Chick emotions shed new light on animal welfare

A recent study led by the University of Mississippi has made significant strides in understanding animal emotions through an innovative approach. 

Partnering with researchers from the United Kingdom, the experts focused on how vocalizations from domestic chicks can indicate stress levels, potentially offering new ways to improve animal welfare in the poultry industry. 

The findings reveal insights that could benefit not only animals but also human mental health research.

Chick vocalizations and animal welfare

The study’s core experiment was simple yet revealing: placing one chick in a box by itself and another in a box with a mirror. 

The chick that could see its reflection believed it was not alone and emitted calm calls, while the solitary chick produced louder, higher-pitched sounds – an indicator of anxiety-like states. 

The team used advanced acoustic equipment to measure the changes in the quality of these vocalizations, aiming to link them to stress levels.

Improving animal welfare practices

The results of this study have broader implications for improving welfare practices in the meat and egg production industry. 

According to co-author Kenneth Sufka, a professor of psychology and pharmacology at the University of Mississippi, monitoring the stress of animals like chickens, swine, and cattle through their vocalizations could be a valuable tool for ensuring humane conditions in commercial facilities. 

“Is this a worthwhile thing, to be thinking about using acoustics to monitor animal welfare in these production facilities? I think so,” Sufka said, highlighting the potential for this method to be applied in practical settings.

Studying emotions in animals

Lead author Sarah Collins, an associate professor of animal behavior at the University of Plymouth, emphasized the importance of the findings in understanding animal sentience.

“This is more evidence of animal sentience – the ability to experience feelings,” she said. The ability to assess how stressed an animal is through vocal cues could allow for more precise measures of their welfare.

Measuring stress in chick peeps

Beyond animal welfare, this research offers a noninvasive and cost-effective method for studying anxiety-like states in animals other than chicks. 

Traditional methods of assessing stress involve capturing animals, taking blood samples, and measuring corticosterone, a stress hormone – a process that can itself induce stress. 

Sufka points out the advantage of their method: “That itself is stressful – to capture, restrain, collect, release. This, we think, is a better way.”

This approach is particularly relevant for testing medications intended for human use. 

Since chicks are often used in early stages of research for anxiety and depression medications, being able to accurately measure their stress levels could lead to more effective treatments. 

“To claim that an anti-anxiety drug is alleviating an anxiety-like state, this chick or mouse or rat has to have an anxiety state similar to yours,” Sufka said.

Ethical questions about animal welfare 

The research also touches on deeper ethical questions regarding the emotional capacities of animals and their rights. 

Historically, animals have been considered less emotionally complex than humans, leading to a perception that they have fewer needs. 

However, the recent findings suggest that animals like chickens do experience negative emotional states. 

“My argument is that all of the work that we have done to-date shows the similarities between this avian model and human anxiety and depressive states makes a very strong argument that these animals do have negative emotional states,” Sufka explained.

“If that’s true, then ethically it follows that we are absolutely obligated to be worried about animal welfare and provide for the best living conditions possible.” 

This perspective underscores the importance of ensuring that animals under human care live in conditions that support their well-being.

Broader implications of the research

Sufka’s research opens the door to new methods of understanding and improving the lives of animals, both in agricultural settings and in research environments. 

By providing a clearer picture of how animals like chicks experience stress, this study could shape future standards of care and deepen our understanding of the emotional lives of animals. 

The implications extend beyond barns and laboratories, touching on the fundamental ways we relate to the animals around us and the ethical responsibilities that follow.

The study is published in the journal Applied Behaviour Science.

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