Do chickens really experience empathy?

This month, Paul Donovan turns his attention to the psychological side of poultry behaviour, and investigates whether hens sense empathy – a trait indicative of mammals.

- Paul Donovan

One of the reasons why I work with animals, and have done almost since leaving school, are the new discoveries which are being made, almost on a daily basis surrounding their biology and natural history. A favourite pastime, is wading through the scientific papers to broaden my knowledge, in the hope I can apply some of those findings to the animals I look after – primarily poultry and goats. I don’t just keep layers for their eggs, but also study their behaviour.

For several years now, I have been contributing articles on poultry behaviour to Practical Poultry magazine, despite most people seeing chickens as being little more than a cheap source of food. During this time, there has been some interesting research undertaken. One particular area of research which has caught my attention of late, is the discovery that chickens can experience empathy. “Empathy!, I hear you cry”. Yes, you read that correctly.

While a great deal of emphasis is placed on the physical welfare of poultry, very little covers the psychological side - the emotional stress when they see others suffering, and how it can impact on their welfare. Fortunately, scientists are now beginning to investigate this sphere of poultry behaviour, with some interesting results.

WHAT IS EMPATHY?

Now, empathy, one of the most complex and integral emotions, is regarded as a form of high emotional intelligence, and is the ability of imagining what someone else may be thinking or feeling, and sensing their emptions/pain, and sharing that experience with them. Empathy can be categorised in different levels, from emotional contagion, to cognitive perspective-taking.