Chickens also blush when excited.
Humans have a tendency to blush when they are angry, excited, or embarrassed. Research has shown that chickens also have this emotional blushing trait.
Facial blushing and feather fluffing are indicators of emotions in domestic fowl (Gallus gallus domesticus) | PLOS ONE
Hens blush when excited or scared, study finds | CNN
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/07/25/science/hens-blushing-emotions-intl-scli-scn/index.html
Facial expressions have been studied in several mammals, including dogs, horses, pigs, and rats, but they have not been studied as extensively in birds.
'Our study shows that domestic chickens are sensitive and capable of expressing emotional nuances,' said Alain Bertin, co-leader of the research team and a researcher at the French National Institute of Agricultural Research.
Bertin and his team observed 17 female chickens of two different breeds over a four-week period on a farm in France, filming the birds' daily behavior and reactions to various stimuli.
In the experiment, the chickens were placed in situations with different positive or negative emotions and arousal levels, such as resting, feeding, preening, dust bathing, vigilance, capture, and feeding. The research team then extracted frames every two seconds from the recorded videos and selected the image that best represented the chicken's profile.
The results showed that the condition of the head feathers changed depending on the situation, and that the feathers tended to fluff up during positive emotional situations, such as resting, preening, and dust bathing, but remained flattened during feeding and capture.
In particular, when the chickens were in a state of high arousal, the skin on their faces turned redder. In addition, it was found that the redness was stronger in situations where the chickens were in a negative emotional state, such as being wary of an external predator or feeling fearful of being captured, than in positive situations. The redness was especially pronounced in the areas around the cheeks and earlobes.
The research team argues that changes in facial expressions in chickens are an important indicator of their emotions. Conventionally, the phenomenon of blushing was thought to be a uniquely human emotional expression, but since it was found to exist in chickens, the research team speculates that there may be evolutionary continuity in the emotional expression system.
The research team said, 'This study suggests that the emotional experiences and cognitive abilities of birds may be more complex than previously thought. We hope that this study will serve as a starting point for further research into emotional expression in birds.'
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