Scientists Have Discovered That Chickens Can Blush 0 12

As part of the experiment, scientists selected six Sussex chickens aged three to four months. The birds were placed in a 363 square meter pen on a farm in the Loire Valley in France, where they were filmed for three weeks in various situations that elicited strong emotions: from joy at the sight of their favorite food to fear and stress in the event of an attack.

Additionally, the researchers collected and processed 18,000 photographs of chickens of other breeds to create a profile for analyzing the color of their skin. This data allowed them to assess the level of reddening of the skin on the heads of the chickens involved in the experiment.

The results showed that chickens do indeed blush when excited. Positive emotions, such as joy from feeding, cause only a slight reddening of the skin on the head. However, under conditions of severe stress, such as during capture, the skin on the heads of the chickens becomes bright crimson. It was also noted that in a resting state, the skin of the birds lightens.

The obtained results were verified in a parallel experiment involving 26 Sussex chickens. The birds were divided into two equal groups, one of which was regularly in the presence of the same staff member for five weeks. Afterward, the scientists compared the skin color of the chickens in the experimental and control groups and confirmed that when this person appeared, the skin of the birds in the experimental group was lighter than that of the control group.

According to the researchers, the data obtained will help better understand the emotional state and mood of the birds, as well as assess their welfare. In the future, they plan to study how such blushing signals function in the process of intraspecies communication.

The study was published in the journal Applied Animal Behavior Science.