this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2023
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[–] CurlyMoustache@lemmy.world 95 points 1 year ago (7 children)

I've kept chickens. They do not understand the family concept. Roosters will happily rape their siblings or their mothers, and hens will enforce a gruelling pecking order even if it means someone dies of hunger/beatings 😒

[–] Macaroni_ninja@lemmy.world 17 points 1 year ago (4 children)

I wonder if they would do the same free in the nature. Locked together in tight spaces and restricted freedom will change the behaviour of every creature.

[–] CurlyMoustache@lemmy.world 34 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

This is the default behaviour for chickens. I can't think of any chicken like creatures that exists in the wild that resembles. The chickens I kept had plenty of room both inside and outside. Outside was a predator proof fence around a large area with different kinds of vegetation, bushes and wet and dry environments (I also had a couple of mallards). Inside they had running water, things to climb on to roost, and various boxes to lay and sleep in. Every week I cleaned their living quarters and threw down fresh bedding. They were not for food or for egg production. I ate and gave away the eggs they laid.

Edit: to keep the roosters from doing the dirty with close relatives, I swapped rooster with other people that kept poultry as a hobby

[–] DigitalWanderer@lemmy.world 17 points 1 year ago (2 children)

yea i do the same with mine, they roam free in the garden during the day and have a protected outdoor and indoor area so its basically a large playground for them and still the behavior you mentioned is what i see as well. also chickens in the wild? the measures i had to take to keep my chickens safe from foxes, martens, cats, dogs... is just crazy, they have zero defense capabilities so i dont know how they survived ubtill we kept them as livestock

[–] Slowy@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Chickens originated from the red jungle fowl which is a much leaner and flighted bird (as are certain breeds of chicken) We’ve made modern chickens into something that can’t survive in the wild, much like we turned wolves into pugs!

[–] CurlyMoustache@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This all reminds me I miss having chickens and ducks. One of the bad sides living in a big city for work, I guess

i love my chickens, they eat all my scraps and weeds from the garden, fertillize my garden, fresh eggs every day which i trade with neighbors for his surplus veggies or a a batch of waffles. its a nice way to live

[–] ArmokGoB@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Red junglefowl are undomesticated chickens.

[–] HikingVet@lemmy.sdf.org 0 points 1 year ago

And are far enough removed genetically that they can't interbreed.

[–] royal_starfish@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Ever heard of domestication?

[–] Thedogspaw@midwest.social 12 points 1 year ago

Chickens are a truly enlightened people

[–] ciapatri@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

PETA does often miss the mark on the way they try to make a point.

[–] Robbsen1@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] pingveno@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 year ago

More like frequently insufferable.

[–] mallocdotc@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Yep. I've seen hens scalp their own chicks because they were a different colour from the others.

[–] HiddenLayer5@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

So you consider humanity superior in morality to chickens right? Which means that you identify the horrible things they do as horrible, and deem them unacceptable and definitely shouldn't be repeated by a being of supposed higher intellect and control over one's own actions beyond simple instincts?

Seems like an even better argument against eating other animals and especially, especially industrialized factory farming if you ask me, where everything you said is still done, but by humans to the chickens.

[–] Surface_Detail@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 year ago

Big logical gaps in this argument:

The op never said they were superior morally.

Even, given the above, the op deemed chickens immoral that does not make all chickens' actions immoral. Preening, roosting and eating grain are not immoral activities.

Defining only the horrible acts as horrible is a circular argument as no definition has been provided as horrible.

Other than those three, you really stuck it to the carnist, chief.

[–] dQw4w9WgXcQ@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago

I would assume that large chicken farms would separate the mother from the chicks long before any family bond could be established. There are a lot of viable concerns about how the animals are handled and treated, but the issue of separating a family is just not one of them.

Peta is Peta'ing yet another subject.