Not only do chickens enjoy being petted, but they also have a strong sense of empathy. During a session with a chicken, he'll likely peck at you, peep, and purr until you give him a treat. Besides being very smart, chickens are also incredibly affectionate.
Chickens normally peck at feet, toes and clothing because they're inquisitive or they think there's something on you which they can eat. This is a common behaviour in most chickens especially when they're younger. In some rarer cases, a chicken may peck at feet as an act of aggression and to show domination.
Treat Them
Treats can help teach your chickens how you want to be loved. When you reward their loving behavior with treats, they are more likely to continue that behavior in order to receive more treats. Eventually, they may even act that way out of habit or because they've learned to actually love it!
High Energy. The easiest and fastest way to know if your chickens are happy is to watch them. A content chicken will participate in normal chicken activities, such as pecking and scratching the ground, taking a dust bath, hunting for bugs, nesting, preening, and laying eggs.
Many chickens love being given affection and one key way you can give it to them is by petting them.
As sociable friendly creatures, chickens enjoy vocal interactions with their backyard keepers. This engages them and strengthens the developing bond that you have with them. Clucky conversations stimulate their brain too, so embrace your inner Dr. Doolittle and chat with your chooks!
Count Your Chickens
One study showed chicks "imprinted" to an image of a red triangle even if it was partly obscured—suggesting the birds can envision partially hidden objects in their minds. Not only that, the birds can recognize and discern people based on their faces. And they apparently like beautiful humans.
Empathy is sometimes regarded as a form of emotional intelligence and is demonstrated when hens display signs of anxiety when they observed their chicks in distressful situations. The hens have been said to "feel their chicks' pain" and to "be affected by, and share, the emotional state of another."
If a chicken is by itself for a few weeks it will be fine, but after a while many chickens who are kept alone seem to get lonely and depressed. They become lethargic, or start pacing and manically pecking at random objects.
They do. Chickens experience empathy called emotional contagion, which is the tendency to feel the emotions that others around them are experiencing. One example of this is when chickens see their chicks in distress, their blood pressure increases and they become distressed themselves.
Chickens can recognize up to 100 faces—and have been found to associate the faces they remember with the positive or negative experiences. Chickens can also show love and affection for the humans who care for them, and they certainly remember the humans they know and how those humans may have treated them.
Mating Signal
Because this behavior is a submissive signal, some younger hens might also squat in front of chickens that are higher up in your flock's pecking order. They may even squat down when you pet them because of how strong their instinct is.
They know their own names.
Not only can chickens recognise when their name is called if it is used consistently enough, they can also recognise the names of other chickens around them.
A chicken wipes its beak to attract mates.
Interestingly, these researchers found that younger, smaller males beak wipe more often than older, larger males. In this context, think of beak wiping as exuding perfume (hens) or cologne (roosters).
Chickens may eye pin when they're anticipating a treat, or, like some of my hens, they may do it when they're just chilling on your lap and you happen to get eye contact for a moment. In that case, I like to think my hens are telling me they love me.
Purring (or Trilling)
These are expressions of utter contentment. Chickens purr when they are feeling calm and relaxed, and you may notice it most when you pet them!
Healthy chickens are social, curious and should feel energized to freely move throughout the coop, run or backyard. A lack of movement, low head carriage and overall depressed appearance may be a sign that something is wrong.
First things first, chickens should only be left alone for a maximum of three to four days at the very most.
Those of us who observe chickens on a daily basis see their memory and recall in action in a wide variety of everyday situations. Recent science tell us that chickens recognize over 100 individual faces even after several months of separation.
Chickens can recognise up to 100 faces
Chickens even remember positive or negative experiences with the faces they recognise and pass that information on to members of their flocks.
Comfort Behaviors
Chickens perform behaviors related to body care and maintenance. These are called comfort behaviors and involve taking care of plumage and stretching. Examples are dust bathing, preening, leg and wing stretching, wing flapping, and tail wagging.
Hand-reared poultry may imprint on someone and attempt to follow that person everywhere. These youngsters may have difficulty integrating into the flock. In addition, they usually prefer to court humans, unless they have contact with their own species from an early age.
In overcrowded conditions it is exaggerated, but in a free-range situation it manifests as rude opportunistic social behavior. The dominant chicken is a jealous creature and will not accept the sight of the chicken keeper fraternizing with the lower ranks.
Some are gregarious and fearless, while others are shy and watchful. Some enjoy human company, while others are standoffish or even a bit aggressive. Just like every dog, cat, and human, each chicken is an individual with a distinct personality.