are chickens "racist"?

[thecatumbrella]

I hate labeling it like this, but yes. I raised 2 Black Australorps and 2 Golden Comets from day old chicks. They strongly preferred the company of their own breed.

However, I'm going to argue it's more a matter of familiarity. They're hatched and shipped with dozens of identical fuzz balls, and chicks imprint very quickly. You might see less preference if the chicks are mail ordered and quickly boxed with a variety of chicks. Just a theory.

 

[NC_Quail]

Yes, my chickens do this too, although my Wyandotte who was raised with RIRs gets along with them pretty well. My Leghorns don’t even like to be in the same ”room” as the others.

Lots of animals are tribalistic like this. Even humans would be inherently this way if we didn’t have the intelligence or moral compass not to. If you look at it that way, it doesn’t seem too surprising .

I’ve noticed some chickens are just more independent and like to be on their own. I’m not sure why this is the case, since it doesn’t make sense from a biological/survival standpoint.

 

[Insnesnakos]

My birds have made two groups of black Australorp and buff Orpington, with my one gold laced wyandotte on her own

 

[Shadrach]

Breedist might be a less controversial word.
Yes they are.
It roughly breaks down like this.
Relatedness.
Same breed.
Similar looks.

Those people who keep multiple breeds, often one of each, may not see this.
Get two or three of the same breed in an otherwise mixed group and the same breed group tend to stick together.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Breedist might be a less controversial word.
Yes they are.
It roughly breaks down like this.
Relatedness.
Same breed.
Similar looks.

Those people who keep multiple breeds, often one of each, may not see this.
Get two or three of the same breed in an otherwise mixed group and the same breed group tend to stick together.

Thays a good point. I have a handful of mixes that were raised together and are roughly from the same parents, and even though they all look slightly different, they still stick with each other even when another bird may look more similar

 

[thecatumbrella]

Not racist. There is a benefit in the wild to having several others near you being the same color and size. Means that it can be harder for predators to pick out one individual

I think this is a really interesting take! I have wondered if my chickens realize their coloring in relation to the rest of the flock. They do love to look in the mirror, so maybe it's not so farfetched!

 

[nuthatched]

"Birds of a feather..."

 

[nuthatched]

Side bar: do you get a kick out of causing mischief?

 

[Shadrach]

Thays a good point. I have a handful of mixes that were raised together and are roughly from the same parents, and even though they all look slightly different, they still stick with each other even when another bird may look more similar

As with most things chicken, there are no hard and fast rules. Some people who contest this view don't seem to grasp this. I've had some very unlikely alliances between completely dissimilar chickens with none of the conditions mentioned above.
However, close study often shows a reason for this that is rational.

 

[Insnesnakos]

I think this is a really interesting take! I have wondered if my chickens realize their coloring in relation to the rest of the flock. They do love to look in the mirror, so maybe it's not so farfetched!

Maybe they see their coloring by preening their feathers