REAL men quite emotional...ha ha ha

 

[lindseykoehler]

My husband, who is a biologist by profession, is constantly reminding me that what we perceive as emotion in chickens is actually instinct or a learned response. For example, a rooster protecting a hen from the rain with his wing may seem like compassion, but it is probably an instinctual response - if he keeps the hen dry and healthy, she can better take care of the eggs, and keep his gene pool going. Or, if a hen comes running when I open the door and I think she is happy to see me, it's actually that she's learned that I'm the gravy wagon. I may think the lowest hen in the pecking order is sad and lonely, but actually she doesn't even stop to consider her position - it is what it is. I'm not saying that animals like elephants or apes or dolphins don't have real emotions - they also have larger brains. Birds are still pretty far down in the evolutionary scheme of things.

 

[chickbea]

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Hmmm, sounds just like humans to me! We have the capacity to be caring and loving as well as evil and cruel.