Chicken Domestication

Domestic chickens. Per Jensen, with permission.

How did selective breeding by ancient humans change the timid, rainforest-dwelling junglefowl into today’s domesticated chicken? In a recent study, researchers from Linköping University in Sweden bred wild junglefowl with the least fear of humans for ten generations, ending up with smaller-brained birds more tolerant of potentially frightening stimuli. The results show how the process of domestication may shape the brains and behavior of chickens and other animals that live among humans.

Read my latest Animal Minds blog post: Domestication Made Smaller-Brained, Less Fearful Chickens.