Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Shadrach]

A propos the discussion about reversion to wild type in domestic chickens, I found this, which some may find interesting (though the graphics and their annotations are below the standard I'd expect of this journal): https://www.nature.com/articles/529270a

Free eggs. Free meat and people are complaining. At least if they come on your property your allowed to eat it.
I've got a study on the changes to the domestic chickens brain somewhere. These are physical changes that the study suggest may be resonsible for behavioural changes.

 

[RoyalChick]

A propos the discussion about reversion to wild type in domestic chickens, I found this, which some may find interesting (though the graphics and their annotations are below the standard I'd expect of this journal): https://www.nature.com/articles/529270a

The first photo of the rooster running is pretty good though!

 

[Perris]

The first photo of the rooster running is pretty good though!

oh yes - the photos are great. It's the drawings I find wanting, specifically, this one

a month old modern meaty does not look like this 'domestic chicken'. It looks like this

 

[Perris]

physical changes that the study suggest may be resonsible for behavioural changes

or vice versa? use it or lose it? The caeca on free ranging chickens are bigger than those fed exclusively on homogenized feed, because the former have to deal with more fibre in the diet (and presumably have larger microbiomes too).

 

[Shadrach]

well it is valid for my flock. If I had more land I could experiment, but 30 is definitely the limit for my quantity of grass. Perhaps someone else with a larger flock will chime in...?

Hang on. The thing I think wrong from what I've read is that Jungle Fowl live in groups of 30 and then hive off.
I know from my own experiences that one can have a multi generational group with males and females. That group can be larger than the Jungle Fowls norm where the offspring leave/get driven out by the hen. It's the hen that takes the blame it seems because in most cases, the cock leaves the hen before the offspring reach full maturity and goes and finds another egg laying hen to further his genes with.

For example.

Domestic chickens gone feral have different behaviours, as can backyard groups. There are many reasons for these changes. Given the majority of domestic chickens gone feral are likely to have a massive disproportionate ratio of males to femals (more females) the competeion for femals betweeen the males is minimal. Eventually the statistical hatch rato will establish itself 50%-50%. Jungle fowl have had centuries to achieve this.
Next the populations of the feral groups is usually contained in a comparatively small area. Jungle fowl have, well jungles to claim with chickens they've not even met before.
Then there is the reasonably well established courting behaviour and nest finding behaviour. Each hen a rooster has is going to want their rooster to do these things. A single rooster just can't manage it for say ten hens. He can only be in one place at one time. One wouldn't notice in a confined group but when the rooster is traveling hundreds of yards/metres from group to nests 3 or maybe 4 hens is him flat out.
What I've seen in the domestic multi generational group is the junior roosters and cockerels taking on some of the duties of the senior rooster. It still points to to a capacity limit for each rooster.

 

[Shadrach]

I'm wondering if they will ever turn red. It's late October, and we'll be down in the high 30s/low 40s soon.

Not many of mine rippened. I did plant late and not in the ideal place.

 

[no fly zone]

Not many of mine rippened. I did plant late and not in the ideal place.

This one just started growing randomly in the yard. I assume some animal or other pooped out a tomato seed.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Not many of mine rippened. I did plant late and not in the ideal place.

If they do not ripen you can always fry them.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good afternoon one and all!

Tea is ready.

Temperature is in the 70s mostly cloudy.

Have a great day!

 

[Perris]

live in groups of 30 and then hive off.

I don't think I said that (and if I did, apologies for sloppy language) and Nicol doesn't either; it's *up to* 30; 30 as about top limit, not 30 as target.

In terms of differences between backyard flocks and jungle fowl, I imagine there are quite a lot. But I can speak from experience about the former, while I've not been impressed with what little I've read about the latter. And this is a forum about the former, not the latter, so I imagine generalizations based on backyard chickens is more relevant to most of us than those based on jungle fowl. So some of it is just moot really.

In terms of hen : roo ratios, I'm sure you're right. But a flock is not like a nuclear human family. Even in the photo (and I'm not at all sure what it is supposed to be exemplifying) there are at least 2 mature and 1 immature roos; my flock has 4 mature and 2 immature roos. Flock size probably correlates with number of roos, but a flock is not defined by a roo.

Am I missing something?