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Chickens Prefer Foxes: Scientists Find Poultry Favor Good-Looking People

Just in case your New Year’s resolution has not already put you on the defensive . . .  now we are being judged by the chickens. There is an interesting article in National Geographic with some surprising facts about chickens including that chickens favor good looking people over not good looking people.  While it is unlikely that the the idea of fat-shaming poultry will get vegans to change their dietary preferences, it does raise the rather provocative idea of looks being a bona fide occupational criteria.  Could Perdue join Hooters in looking for good-looking employees?  Ok, probably not.
 
There are some other surprising facts in the article.
 
First, hens are “photo-stimulated,” requiring light to produce eggs.
 
Second, hens do not need roosters to lay eggs. They are only needed for eggs that produce chicks.
 
Third, and this one is really wild, the color of chicken eggs coincides with the color of the birds’ earlobes. Thus, white earlobed chickens often make white eggshells while red earlobed chicken produce . . . no not red eggs (which would be really cool) . . . brown eggs.
 
 
However the most surprising fact was this: “A 2002 paper found that chickens have the same preference for certain human faces as do humans, ‘keying in on things like symmetry’ in features—one of the subconscious measures of attractiveness.”
 
Studies showed that chicken responded more to symmetrical faces often associated with better looks.
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Heat Stress Killing Profits? - Dr. Jeff Hansen

Video: Heat Stress Killing Profits? - Dr. Jeff Hansen

In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Jeff Hansen from Elanco shares practical strategies to reduce heat stress in grow-finish pigs. He discusses how rising temperatures affect feed intake, growth, and carcass quality, and explains how nutritional tools, such as Skycis, and environmental adjustments can help maintain performance during high-stress periods.

Listen now on all major platforms! "Technologies that reduce heat or metabolic stress in pigs deliver the greatest value during summer, when growth is challenged and profit potential is highest.

" Meet the guest: Dr. Jeffrey Hansen / jeff-hansen-00b72322 is a Swine Technical Consultant at Elanco Animal Health. He holds a Ph.D. in Swine Nutrition from Kansas State University, along with degrees in Animal Science and Nutrition from Texas A&M University. With a passion for pork fat quality, feed management, and production efficiency, Dr. Hansen brings decades of swine nutrition and technical expertise to the industry.