Fear, food and excitement

Previous research has shown that facial flushing can indicate a state of arousal in birds such as parrots and vultures; So University of Tours ethologist (animal behavior research) Delphine Sule and her colleagues examined this sign to see if it was also an emotional indicator. situation in chickens.

Six Sussex dogs were filmed in different scenarios, some natural and others during various controlled activities. These included exciting and rewarding scenarios, such as dust bathing and feeding, as well as frightening situations, such as being captured and held in captivity.

Using thousands of photos from the chicken videos and a specially developed algorithm, the researchers analyzed the level of redness on the scallops, cheeks, earlobes, and tusks (the hanging extensions of skin under the chin) in these different scenarios.

Although our findings are preliminary due to our small sample size, they suggest that less redness on the cheeks and earlobes may indicate a state of calm and contentment.
– explains Delphine Soule.

Conversely, facial flushing indicates increased emotional arousal, including fear or excitement, when you encounter your favorite food.

Soule and his colleagues also gradually exposed 13 chickens to the presence of an experimenter over five weeks, while leaving the other 12 chickens alone. Habituated chickens showed significantly less shyness and redness of facial skin in the presence of a human compared to unaccustomed chickens that reacted to a human.

We hypothesize that changes in facial skin redness reflect changes in emotional states and can be used as a marker to assess the quality of human-chicken relationships.
– researchers write in the article.

In further experiments, facial flushing may become a strong indicator of chicken welfare. It can also be useful for interpreting social interactions and hierarchies between individual birds; It is a topic that researchers are also keen to explore.