For the first time, researchers found that chickens fluff their facial feathers and blush in response to varied stimulation, likely as a way to reveal their inner emotional states. The link could help improve our stewardship of the birds.
If you've ever been melted by that head tilt that dogs do in response to certain verbal queues to express interest or puzzlement, you're no stranger to the idea that animals can convey their emotions with facial expressions. In fact, scientists have not only established a link between facial signaling and emotional states in dogs, but in other mammals as well, including pigs and mice. While birds can also change their facial expressions by flushing their skin and moving their facial feathers, it's been unclear whether these signals were linked to their emotional states.
To find out, researchers working out of the INRAE agricultural research center in France designed a study to put chickens in a variety of situations and closely observe changes to their faces using video recordings.
They filmed 18 different birds from two different species in three different basic scenarios: when going about their daily lives on a French farm; when they were captured and held by a person; and when they were given an appealing food treat.
They found that when relaxed and content, the birds exhibited fluffed head feathers. When they were chased, captured, and held, the facial skin color of the hens flushed deeply red indicating a state of negative excitement. When the birds were given a food treat though, their facial skin blushed less deeply. The researchers believe that this subtle changing of skin color from light red to deep red could be read to reveal a range of positive to negative excitement in the birds.
Because the INRAE is an organization focused on agricultural and food science, the research concludes that the findings can help improve the treatment of chickens in those settings. But it's hard not to imagine a bunch of backyard bird enthusiasts rushing out to see if they can make their chickens blush with delight.
"We conclude that hens have facial displays that reveal their emotions and that blushing is not exclusive to humans," write the researchers in a paper just published in the journal, PLOS ONE. "This opens a promising way to explore the emotional lives of birds, which is a critical step when trying to improve poultry welfare."
