Mother hens feel empathy for their chicks

Empathy is defined as ‘the ability to be affected by, and share, the emotional state of another’.

Now, scientists say that to see empathy in action, we need look no further than a mother hen with her brood of chicks.

Scientists at the University of Bristol, UK, exposed mother hens and their chicks to puffs of air. When the air puff was directed at the hens, they reacted with signs of fear, becoming more alert and preening less, and their eye temperature decreased. When their chicks were exposed to the puffs of air, the hens showed all these signs but in addition, their heart rate increased and they made more clucking calls to their chicks – strong signs of their concern. Researcher Jo Edgar said: “We found that adult female birds possess at least one of the essential underpinning attributes of ‘empathy’; the ability to be affected by, and share, the emotional state of another.”

Sources:

• The foundations of empathy are found in the chicken. University of Bristol press release, issued 9 March 2011.
• Avian maternal response to chick distress’, J L Edgar, J C Lowe, E S Paul, C J Nicol, published online ahead of print Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 9 March 2011

Sadly, 23 million laying hens in South Africa will never experience motherhood. The least we can offer these hens whose eggs we eat, is lives worth living. Please buy free range eggs.

To conscientise learners to the sentience of farmed animals Goosie’s Story is available from our online shop. Aimed at Grade 4 readers, Vista Publications has an English Language workbook to go with it. (Goosie’s Story is also available in Afrikaans as Appelliefie se Storie).