Oxytocin as a bonding agent between us and our chickens

This was so educational to learn that it's probably not just luck of the draw why some chickens absolutely adore me and others see me and run like I've got the plague.

Great article! I've wondered if there was something that happens within me and the chickens when I spend quality time with them, but I never had any words to put to it. This article explains it perfectly! Even my close bond with my hen Sarah. She loves being petted and will stay next to me or on my lap as long as I pet her. She's even fallen asleep on me before. If some chickens get more mesotocin than others, she definitely is.

I don't know how I missed this for so long.
I have believed for many years that chickens make what we might call emotional bonds. I have also read a little on Oxytocin and spoken to other chicken keepers who don't fall about laughing, or try to tell me I'm anthropomorphising, who recount some of the more extraordinary relationships they have observed in the chickens they care for.

There's a lot we don't understand about chickens which is very odd given we've been abusing them in just about every way imaginable for hundreds of years.
A good read I thought on an interesting topic.

By the way, I've found grooming is the fastest way to a roosters heart.

This made me so happy. There should definitely be more studies done on backyard chickens in general.

I’d love to see what those little babies think of all the cuddle sessions!

There's so much here I want to learn more about, what a fascinating concept! Thank you for your thoughtful and thorough research, as always. Well done!

Excellent article, love the references.

I agree that we can see the effect of some calming chemistry when they let us cuddle them when they are feeling poorly (nature would tell them to hide in an unreachable spot) and then close their little eyes gently and snuggle the face & beak into their feathers.

It probably starts with our feeding them and not using that as bait. They calm to our touch after repeated interactions.

Unfortunately the ones most comfortable with touch are usually the ones who had the most health issues (or got picked on by the others) and we had to be their mother-hen

Informative and thought-provoking! I appreciate your citation of several sources, and this reminds me of a university course I took somewhere about 14 years ago (am I that old? ) titled “Behavioral Neuroendocrinology.”
Fascinating topic, and I will keep my eyes peeled for research on backyard flocks!

What an interesting, thought provoking article.

Azygous, I hope someone near you will do this experiment! I'd love to hear about it.

Reading this makes me want to interact with my chickens even more. Thank you.

Excellent though provoking article. A long time ago, 90s I think, I read that the facial features of babies, human and otherwise, stimulated parts of the brain leading to bonding; likely oxytocin. Who doesn't look at a tiny baby and think its precious whether human, canine or fowl?

Very interesting, informative and unique article. I've always marveled while watching broody hens interact with their chicks. Broodies become very excited to sacrifice tasty food morsels, calling to their chicks with a sense of urgency, "Look what momma found!" When not broody, these same hens share with no one. Mesotocin production explains the reason for a broody hen's extreme change from normal hen behavior. It seems natural to make the connection that humans bond with birds the same as we do with dogs and other mammals. Friendly but non-broody hens produce mesotocin when closely interacting with their humans, and that we humans at the same time produce oxytocin, thereby cementing emotional bonds.