Chicken Behavior Explained: What Does a Stressed Chicken Look and Sound Like?

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A stressed chicken is harder to spot  than you would expect! Believe it or not,   chickens hide their stress pretty well, so you  really have to know what you’re looking for.   I am Dr. Mikayla, and today’s video is about  what a stressed chicken looks and sounds like. One way researchers test stress or  fearfulness in chickens is through   something called the tonic immobility test.  This is when the researcher places a chicken   on their back and time how long it  takes them to get up. In general,   the longer it takes the bird to get up,  the more fearful or stressed they are. If you’re not quite up for the tonic  immobility test, here are some other   ways to tell if your chickens are stressed: Visual inspection is the first and easiest way   to see if our chickens are stressed. Ruffled  or missing feathers, pale and swollen comb   and wattle, and labored breathing are all  signs our chickens are sick and/or stressed.  Pay attention where your chickens are in the  coop! If your chickens have isolated themselves,   it may indicate they are sick and/or stressed.  If they are avoiding certain areas of the coop,   check to see if something specific  is stressing them out in that area.  Monitor your eggs! A stressed chicken  may lay fewer eggs, and may also lay   misshapen eggs. She may even lay her eggs  outside the nest box or in strange places.  Look for negative behaviors in your flock.  Examples of this could be continuously pacing up   and down an area of the coop, feather pecking, or  acting more flighty. If you notice your chickens   spending a lot of their time preening, and you  start to see missing feather without evidence   of mites or parasites, they may be stressed. Listen to your chickens! They make different   sounds when they are stressed. The sounds can  vary from a loud squawking to an alarm call if   they feel threatened. You may also hear a gakel  call, which sounds like several clucks and then a   squawk. Chickens do this to express frustration!  Think of it as the chicken version of whining.  If you pay attention to these small cues and  notice that your chickens are experiencing stress,   you can intervene to help! Giving a daily  probiotic like Thrive can help alleviate the daily   stressors our chickens experience. The ability to  express natural behaviors can also help alleviate   some of the negative behaviors associated  with stress, so try tossing your flock one of   our functional treats to get them to forage. Check out our video called Chicken Behavior   Explained: What Does a Happy Chicken Look  and Sound Like? to learn the flip side—how   to recognize a happy chicken. For more information, visit backyardchicken.com.   If you enjoyed this video,  like us and subscribe for more!
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Channel: Backyard Chicken Keeping
Views: 14,312
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Id: 0CPLMtGSl2s
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Length: 2min 53sec (173 seconds)
Published: Wed Jul 26 2023
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