I took the photos of the chickens in the children’s zoo of Zoo Basel. The birds were sitting next to each other on a wooden bench. There, they were sheltered from wind and rain.
When I arrived, the chickens looked at me and seemed to decide that I was not a threat to them. While I took photos, they watched me and seemed to approve of what I was doing. The entire time I had the feeling that these chickens had a lot of self-confidence.
Back at home I asked a search engine about this interesting issue. This is what I learned: “Yes, chickens possess traits akin to self-confidence, demonstrating self-control, self-assessment, and self-awareness, allowing them to make decisions for future rewards, recognize themselves and others, and even display protective, confident behaviors for their flock, showing they are complex individuals with distinct personalities, not simple ‘birdbrains’.”