What about chickens?

[DanieMarie]

Re: What about chickens?

Watched something on History about what happens if WE humans go extinct. It showed that our dogs that were bred to be just cute would most likely be eaten by REAL dogs,that still had the ability to be hunters. Cats would probably have little problem going back to nature.

That sounds believable. There are large feral cat populations in most cities and they live on. As long as there are rodents, fish, small birds, and insects, cats survive. I think it's because they weren't really bred to be companion animals (originally, anyway). They were bred to kill off rats. If you watch them, most of their "play" is just hunting and "killing."

[Roknrol]

Re: What about chickens?

Good answers

I also have to question how much chicken stupidity is a part of being raised in captivity for food. How many generations of "wild" chickens would it take before their equivalent of IQ was larger than their respective number of beaks? I imagine that would be quite a deciding factor too - crows (arguably the smartest bird) have been fighting the Japanese for years...and they're winning. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/07/wo...anted=all&_r=0 (this is actually an older article than what I had been looking for...the battle has since evolved, from what I'm given to understand - and the humans are still losing ground).

Now, if as you say, we just decided one day to dispense with the exploitation of chickens, we would end up releasing something like...well...obviously I don't have the exact numbers, but considering the typical growth and the process of slaughtering chickens in the US, (I use the US mainly because I live here and it makes the numbers more manageable...I also don't know how popular chicken is in other countries, and we shouldn't assume the rest of the world eats as much as the US. that being said, the US is probably the location with the highest number of chickens, and since we have all 7 of the geographic types in this country chickens would likely have a better chance of survival here than elsewhere anyway)...erp...ok...time for sloppy math.

Wolframalpha (http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i...+poultry+death ) guesses at about 2.08 BILLION chickens...in 2009. Not counting eggs, and assuming that our altruistic motives would at least release them (with their eggs) rather than just slaughtering what's in captivity...

...them's a whole lot of really good odds. Pretty great odds, actually, that at least some of them will be able to carry on the line and evolve to suit their environment.

Will there be room in that environment for them? Who knows? We've screwed up the predatory chain so much in the US (like Longhorns and buffalo) that at this point it really is anyone's guess as to what will come out on top. (as mentioned before, I *also* watched the speculative documentaries on life after people )

I like to think that life will find a way...by some means, that they will (left to themselves) survive. They may not be chickens in the long run, but they didn't start as chickens either.

[Historyforall]

Re: What about chickens?

Nice topic.

Everything can learn to adapt. As an example Hawaii has wild chickens and roosters running freely and much to the locals thrill there always seems to be more even when they catch and eat them.

There are other areas off the coast of Georgia that used to be old plantations and still have chickens running wild 100+ years later.

Chickens are also really good at fertilizing and eating bugs around gardens if left to roam freely. So they would still play a role in human society.

In Virginia,at least, the turkey absolutely makes their nests in trees and it can scare the crap out of you when they go swooshing overhead on account of they make a lot of noise.

[Rhaethe]

Re: What about chickens?

I love this thread ... more later after sleeps

[B. de Corbin]

Re: What about chickens?

I also have to question how much chicken stupidity is a part of being raised in captivity for food. How many generations of "wild" chickens would it take before their equivalent of IQ was larger than their respective number of beaks?

Chicken stoopidity is a good question. It varies between breeds.

"Meat birds" are specifically bred to be eating machines. Eat and poop is about the extent of their smarts. In fact, they eat and grow so fast that they will commonly have broken legs because they get fat & heavy faster than their legs grow to support them. If you've ever bought a package of chicken legs, you may have noticed that some are broken. This is why.

These birds are very uninteresting because they have little behavior that even seems natural. They are also (IMHO) just gross.

The older breeds, which were common when people kept chickens in their yards and allowed then to largely free range, like Rhode Island Reds, are much brighter, as farm fowl go, and more entertaining to watch, or as pets.

Fancy chickens (show birds) vary...

[Heka]

Im still thinking about the jungle fowl that look like chickens. if they survive in the junglez why cant chooks? Hmm

[B. de Corbin]

Re: What about chickens?

Im still thinking about the jungle fowl that look like chickens. if they survive in the junglez why cant chooks? Hmm

Looks can be deceiving.

For example, Rouen ducks (a common farm breed) look almost exactly like Mallards (wild species), but they can't fly.

[Heka]

Looks can be deceiving.

For example, Rouen ducks (a common farm breed) look almost exactly like Mallards (wild species), but they can't fly.

But I'm going to give them a shot. Chickens are funny.

[Luce]

Re: What about chickens?

Thought question for today.

This one has no correct answer - feel free to speculate!

If everybody on earth became vegan and had no desire for meat or any animal products, what would happen to chickens?

(Note: Chickens can not survive in the wild - they are a human created species)

Same thing that would happen to cows and sheep. They'd be extinct by next Tuesday, even if we didn't kill them off. We've spent 8000 years or so breeding them to be stupid and docile.

[Rae'ya]

Re: What about chickens?

Erm... there are already chickens living in the wild. There are a number of established feral chicken populations in the world, some of which have to be actively culled in order to keep them under control (presumably because the natural predators aren't doing a good enough job at controlling the populations). I certainly don't believe that chickens would die out within a few generations (a number of breeds would, but chickens as a species? No.) The flock of chooks I had when I was growing up were quiet capable of avoiding the cat, feeding themselves and even survived foxes getting into the chookpen (because our chookpen was large enough to allow them to actually fly and perch above ground).

Certain breeds of chook CAN fly, pretty much as well as jungle fowl (which have been surviving on their own for a very, very long time). When I say 'fly' I mean over fences, into trees, and horizontally far enough across the yard to make them damn hard to catch. Most species of jungle fowl don't fly any more than that. The reason that so many domestic chooks die from predation is that we've locked them up in chookpens so small that they have no escape when the foxes get in. Their natural defense against predation is escape, which is the same defense against predation that things like jungle fowl and guinea fowl rely on. Domestic chickens rarely survive predation because they are usually kept in small flocks and are locked in chookpens that don't allow them to use their natural defense. That's not the same as having no natural defense.

Incidentally, I also don't think that cattle, sheep or dogs would die out without humans. There are healthy and self-sustaining feral populations of these species too. They are not entirely dependents on us. Sorry, but the existence of humans is just not that essential to the continuity of most animals.

[Denarius]

Re: What about chickens?

I'm sorry, but I love the word chook. It sounds so much like it would be a great insult or a horrible slur.

[Rae'ya]

Re: What about chickens?

I'm sorry, but I love the word chook. It sounds so much like it would be a great insult or a horrible slur.

Actually, when applied to a person it's an affectionate nickname. Disappointing... I know.

[B. de Corbin]

Re: What about chickens?

So for chickens, it may depend on the breed, then.

I doubt cattle would die out, domestic sheep... Hmmm... They'd have to relocate their wild.

I know pigs revert to bores quickly....

Goats would have no problem, at all....

[thalassa]

Re: What about chickens?

So for chickens, it may depend on the breed, then.

I doubt cattle would die out, domestic sheep... Hmmm... They'd have to relocate their wild.

I know pigs revert to bores quickly....

Goats would have no problem, at all....

Dairy cows though, I think might have some issues.

[anunitu]

Re: What about chickens?

With Cows and also chickens there is the "Hormone" issue. and the anti-biotic thing. I don't know how those alterations would effect their ability to survive. In many ways our "Meat" is altered quite a bit,and also they "Might" be effected by being kinda dependent on "Altered" cow and pig and chicken feed. Might that effect their ability to digest "Wild" food.??

Just wondering here..Not an expert on animal metabolism..