Chickens go red in the face when agitated.
Chickens turn red in the face during moments of stress
Researchers in France have discovered that the birds 'blush' just like humans during "negative situations of high arousal".
A study saw chickens either fed some mealworms or captured by one of the experts while their faces were recorded by cameras.
The animals turned slightly red when happy but the most colour could be seen in their faces when they were agitated and flustered.
Chickens have plenty of blood vessels close to the surface of their skin in their faces so they turn bright red when the blood flow increases.
Delphine Soulet, one of the study authors at the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE), told MailOnline: "In our study we found that hens blush in positive situations of high arousal associated with reward and pleasure.
"But the highest blushing was observed in negative situations of high arousal, for example, when we caught the hens."
Soulet claims that the chickens blush in this manner as a "signalling function" to show their emotional state to other birds.