They run slightly hotter than us. Like their breath is a bit hot. I look up the exact temp when they get ill but I can’t get it to stick in my head.
btw chickens are so fun. They’re social animals so they’re pretty smart, have complex dynamics between each other, and once they get used to you are really interactive. They’re kinda like cows on many aspects.
Yes, I actually know that, and how hard it is to spot health concerns with them.
I wish I could one day have chickens.
Chickens are cool, they have super interesting chicken politics, are basically somehow intrinsically funny most of the time, and they provide free butt nuggets as an extra bonus.
Huh, first time I’ve heard the cow & chicken (great cn show too) reference in the wild - I also have that exact association, initially bcs of how they can decide to socially bully someone for some teenage reason (so even without physical abuse they just stop taking to or don’t look at someone & don’t let them in the circle, those little fucks).
Yeah, often it’s too late when we notice. Prey instincts and all…
We had an adorable black tipped hen that got bit (probably by a fox, it was the season). I noticed that she was acting a bit sluggish. The wound had gotten infected and about half her abdomen had rotten. I put her out of her misery.
Chickens are a bit worse than cows regarding bullying. They peck at each other, especially if there’s already a wound. It can get serious enough that you have to separate the affected chicken and reintroduce them slowly with the others.
For me the hardest moment is when they get really sick and I have to weight their odds of survival against their present pain.
I’ve never had chickens that couldn’t be reintroduced together yet. I know it happens though.
My trick is to put a fence in their enclosure so they can’t actively try to kill the wounded one but still interact. Because if you keep them apart for too long they might end up deciding that they don’t know each other anymore and not accept the hen back. Plus if the separated one feels too lonely it might end up refusing to eat and letting itself die on the spot.
As a fun side fact, we always picture a coop as a rooster managing his hens but it’s not really the case. While the rooster has some power in the group, it is usually shared with the oldest/biggest hen.
And the shifting of power between chickens of same age/breed (and sex, if you manage to get all chicks) is interesting.
I would also experiment how different fashion/look accessories affect the politics - like t-rex arms, or little vests, fancy collars, etc.
Yeah, prob easier with cows or even street dogs, but still - will the red ribbon one be a feared outcast, the next leader, or just pecked?
We’ve only got 1 rooster atm so I can’t really say about their dynamics. I’ll soon know more because we kept a cockerel. He’s just getting his comb.
Our old rooster was a tyrant. He was huge and had mean ergots. We often had to bash him pretty hard on the head for him to stop attacking us whenever we got out in the garden. He was delicious though.
Our current one is way smaller, less territorial, and tbh quite scaredy. He mostly follows his favourite hen around.
We’ve got a few different breeds. Each time we got them by pairs so they would have someone they already knew when we introduced them to each others. They’re all on the bigger end so no specific size disparities.
They mostly get along really well. They tend to stick with their sibling more than with the others. Up to a point than some got really depressed when the other died. They’ll still eat the corpse if it looks ok though. ^^`
They also seem to have more similar characters in given breed. Faverolles are the most curious. Brahmas are more fearful (and they run like humans wearing big old timey skirts, it’s so cute). But there might be some differences cause by them growing in different places, etc. I’ll know more when the little ones grow up. They way more cuddly and approachable since we’ve known them from birth.
The rooster’s favourite hen is not necessarily the top hen. He’s the only one to treat her differently. He specifically shows her the best food and follows her a lot. Sometimes he even shoos away the other hens when he gives her something tasty. He also mates more with her which is an issue in late spring when his hormones get a bit out of whack.
There’s currently a bit of a power vacuum amongst the hens because our oldest hen died recently and she was the boss (old age and leg arthritis).
I found out that hen relationships are way less patriarchal than I thought at first. Everyone usually follows the lead hen. Sometimes hens will even get noticeably annoyed by a rooster and peck him away.
The chicks usually follow the more motherly hens but everyone tends at least a bit to them. Because yes, some hens will cover eggs and take care of the youngs while others not so much.
I like that last idea and will do some experiments. I’ve already noticed that they could recognize their reflections and use it to clean themselves. They’re so smart.
Chickens are so cool, thank you very much for entertaining me with this, I found it all very interesting - and might even be a bit closer to getting some birbs.
And yeah, chickens will eat anything if it looks/might potentially be appetising.
I wasn’t actually under the impression they were patriarchal at all … if anything I though that they don’t need that much solid/stable gov stricture (coop level I mean, not bonded pairs) that it’s just fluid.
I also didn’t know about their romantic love being that exclusive. How sweet.
I’m French and in the zeitgeist the rooster is more important than he actually is. With it being the national animal and shit.
Yeah their organisation is kinda fluid but there are still some power struggles. And it can get ugly really fast.
For example, if a chicken gets wounded, sometimes the others will peck at the wound. In less than a day it can go from a small sore caused by a pin feather to an open wound requiring urgent care and deploying the chicken wire Berlin Wall.
It doesn’t help that the sneaky little buggers will hide when they’re sick or injured. Both because they’re prey animals and because they’re little asshole dinosaurs. Before I got more used to it, they were half dead when I noticed something was off. It still happens from time to time but less often. They’ll even “pretend eating” by pecking at the ground to fool you and the others when something causes too much discomfort.
You have to feel their crops by hand to be absolutely sure that they’re not casually dying of hunger when sick.
I raise chickens, that’s how I know :p
They run slightly hotter than us. Like their breath is a bit hot. I look up the exact temp when they get ill but I can’t get it to stick in my head.
btw chickens are so fun. They’re social animals so they’re pretty smart, have complex dynamics between each other, and once they get used to you are really interactive. They’re kinda like cows on many aspects.
Yes, I actually know that, and how hard it is to spot health concerns with them.
I wish I could one day have chickens.
Chickens are cool, they have super interesting chicken politics, are basically somehow intrinsically funny most of the time, and they provide free butt nuggets as an extra bonus.
Huh, first time I’ve heard the cow & chicken (great cn show too) reference in the wild - I also have that exact association, initially bcs of how they can decide to socially bully someone for some teenage reason (so even without physical abuse they just stop taking to or don’t look at someone & don’t let them in the circle, those little fucks).
Yeah, often it’s too late when we notice. Prey instincts and all…
We had an adorable black tipped hen that got bit (probably by a fox, it was the season). I noticed that she was acting a bit sluggish. The wound had gotten infected and about half her abdomen had rotten. I put her out of her misery.
Chickens are a bit worse than cows regarding bullying. They peck at each other, especially if there’s already a wound. It can get serious enough that you have to separate the affected chicken and reintroduce them slowly with the others.
Pets are great, but at the cost of bittersweet sadness.
Also chicken segregation until they manage to get a treaty (if they ever do) is also funny.
Yeah, it never gets easier.
For me the hardest moment is when they get really sick and I have to weight their odds of survival against their present pain.
I’ve never had chickens that couldn’t be reintroduced together yet. I know it happens though.
My trick is to put a fence in their enclosure so they can’t actively try to kill the wounded one but still interact. Because if you keep them apart for too long they might end up deciding that they don’t know each other anymore and not accept the hen back. Plus if the separated one feels too lonely it might end up refusing to eat and letting itself die on the spot.
As a fun side fact, we always picture a coop as a rooster managing his hens but it’s not really the case. While the rooster has some power in the group, it is usually shared with the oldest/biggest hen.
Yes, segregation by chicken wire fence!
And the shifting of power between chickens of same age/breed (and sex, if you manage to get all chicks) is interesting.
I would also experiment how different fashion/look accessories affect the politics - like t-rex arms, or little vests, fancy collars, etc.
Yeah, prob easier with cows or even street dogs, but still - will the red ribbon one be a feared outcast, the next leader, or just pecked?
We’ve only got 1 rooster atm so I can’t really say about their dynamics. I’ll soon know more because we kept a cockerel. He’s just getting his comb.
Our old rooster was a tyrant. He was huge and had mean ergots. We often had to bash him pretty hard on the head for him to stop attacking us whenever we got out in the garden. He was delicious though.
Our current one is way smaller, less territorial, and tbh quite scaredy. He mostly follows his favourite hen around.
We’ve got a few different breeds. Each time we got them by pairs so they would have someone they already knew when we introduced them to each others. They’re all on the bigger end so no specific size disparities.
They mostly get along really well. They tend to stick with their sibling more than with the others. Up to a point than some got really depressed when the other died. They’ll still eat the corpse if it looks ok though. ^^`
They also seem to have more similar characters in given breed. Faverolles are the most curious. Brahmas are more fearful (and they run like humans wearing big old timey skirts, it’s so cute). But there might be some differences cause by them growing in different places, etc. I’ll know more when the little ones grow up. They way more cuddly and approachable since we’ve known them from birth.
The rooster’s favourite hen is not necessarily the top hen. He’s the only one to treat her differently. He specifically shows her the best food and follows her a lot. Sometimes he even shoos away the other hens when he gives her something tasty. He also mates more with her which is an issue in late spring when his hormones get a bit out of whack.
There’s currently a bit of a power vacuum amongst the hens because our oldest hen died recently and she was the boss (old age and leg arthritis).
I found out that hen relationships are way less patriarchal than I thought at first. Everyone usually follows the lead hen. Sometimes hens will even get noticeably annoyed by a rooster and peck him away.
The chicks usually follow the more motherly hens but everyone tends at least a bit to them. Because yes, some hens will cover eggs and take care of the youngs while others not so much.
I like that last idea and will do some experiments. I’ve already noticed that they could recognize their reflections and use it to clean themselves. They’re so smart.
Chickens are so cool, thank you very much for entertaining me with this, I found it all very interesting - and might even be a bit closer to getting some birbs.
And yeah, chickens will eat anything if it looks/might potentially be appetising.
I wasn’t actually under the impression they were patriarchal at all … if anything I though that they don’t need that much solid/stable gov stricture (coop level I mean, not bonded pairs) that it’s just fluid.
I also didn’t know about their romantic love being that exclusive. How sweet.
What birbs would you be getting?
I’m French and in the zeitgeist the rooster is more important than he actually is. With it being the national animal and shit.
Yeah their organisation is kinda fluid but there are still some power struggles. And it can get ugly really fast.
For example, if a chicken gets wounded, sometimes the others will peck at the wound. In less than a day it can go from a small sore caused by a pin feather to an open wound requiring urgent care and deploying the chicken wire Berlin Wall.
It doesn’t help that the sneaky little buggers will hide when they’re sick or injured. Both because they’re prey animals and because they’re little asshole dinosaurs. Before I got more used to it, they were half dead when I noticed something was off. It still happens from time to time but less often. They’ll even “pretend eating” by pecking at the ground to fool you and the others when something causes too much discomfort.
You have to feel their crops by hand to be absolutely sure that they’re not casually dying of hunger when sick.