Do Chickens Like Attractive People?

One of the most widespread livestock species worldwide is the chicken, however there is still a lot we don't know about the little birds. Do they, for example, judge the attractiveness of human faces using the same standard that we do? Some would argue that the topic is wholly unimportant and that any time spent trying to find an answer would be better spent on more useful scientific endeavors. However, other, more inquisitive minds would desire to learn more about the subject just for the sake of it.

Three scholars from Stockholm University conducted an extensive study on the subject since they firmly believed in it. They trained hens to look at female faces (and cocks to gaze at male ones), then they recorded the hens' reactions. Fascinatingly, the birds overwhelmingly preferred the more appealing faces to the others, at least for them.

However, the study does discover some parallels between how people and chickens view attractiveness, so we can't conclude that it was completely useless. It implies that rather than being determined by extrinsic elements like face symmetry, our perception of attractiveness is determined by innate responses in our neural system. It would be a fascinating argument to make, but only if it weren't based on a study that involved only a handful of chickens and, perhaps, 14 people.