A Bird and Her Tree

What is that called when you place human emotions on animals?
I want my pets to be able to look up at me and see a recognizable face and think to herself, I have a face, she has a face.  This will hopefully make her more likely to identify with me, and not feel weird.  But most of the time, when I'm dealing with my little feathered friends the chickens, all they probably see is a big hand reaching towards them and what must that look like to them?  Definitely not a mother, guardian or fellow bird.  More like an alien spaceship or a predatory starfish. It's hard to separate that human emotion of looking at something living and looking  for a face.  But even robotic chickens seem to know to look at your face, the eyes must have a draw.
But my best comparison that I've decided is an acceptable place to be in the eyes of my pet chickens is that I am nothing more than their friendly tree.  This approach to a relationship has proved successful in understanding their behaviors around me.

Mainly they want to get as far elevated as possible and my arms are such convincing branches.  They get their vertical high, and I get my projection of human emotion that they've befriended me.
My chickens may be little feathered robots, but I've found a way into their programming and can enjoy the illusion of friendship while they malfunction and randomize.