cluckyeschickens:

turings:

i’m…. disappointed in how uncritically people have accepted the whole “chickens are ruthless bloodthirsty creatures that will kill each other for no reason and go absolutely bonkers at the sight of blood” thing.

that’s wrong and makes no sense from an evolutionary standpoint first of all but also the only reason it’s even a sentiment is because of factory farming. and that’s not “senseless killing” or even a magical setting that turns them vicious. it only happens because that setting forces a socially complex animal that can recognise a little over 100 individuals into cramped quarters with upwards of 20.000 birds (among other equally as stressful things). i’m not saying chickens never fight amongst themselves but an established hen in an established flock isn’t going to turn to her neighbour and maul her to death, and the rest of the flock isn’t going to join in. that’s ridiculous.

similarly (and i say this as somebody who has worked with chickens missing legs, wings, and with torn open backs/chests from attacks) they will not “eat themselves to the bone” when exposed to open wounds. they may pick at the injury before/after it’s treated (some medications/gels are irritants to a bird’s thinner skin and a rooster doesn’t know what antibiotic ointment is), but that’d be like saying humans strip their flesh down to the bone when bitten by mosquitoes. it’s a reaction to something irritating/painful, and excessive picking at a wound often means it was either improperly dressed or there’s something else going on at or around it.

acceptance of “the mindless aggression of chickens” is why factory farmers get away with cutting beaktips and talons as a “””preventative””” measure. it’s why the ag business gets away with giving chickens absolutely nothing. officials will say “we can’t provide enrichment of any sort because they’ll maul themselves to death over it” while very smartly failing to mention that this only happens because chickens are flock animals that operate in flock order and they’re incapable of forming that order when they can’t even recognise 1% of the birds they’ve been crammed into a dimly lit shed with.

Thank you.