I think my chicken is sad. Am I crazy?

Chickens definitely have emotions, though they seem to be relatively simple, they're a lot more complex and intelligent than I thought they would be.

In our small flock of six, each chicken is really aware of where the others are. When one gets separated she'll run around the yard peeping forlornly. If she's really lost she'll come to the back door, basically "asking" us to help. After our first loss of four out of 5 at the time, our lone chicken survivor, Edna seemed very depressed. Didn't scratch, drink or feed. Just sat like a lump in the brooder. We bought 4 more chicks and she seemed to perk up. When we discovered one was a rooster, and causing trouble in the flock (making the girls bleed at barely 5 weeks) we got rid of him. But the remaining girls did react to his loss, they wandered around the yard, clearly looking for him, calling. I felt really terrible and held Edna, she tried to snuggle into my hair like a young chick does to the mother hen's feathers.

But by the next day they'd basically forgotten about him and the amount of violence in the flock dropped by probably 100%, so in the end I felt like it was the right decision. I'd imagine if they were more closely bonded it probably would have taken longer for them to recover.

I think in larger flocks, chickens simply can't bond as closely so you might not see that kind of behavior.
 
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Well, there are also no chicken Hitlers, Stalins or Pol Pots, either...

Exactly. Chickens don't behave, think, or feel like humans, good or bad, because they aren't human. They don't have human natures, or primate natures, or even mammal natures. We separated from them on the evolutionary tree back in the age of dinosaurs. Yet we convince ourselves that they're little humans with feathers. People tend to see what they want to see, even when it isn't there. A chicken learns to associate someone with food, for example, and they interpret the behavior as affection. But if they were magically to shrink to the size of a grasshopper, that "affectionate" chicken would instantly peck them to death with no regrets.
 
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Well, there are also no chicken Hitlers, Stalins or Pol Pots, either...

Exactly. Chickens don't behave, think, or feel like humans, good or bad, because they aren't human. They don't have human natures, or primate natures, or even mammal natures. We separated from them on the evolutionary tree back in the age of dinosaurs. Yet we convince ourselves that they're little humans with feathers. People tend to see what they want to see, even when it isn't there. A chicken learns to associate someone with food, for example, and they interpret the behavior as affection. But if they were magically to shrink to the size of a grasshopper, that "affectionate" chicken would instantly peck them to death with no regrets.

Or not see what they don't want to see, even if it is there
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While I do mean what I just typed, it's meant as good-natured-agree-to-disagree-fun
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OP, hope little Gertie is hanging in there. Lots of treats are in order.
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(unfortunately, human behavior at its worst is no less grizzly than chicken behavior at its worst)

JJ
 
I'm so sorry for your loss
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And no, I don't believe you're imagining things. I think chickens (and other animals besides humans for that matter) are fully capable of emotions. Gertie just needs a lot of love and care right now.
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Though they may not be able to express emotions in the way we do as humans, animals DO have some of the same emotions we have: fear, anger, jealousy, frustration, joy, contentment, and yes, grief. I have seen some animals actually shed tears as they were with a companion animal who had just died. I had one cat who mourned for her partner for more than a month. Chickens have been referred to as "social" animals. They enjoy each other's company, they have their favorites and those they don't like as well within the flock, they play games, etc. We humans are "social animals" as well. No, chickens are not human, but they certainly do share some of the same emotions and social behaviors that we humans do...
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edited for clarity
 
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I agree that chickens do have emotions. I was gone for over a week and Lulu our lame sometimes house chicken missed me. My DS said for the last few days, she just laid outside the garage and didn't eat much or anything. When I got home she kept hopping up the back steps when I was in the house for cuddles. She looks for me at the end of the day so she can sit on my lap for awhile before bed. She will spend time with others when they are working in the yard but is most content laying near where I am working. If chickens don't have emotions why does it matter who is outside with her?

I am sorry about your loss. It is tough to loss a sweet friend and hope Gertie perks up soon.
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No way are you crazy. I had two chicks about 2 months old that only had each other. One was torn apart by a raccoon and the other had nowhere to go-and was forced to watch her only buddy wing-ripped from a metal crate. I found her frantic, standing on top of what was left of her deceased buddy. She's still acting a bit funny and is clinging to humans. She's trying to fit in with the flock I just introduced to. But because she's alone, they chace her around and she has to sneak around to even get a drink. Relating to the topic, the only bird who treats her with any respect is my rooster. I saw him cooing to her when she was hiding in a nesting box and he seemed very willing to roost near her last night. Yes, I think chickens can feel the emotions humans are capable of feeling, to an extent. Being the very, VERY social creatures that they are, I find them even more sensitive to change and other beings.

I think your bird will heal with time, like mine will. We all feel pain.
 
ok I was originally going to quote because I thought the banter between jjthinkagain and Oblio13 was pretty funny, but now I'm going to put my 2 cents in. an aquantance of mine got a lonely chicken from someone else and added it to her flock (it was indeed lonely and or sad ) said bird had a rooster mate that was dispatched by the couple who owned it previously when they got rid of the roo she stopped laying, she didn't lay for 6 months before they decided she was lonely and gave her up. the very day she went into the new flock she layed 2 eggs.
birds mourn sandhill cranes mate for life so they say but i think its probably til they lose their mate and then find a new 1, but if you ever heard a sandhill crane when its mate just got eaten by an alligator you would know the real grief of a bird.
yes they may live in the moment they don't look towards the future but they do remember and they do get upset if another chicken is missing, especially in a small flock. they purr when they're happy and content, why wouldnt they be sad when their best pal was gone.
 
When my Reba died (mysterious illness) Rita was forlorn for quite awhile...the other chics didn't seem to be too phased but these two were always together. That's why we neamed them Re-re-Rita and Re-re-Reba...they were both kind of dingy and reliant on each other. Rita has since gotten over her loss, and we haven't lost a chicken since, but I know without a doubt she was upset about the missing chic.
 
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Yes, we've been super-spoiling Gertie (and the rest of the flock!) this week and last. Thanks for your kind words.
 

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