Chickens have feelings

[gsim]

Caring for chickens will teach us many things. I learned something on the very first day. The mail lady brought our chicks to our door and waited to see them. I had the warm sugar water ready and she watched along with my wife as I taught each bird to drink. I did the first bird, and set it down in it's new home, an 8 ft X 2 ft box. Immediately it began to cry. I mean it was a crying sound, long and drawn out and repeating it and looking up at me even after taking a drink. I considered it a remarked to my wife that I thought it was crying because it was in that strange place all alone. Sounds crazy, but it turned out to be right. Soon as I taught the 2nd one to drink and set her in the box with the first one, the crying sound changed back to the 'peep-peep-peep' that we heard coming from the shipping container. No more crying heard after that because each new arrival would find company waiting there already.

I know that lots of you BYC'rs have seen many demonstrations of affection from your chooks and are likely not surprised at this. I have some that will jump up on my shoulders if I am sitting or kneeling to do something in their run. They have to tell me all about their day. They will jump up in my lap and settle down and make their contented sounds as they look up at me sideways. So my learning experience with poultry began on day 1 as they learned to drink and I learned that they have feelings and do not just react to situations. Poultry raising would be one of the most wonderful experiences for kids to have as they learn to take responsibility for something. I would value it and equate it with the importance of true and real schooling, as a most valuable part of the 'human life experience'.

 

[MareeZoCool]

Nothing's worse than hearing your chickens cry, in my opinion. I was happy to read your post, and how lovingly you cared for your new babes!
I have one hen, she's been widowed 3 times, thanks to a fox. Hearing her weeping for her lost roos was so heartbreaking! Lucky for both of us, people are happy to give away a roo!

 

[gsim]

Thanks for the post. Good to know I am not the only one out here who thinks that chooks have feelings.

 

[chickenjones]

Hi.
I definitely agree. My roo lost all four of his hens to a dog recently and he was definitely upset. He would call for them and just mope around. I felt horrible for him!

 

[Motherof4]

Well my husband agrees we had a roo that was the meanest roo around. we had to get rite of him and now our girls are soo happy. I even think that there laying is higher now

 

[nanawendy]

That soo true, I have a EE that wanted to go broody. Olivia and I went through all the issues to stop it successfully, as I was guided by BYC experts. Well then she decided she would not lay for 3 months, that was ok with me... She also wouldn't let me pick her up and acted very skiddish.

A couple of weeks ago when I brought out goodies... she walked me back to the gate, paused and looked up @ me, with a look I can only explain as "We're Good??" I picked her up and loved her, walked around the yard and spoke about gardening plans... she seemed very interested. I put her back in the run and she kind of bid me good-bye. The next day I got a olive green egg... From Olivia. The fence was mended.

No one can tell me there isn't a connection

 

[Barry Natchitoches]

We had two hens -- Buffy (a very timid buff orpington) and Einstein (a gentle Rhode Island Red who has lived with Buffy since they were two days old). They lived together in a chicken tractor, away from the other hens in the main henhouse, because the other hens in the henhouse were so cruel to Buffy.


Unlike the hens in the main henhouse, Buffy and Einstein were allowed to free range in the yard all day because the tractor is so small. They were very good about going back to their tractor to sleep at night. We could trust them to put themselves in, if for some reason we were not home at dark. We would just go behind them and lock them up after they went to bed, to protect them from predators. In the morning, we'd let them back out again to free range in the yard.


This arrangement worked well for many months. Buffy and Einstein were always best friends -- you could see it from the time they were little peeps. Where you found one, the other was not far behind.


But then one day in mid-December, my wife heard some commotion in the yard, but she was busy helping my daughter with her school work, so she didn't drop everything to investigate. When she finally did go out there, she saw that the waterer was knocked over, and Buffy was nearby -- crying. It was very clear that sound was the sound of that hen crying.


Einstein was no where to be found. She and my daughter searched the neighborhood, and I joined in that search when I got home from work. But Einstein was nowhere to be found.


We did notice in the days that followed, four hawks and owls flying around our yard and an owl even perched herself on a post in our garden. It was obvious that they were looking for dinner.


Poor Buffy, meantime, had to be locked up in a little dog cage inside the main henhouse until we could gradually merge her into the larger group without her getting beat up by the other hens. Even now, she is bottom of the pecking order -- except for the two new pullets that were just merged into the older group of hens four weeks ago when they hit 16 weeks old. They don't beat her up anymore, but her activities are severely restricted because of other hens that bully her.


When I'm working in the garden, I take Buffy out and let her work along side me, and I can tell that really means alot to her.


But I can't let her roam free anymore, because the hawks and owls still come looking for fresh meat.

 

[LAMchop]

Barry Natchitoches- your post almost made me cry! So sad!

I have a similar story. I had a silver Sebright and a bantam Cochin that had been together since they were chicks. They were best buddies- every night they roosted next to each other. When the Cochin, Pudge, decided to go broody, we moved her to a small coop to hatch some eggs. Chip, the Sebright, became more and more depressed each day that Pudge was gone. I couldn't find anything wrong with her, and I didn't make the connection until one morning I found Chip dead!

I think her little heart was broken when her friend left her. Needless to say, I felt like a total heel.
So yes, chickens definitely have feelings.

 

[catdaddy66]

Quote:
It's never too late to mend a burnt bridge! That was a very cool story with a very happy ending!!

 

[featherbaby]

Please show these posts to anyone you know that says: "It's just a chicken". They have no idea the complexities of relationships these beautiful birds have. Only intelligent, sensitive creatures can have that level of communication with us and each other. Each of my 8 Silkies has their own distinct personality, preferences and position in the social order. Some love to be touched and held, others stay just out of reach. Some will squawk if you touch them, others will jump into your arms unexpectedly from a high perch ( no doubt to test my "chicken juggling" skills). They have the capacity to feel joy and sadness. So I enjoy mine as much as I can, and learn things every time I'm with them. Amazing what they can do for your blood pressure.