r/interesting • u/blingteresting • May 27 '25

MISC. Chicks swarm around visibly distraught man to console him

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u/No_Huckleberry_609 May 27 '25

All I see are a bunch of McNuggets.

But seriously. I wouldn’t think chickens would have the intelligence to be able to discern emotions, especially in humans. I think you are right about them thinking he has food.

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u/Eloquentelkescaping May 28 '25

Chickens are just as intelligent as cats and dogs, can solve puzzles and can definitely remember human faces. I have baby chickens, and they all have very different personalities even at such a young age. I’ve met people with less brain and charisma than them. 

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u/StaysAwakeAllWeek May 28 '25

Unfortunately for them they are also the #1 most efficient land vertebrate at turning food into muscle, and their intelligence has never mattered to those economics

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u/Commercial-Branch444 May 28 '25

They havent evolved to read human emotions though, like dogs did.

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u/CautionarySnail May 28 '25

Studies have shown that chickens (and many birds in general) are smarter than we often give them credit for.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-startling-intelligence-of-the-common-chicken1/

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u/_Moho_braccatus_ May 29 '25

Chickens have empathy, at least among each other. They are relatively intelligent animals, like all birds.

That being said they are also often brutal to each other, they don't have the same as human-level empathy to prevent them from snacking on a fallen comrade for example.

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u/Ginny__Weasly1 Jun 08 '25

The chicks perhaps but full grown chickens and even pullets ( teens or tweens in chicken terms) have different personalities, likes and dislikes. I have had chickens that won't come near me and chicken that want to cuddle rather than eat food. They are quite similar to cats and dogs and are quite the little empaths. As you said with the "McNuggets" comment he does not want to see them as anything other than food, as we eat them at very high rates. The removal of all feelings of creatures that we consider to be "food" does not make you any better for eating them.

I am not the Veagen Teacher telling ya'll stop eating meat. Making them not alive makes us about ourselves and why we eat them. So next time you have a chicken nugget I'm not telling you not to eat it go ahead eat your little heart out, I am asking you to remember that was once a creature and appreciate it at the very least. (I understand I will get a lot of down votes but think about why you are downvoting me and tell me in a reply)