Chicken Body Language

[Siddonzo]

I didn't realize that the guy from Aerosmith had chickens!

 

[HenHappy]

 

[McChicken81]

The funny thing I have noticed is ht when I mock my Roos crow he gives me the stink eye then a few seconds later waves his head back and forth a couple times

 

[prepperchickens]

My chickens do the cutest dance when I open the garage door and motion that they are allowed to come play in the yard. We are building a wonderful coop but until then my chickens and guineas (all under 4 mos old) have been posted up in the garage. I take them outside daily but they know they are not allowed nor are they safe in the yard without mommy (me)...tragically we learned that the hard way, twice. Feral cats. But my little girls crack me up everytime, when something excites them they start dancing and darting in circles flapping their wings at each other and at me as if in competition for most elaborate wing flap, my little barred rock pullet Lydia adds a twist at the end of her routine. They bump chests and hop from side to side switching feet back and forth, they run around with their chests angled parallel with the ground as though attempting for max aerodynamics but the run is intentionally goofy and zig zaggy, like half dance half run. I had no idea chickens were so animated and playful and loving toward humans, same goes for guineas (mine are so tame they fly onto people, even people they don't know very well, and it was no more a challenge than it was tame my chickens...in fact my guineas have always been more keen to interact with people from the start...I think the trick is hand feeding mealworms several times a day and doing fun things with them like taking them in the garden as keets, mine learned right away that I was their ticket to treats and fun adventures and that was literally all it took to make them as tame as any puppy dog). I find myself playing with my chickens for hours at a time, they are so much fun and really just exude love and happiness and innocence so I find time with them very therapeutic. Has anyone else seen the silly moves I'm talking about? My guineas are silly too they flap around lightning fast in circles and stop suddenly on their bellies, one of mine actually plays tag with me by running up on me and darting away a few feet, stopping to make sure I'm chasing her then running off again and when I "tag" her she runs in circles around me flapping her wings and making silly noises. It's like my birds have a sense of humor. I swear looking into their eyes sometimes I see intelligent, sensitive, fully conscious little souls in there. In many ways they seem more aware than my cats and dogs, they definitely follow my command and my signals much better as though they read my mind, and I swear they each know their names, not my tone but their actual individual names. I could almost care less about eggs now that I am learning what incredible creatures they are, for me now it's about their company.