[amj]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1364383/Chickens-birdbrained--share-pain.html

[joyfull]

this is something we have known for a  longwhile - we often say that an ill bird would be happier and recover better if a friend is kept with her assuming that the illness is not contagious.

[sneezer]

This was in my local paper today;
Domestic chickens display signs of empathy, the ability to feel anothers pain that is at the heart of compassion, a study has found.The discovery has important implications for the welfare of farm and laboratory animals,say researchers.  Empathy, long thought to be a defining human trait, causes one individual to be affected by the emotional state of another.Feelings are mirrored in the observer, leading to a shared experience of being happy,sad or distressed.  The research demonstrated that hens posses a fundamental capacity to empathise, at least with their own chicks.
Very interesting...

[sneezer]

Sorry just read another thread about this!!!!

[ManicMum]

That's a bit of a "why did they need a scientific study to prove it" article, I reckon.  Surely any animal who creates a social structure must be able to relate to the feelings of others in the group?

[ehs284]

Interesting article. There are some good bits in here from time to time. Most makes me cringe, but....

http://www.worldpoultry.net/news/uk-study-proves-domestic-hens-are-empathetic-8611.html

[bantam novice]

Thanks, ehs284.  A very interesting article.

[joyfull]

this was on chicken chat yesterday 

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=72746.0

will now merge the two topics 

[joodith]

That's a bit of a "why did they need a scientific study to prove it" article, I reckon.  Surely any animal who creates a social structure must be able to relate to the feelings of others in the group?

Exactly.
The human species displays such arrogance in thinking they are the only species to have feelings.  One of the best books I ever read is "The Pig Who Sang to the Moon: The Emotional World of Farm Animals" by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, and I'm halfway through  "Second Nature" by Jonathan Balcombe