Chickens in the Yard, Not on the Pizza: The Personality and Suffering of Scorned Animals

I still remember what it was like to be a meat eater even though it’s been such a long time. The way I reacted to animals as a preteen and a child are pretty similar to the way I see adults react to animals now. One example of that is how I would joke about chickens deserving to be eaten because they’re “mean”, “stupid”, or somehow lesser than other animals. I don’t know how I picked up this belief, but it seems to be such a common belief that it probably stems from an overall myth embedded in the way our society talks about animals in general. It’s one of those things many people take as “truth” without ever thinking where they got that information from, or thinking to check that information against reality and look for reliable sources. And then that belief gets shared among people, even shared with impressionable people (like children) before they have the time or desire to question it.

I didn’t say these horrible things because I had known a lot of chickens, I didn’t say these things because I had looked up the lives of chickens and found them to be quantifiably inferior animals. I said these things because I ate a lot of chicken, and deep down I just needed an excuse for that.

I have a friend who has been trying to phase out animal products from their life, but they are saying many of the things I said as a child about chickens. Without any sources or first hand experience, he just “feels” as if chickens aren’t as badly harmed as other animals, that they aren’t as aware as other animals and are less deserving of life or his consideration of their life.

These are pretty odd beliefs when we actually start to study and interact with chickens. If you stick a wild, obnoxious kid in a chicken pen who is only going to harass the animals, of course they are going to try and defend themselves. But if you put a kind child in a field with chickens, you’re not going to see his eyes get pecked out. You’re going to see similar interactions to those you would expect from calm animal companions that we keep in our houses as pets every day. And just like house pets, chickens can be abused and mistreated to the point where they are wary of human interaction, fiercely territorial, and aggressive; but they can also be some of the sweetest animals you’ve ever cuddled.

Chickens are inquisitive, interesting animals who are as intelligent as mammals like cats, dogs, and even primates. They are very social and like to spend their days together, scratching for food, cleaning themselves in dust baths, roosting in trees, and lying in the sun.

- Chickens (Personality) | The Toronto Vegetarian Association

We are learning more and more each day that “bird brain” isn’t a terribly damning insult: most people are aware of the ingenuity and cleverness of crows, who use tools and participate in their own recreational activity. And yet our understanding of birds usually stops there, wherein people continue to assume that chickens are “just dumb enough” to be eaten. In reality, chickens have marked intelligence and complex ways of understanding the world around them.

Few people think about the chicken as intelligent, however. In recent years, though, scientists have learned that this bird can be deceptive and cunning, that it possesses communication skills on par with those of some primates and that it uses sophisticated signals to convey its intentions. When making decisions, the chicken takes into account its own prior experience and knowledge surrounding the situation. It can solve complex problems and empathizes with individuals that are in danger.

- The Startling Intelligence of The Common Chicken | Scientific American

It seems that our assumptions otherwise - that chickens are not the intelligent, interesting, and caring animals that they clearly display themselves to be - stem not from actual evidence, but from our desire to believe that our massive consumption of chickens has no real ethical impact. The common myth is not only that chickens are lesser animals than others, but that they receive better treatment in factory and family farming methods.

This belief is not only encouraged when we think about chickens used for meat, but also chickens in the egg industry.

We’re often led to believe that there’s a “humane” alternative that lets us participate in the consumption of animal products while still telling ourselves that we are considerate and compassionate people. “Free-range eggs” leads that cavalcade, and it’s rare that we ever take a look beyond the label and into the actual lives of free-range chickens.

Once you’ve started to notice what, or rather, who chickens really are, I’d like to believe that it’s hard to continue contributing to their slaughter, torture, and exploitation. We can still live perfectly normal lives without harming these creatures with very little cost or detriment to ourselves. Whether you’re in the mood for some fried chicken or scrambled eggs, it’s never necessary to involve a chicken in the mix - vegan recipes are all over the web, vegan cookbooks can be found in many local bookstores and libraries, and fellow vegans exist to help others learn about new methods of cooking and food preparation that make going vegan extremely easy.