![]() Rising pitches generally indicate pleasure, whereas falling pitches signal distress, especially in chicks, whose calls alert their mother to attend to their needs. In this way, group chatter remains private to the flock, avoiding eavesdropping by predators, while warnings are heard by the whole flock, even though the caller, usually the rooster, puts himself in some danger by giving the call. Brief, quiet, low notes are generally used for contented, communal calls, while loud, long, high pitches indicate fear, danger, or distress. Tell-Tale Features of Chicken Noisesįor a rough guide to how your birds are feeling and what their intentions are, you can listen out for certain qualities in chicken noises. ![]() Secondly, there are intentional signals that poultry give according to which other chickens are in earshot. ![]() Firstly, the features of these calls are molded by the emotions experienced by the caller. Researchers have studied the calls of both domestic and wild fowl and identified 24–30 different calls and their apparent functions. Indeed, chickens’ calls and behavior are still very similar to that of their wild cousins. Red Jungle Fowl hen and chicks by Hunter Desportes/flickr CC BY 2.0*. From a hen’s perspective, it made sense for her to choose the best rooster, who would make the effort to protect and feed her, before allowing him to father her offspring. As a rooster can inseminate many hens, it made sense for him to protect his flock and give warnings of danger, as well as finding them food that would nourish his future progeny. In the thick undergrowth, their quiet burbling chatter enabled them to keep in contact and communicate their findings even when their vision was obscured. As prey animals they needed to stay together for safety in numbers. Domestic chickens descended from Red Jungle Fowl in Southeast Asia.
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