Vitor H. B. Ferreira
@vitorhbf.bsky.social
PhD in Animal Behavior and Cognition. 🇧🇷 Researcher at INRAE 🇫🇷 and CEB team (Cognition, Ethology and Animal Welfare) 🐣🐥🐓🐤🐔
So happy to be part of this! Probably the most complete review so far on free-range chicken behavior and welfare 🐓. A must-read if you want to see how the field started, where we are now, and what’s next!
It took almost a year to write this review on causes and consequences of ranging in chicken 🐔! This was a huge collaborative effort by @ecobird.bsky.social @pec-exeter.bsky.social and @vitorhbf.bsky.social ! I am very proud of the outcome. You can check out the preprint here: doi.org/10.32942/X22...
Understanding individual range use in free-range chickens - a systematic review
doi.org
October 31, 2025 at 9:41 AM
So happy to be part of this! Probably the most complete review so far on free-range chicken behavior and welfare 🐓. A must-read if you want to see how the field started, where we are now, and what’s next!
Leaving Utrecht after my first #ISAE — what a great experience! Amazing people, science, and even karaoke in front of a passionate crowd of animal behaviour & welfare researchers. And to top it off, my PhD student won Best Poster out of 300! 10/10, would recommend! ☺️ #ISAE2025
August 9, 2025 at 7:44 AM
Reposted by Vitor H. B. Ferreira
August 7, 2025 at 9:58 AM
🎉 First paper as last author & PhD supervisor! Congrats to Jeanne Seressia and the team 👏
🐤Do more sociable quail sync better?
✅ Yes — those selected for high social motivation often rested together. Social cohesion or social buffering?
More studies to come!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
🐤Do more sociable quail sync better?
✅ Yes — those selected for high social motivation often rested together. Social cohesion or social buffering?
More studies to come!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Effects of selection for divergent levels of social motivation on behavioral repertoire and synchronization in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica)
Behavioral synchronization occurs when individuals perform the same behavior simultaneously and in close proximity. It is widely recognized as a key m…
www.sciencedirect.com
July 21, 2025 at 10:23 AM
🎉 First paper as last author & PhD supervisor! Congrats to Jeanne Seressia and the team 👏
🐤Do more sociable quail sync better?
✅ Yes — those selected for high social motivation often rested together. Social cohesion or social buffering?
More studies to come!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
🐤Do more sociable quail sync better?
✅ Yes — those selected for high social motivation often rested together. Social cohesion or social buffering?
More studies to come!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Our most recent paper is being featured on our institute’s website — in French only! 🐔
www.inrae.fr/actualites/p...
www.inrae.fr/actualites/p...
Les poules peuvent-elles percevoir les humains de manière positive ?
Et si les poules pouvaient, elles aussi, trouver du réconfort auprès des humains, comme les chiens ou les moutons ? Une étude récente montre que certaines interactions avec les humains apaisent les poules et améliorent leur bien-être. Cependant, des différences marquées sont observées selon la race et les modalités de ces interactions.
www.inrae.fr
July 8, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Our most recent paper is being featured on our institute’s website — in French only! 🐔
www.inrae.fr/actualites/p...
www.inrae.fr/actualites/p...
🚨🎉🥳 I’m very happy to announce that after 2 failed attempts (with not-so-great projects 😅), my #ANR JCJC project CADO is funded!
More chicken science 🐔 coming.
CADO (like gift 🎁 in French) will explore how domestication & selective breeding shaped chicken minds. So excited for what’s coming next.
More chicken science 🐔 coming.
CADO (like gift 🎁 in French) will explore how domestication & selective breeding shaped chicken minds. So excited for what’s coming next.
June 27, 2025 at 3:19 PM
🚨🎉🥳 I’m very happy to announce that after 2 failed attempts (with not-so-great projects 😅), my #ANR JCJC project CADO is funded!
More chicken science 🐔 coming.
CADO (like gift 🎁 in French) will explore how domestication & selective breeding shaped chicken minds. So excited for what’s coming next.
More chicken science 🐔 coming.
CADO (like gift 🎁 in French) will explore how domestication & selective breeding shaped chicken minds. So excited for what’s coming next.
Reposted by Vitor H. B. Ferreira
What are we talking about when we're talking about "cognition"?
Terminology in this field has become confused and confusing. While writing our recent review, we tried to structure terms for our own sanity, and provide a template in a Glossary
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Terminology in this field has become confused and confusing. While writing our recent review, we tried to structure terms for our own sanity, and provide a template in a Glossary
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
June 27, 2025 at 7:43 AM
What are we talking about when we're talking about "cognition"?
Terminology in this field has become confused and confusing. While writing our recent review, we tried to structure terms for our own sanity, and provide a template in a Glossary
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Terminology in this field has become confused and confusing. While writing our recent review, we tried to structure terms for our own sanity, and provide a template in a Glossary
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
What if chickens are actually paying attention to us? 👀🐔
They recognize individual humans, react to our gaze, voice & gestures, learn by watching us & may even be reassured by our presence 💛.
Why does it matter? Find out in our new (preprint) review 👉 www.researchgate.net/publication/...
They recognize individual humans, react to our gaze, voice & gestures, learn by watching us & may even be reassured by our presence 💛.
Why does it matter? Find out in our new (preprint) review 👉 www.researchgate.net/publication/...
(PDF) How do domestic chickens perceive humans - and why does it matter?
PDF | Despite their ubiquity in agricultural systems, domestic chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) remain widely misunderstood in terms of their... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on R...
www.researchgate.net
June 25, 2025 at 2:36 PM
What if chickens are actually paying attention to us? 👀🐔
They recognize individual humans, react to our gaze, voice & gestures, learn by watching us & may even be reassured by our presence 💛.
Why does it matter? Find out in our new (preprint) review 👉 www.researchgate.net/publication/...
They recognize individual humans, react to our gaze, voice & gestures, learn by watching us & may even be reassured by our presence 💛.
Why does it matter? Find out in our new (preprint) review 👉 www.researchgate.net/publication/...
Quail paper? Resubmitted. Literature review of the chicken-human relationship? Submitted. Anxiety? Increasing rapidly as I await news on whether or not my project will be funded. 😱😱😱😱
June 24, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Quail paper? Resubmitted. Literature review of the chicken-human relationship? Submitted. Anxiety? Increasing rapidly as I await news on whether or not my project will be funded. 😱😱😱😱
Three exciting days ahead, with the very best of French research in animal behavior! #SFECA2025
June 11, 2025 at 7:15 AM
Three exciting days ahead, with the very best of French research in animal behavior! #SFECA2025
Had a scientific blast in Sweden!
First, the PhD defense of now Dr Johanna Gjøen 🎓
Then the Animal Welfare Symposium,
where I presented our work on human–chicken interactions 🐔 👨🏻👩🏻
So many great people and conversations.
Now taking a few days to enjoy the holidays in beautiful Stockholm 🇸🇪✨
First, the PhD defense of now Dr Johanna Gjøen 🎓
Then the Animal Welfare Symposium,
where I presented our work on human–chicken interactions 🐔 👨🏻👩🏻
So many great people and conversations.
Now taking a few days to enjoy the holidays in beautiful Stockholm 🇸🇪✨
May 28, 2025 at 6:28 AM
Had a scientific blast in Sweden!
First, the PhD defense of now Dr Johanna Gjøen 🎓
Then the Animal Welfare Symposium,
where I presented our work on human–chicken interactions 🐔 👨🏻👩🏻
So many great people and conversations.
Now taking a few days to enjoy the holidays in beautiful Stockholm 🇸🇪✨
First, the PhD defense of now Dr Johanna Gjøen 🎓
Then the Animal Welfare Symposium,
where I presented our work on human–chicken interactions 🐔 👨🏻👩🏻
So many great people and conversations.
Now taking a few days to enjoy the holidays in beautiful Stockholm 🇸🇪✨
Thanks to the @ecobird.bsky.social
team for the warm welcome these past two days! I really enjoyed sharing ideas, learning about their work on chickens and quail, and having great conversations. Hoping for fruitful collaborations in the future! @katywillcox.bsky.social @birgitszabo.bsky.social
team for the warm welcome these past two days! I really enjoyed sharing ideas, learning about their work on chickens and quail, and having great conversations. Hoping for fruitful collaborations in the future! @katywillcox.bsky.social @birgitszabo.bsky.social
April 30, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Thanks to the @ecobird.bsky.social
team for the warm welcome these past two days! I really enjoyed sharing ideas, learning about their work on chickens and quail, and having great conversations. Hoping for fruitful collaborations in the future! @katywillcox.bsky.social @birgitszabo.bsky.social
team for the warm welcome these past two days! I really enjoyed sharing ideas, learning about their work on chickens and quail, and having great conversations. Hoping for fruitful collaborations in the future! @katywillcox.bsky.social @birgitszabo.bsky.social
Just out! 🐣 Our recent study suggests chickens can see humans as a safe haven. Birds that received gentle handling stayed calmer in stressful situations when a familiar person was present. 💛 #animalbehavior #humananimalrelationship #chickencognition
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Chickens perceive humans as social buffers and may follow human-given cues: A pilot study
Positive perception of humans, extensively documented in domestic mammals, remains comparatively underexplored in domestic birds like chickens, with e…
www.sciencedirect.com
April 23, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Just out! 🐣 Our recent study suggests chickens can see humans as a safe haven. Birds that received gentle handling stayed calmer in stressful situations when a familiar person was present. 💛 #animalbehavior #humananimalrelationship #chickencognition
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Our human-chicken relationship paper has just been accepted! 🥳🐓🐥🐣
More to come in the next months ! 🤞🏽
More to come in the next months ! 🤞🏽
April 22, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Our human-chicken relationship paper has just been accepted! 🥳🐓🐥🐣
More to come in the next months ! 🤞🏽
More to come in the next months ! 🤞🏽
Just submitted a new manuscript on the chicken-human relationship! 🐓Spoiler: Investigating whether humans can act as social buffers for chickens in stressful situations. It’s been a while since my last submission—missed this feeling! Hopefully, more to come on this topic in the future.
January 30, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Just submitted a new manuscript on the chicken-human relationship! 🐓Spoiler: Investigating whether humans can act as social buffers for chickens in stressful situations. It’s been a while since my last submission—missed this feeling! Hopefully, more to come on this topic in the future.
Reposted by Vitor H. B. Ferreira
Expanding perspectives and understanding relational potential: Are mutually beneficial human-animal relationships compatible with current animal agricultural practices?
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Expanding perspectives and understanding relational potential: Are mutually beneficial human-animal relationships compatible with current animal agricultural practices? | Animal Welfare | Cambridge Co...
Expanding perspectives and understanding relational potential: Are mutually beneficial human-animal relationships compatible with current animal agricultural practices? - Volume 33
www.cambridge.org
December 23, 2024 at 1:18 PM
Expanding perspectives and understanding relational potential: Are mutually beneficial human-animal relationships compatible with current animal agricultural practices?
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Had a great time at #ASABwinter2024! Bonus points for spending the weekend soaking in the Christmas charm of beautiful Edinburgh 🎄✨ Now back to France to tackle the final week before the holidays. Almost there!
December 16, 2024 at 8:51 PM
Had a great time at #ASABwinter2024! Bonus points for spending the weekend soaking in the Christmas charm of beautiful Edinburgh 🎄✨ Now back to France to tackle the final week before the holidays. Almost there!
Edinburgh, we are coming! #ASABwinter2024
December 11, 2024 at 12:12 PM
Edinburgh, we are coming! #ASABwinter2024
Reposted by Vitor H. B. Ferreira
Want to make beautiful scientific figures? Easy!
The NIH released a library of 2000+ free scientific illustrations called *BioArt*.
Check it out! bioart.niaid.nih.gov
#AcademicSky #PsychSciSky 🧠🟦 🧪
The NIH released a library of 2000+ free scientific illustrations called *BioArt*.
Check it out! bioart.niaid.nih.gov
#AcademicSky #PsychSciSky 🧠🟦 🧪
October 30, 2024 at 9:45 AM
Want to make beautiful scientific figures? Easy!
The NIH released a library of 2000+ free scientific illustrations called *BioArt*.
Check it out! bioart.niaid.nih.gov
#AcademicSky #PsychSciSky 🧠🟦 🧪
The NIH released a library of 2000+ free scientific illustrations called *BioArt*.
Check it out! bioart.niaid.nih.gov
#AcademicSky #PsychSciSky 🧠🟦 🧪
Reposted by Vitor H. B. Ferreira
Still finding it hard to reconnect with everyone from Twitter (X) so here’s an attempt at finding all animal behaviourists, ethologists, behavioural ecologists etc, working with animal behaviour. Just pop a comment and I’ll add you to the list - let’s reconnect 😃
#appliedethology
go.bsky.app/8oJ3A8E
#appliedethology
go.bsky.app/8oJ3A8E
November 26, 2024 at 7:10 PM
Still finding it hard to reconnect with everyone from Twitter (X) so here’s an attempt at finding all animal behaviourists, ethologists, behavioural ecologists etc, working with animal behaviour. Just pop a comment and I’ll add you to the list - let’s reconnect 😃
#appliedethology
go.bsky.app/8oJ3A8E
#appliedethology
go.bsky.app/8oJ3A8E
Reposted by Vitor H. B. Ferreira
I wrote (ranted) on experimental design as I was frustrated as an editor at how little guidance students were getting. I underestimated the interest in the issue: it has been downloaded 10,000+ times! Clearly it’s something we need to be talking about more. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Principles of experimental design for ecology and evolution
Here I argue that we do not discuss experimental design, often until it is too late. This editorial seeks to begin a conversation about how and where to replicate appropriately.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 7, 2024 at 9:24 PM
I wrote (ranted) on experimental design as I was frustrated as an editor at how little guidance students were getting. I underestimated the interest in the issue: it has been downloaded 10,000+ times! Clearly it’s something we need to be talking about more. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....