The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines sentient as responsive to or conscious of sense impressions; aware; finely sensitive in perception or feeling.
The first definition — recognizing information provided by the senses — obviously applies to chickens as well as to other species, including our own. So too the second definition. Chickens have excellent eyesight, for example, and they respond to the voices of people they know.
But does that third definition fit? Are chickens “finely sensitive in perception or feeling”?
Last week, Nellie, one of our two Rhode Island Red hens, was under the weather. She was lethargic on Monday and her appetite was off. The same was true the next day, and her behavior was sufficiently worrisome that I called a veterinarian to have Nellie checked out.
As it happened, the vet, whom we had consulted about our chickens in the past, could not see Nellie until Friday, so I made arrangements to bring her in then. By Wednesday, though, Nellie had improved, and she continued to do so on Thursday. I canceled the appointment, and am glad to report that, as of this morning, Nellie is behaving normally.
So what does all this have to do with the sentience of chickens? Here’s the thing. While she was unwell, Nellie spent quite a bit of time sitting around, in the coop or outside, in the pen. She moved from time to time, only to plant herself in a different spot. And through it all, whenever I went out to check on the patient, Hope, the other Rhode Island Red, was right by her side. Wherever Nellie chose to sit, Hope stayed with her, sentinel-like, always standing as close to the seated Nellie as she could get. Hope clearly saw that Nellie was behaving abnormally, and that fact concerned her.
The first definition — recognizing information provided by the senses — obviously applies to chickens as well as to other species, including our own. So too the second definition. Chickens have excellent eyesight, for example, and they respond to the voices of people they know.
But does that third definition fit? Are chickens “finely sensitive in perception or feeling”?
Last week, Nellie, one of our two Rhode Island Red hens, was under the weather. She was lethargic on Monday and her appetite was off. The same was true the next day, and her behavior was sufficiently worrisome that I called a veterinarian to have Nellie checked out.
As it happened, the vet, whom we had consulted about our chickens in the past, could not see Nellie until Friday, so I made arrangements to bring her in then. By Wednesday, though, Nellie had improved, and she continued to do so on Thursday. I canceled the appointment, and am glad to report that, as of this morning, Nellie is behaving normally.
So what does all this have to do with the sentience of chickens? Here’s the thing. While she was unwell, Nellie spent quite a bit of time sitting around, in the coop or outside, in the pen. She moved from time to time, only to plant herself in a different spot. And through it all, whenever I went out to check on the patient, Hope, the other Rhode Island Red, was right by her side. Wherever Nellie chose to sit, Hope stayed with her, sentinel-like, always standing as close to the seated Nellie as she could get. Hope clearly saw that Nellie was behaving abnormally, and that fact concerned her.
So although I don’t claim to know if chickens are “finely sensitive,” clearly they are “sensitive in perception or feeling” to some degree and in some fashion. More so, I dare say, than many humans.
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