Chicken Behavior & Welfare class thread! (free & online)

[ackie]

Hi everyone! I signed up to take a free class on Coursera titled "Chicken Behavior and Welfare". If you arent familiar with Coursera, you can take all their classes for free (equivilent to auditing a class) or you can pay and end up with some type of certificate of completion. I am not endorsing their paid program- I dont know anything about that.

Anyway! Mine is starting today, but you can start (or restart later if you forget about it) whenever fits for you. In the free version, you can set whatever pace you want but there is a suggested pace, as being held to deadlines is helpful for most people, but its obviously pretty lowkey.

I'm hoping we could maybe get a group together to keep each other motivated. So, I guess I'll be documenting my progress here and I hope yall join me.

(I chose this forum because I think the class would be helpful in managing flocks, but mods please move if its better suited elsewhere)

 

[ackie]

"Chickens make wonderful pets, as breeders will tell you, especially if they think they could interest you in buying some chicks."

 

[ChickenCanoe]

@ChickenCanoe know anything about this course?

I'm familiar with coursera but not this class.

As far as the history of chickens, I highly recommend the book
Why Did the Chicken Cross the World? The Epic Saga of the Bird that Powers Civilization
Book by Andrew Lawler

 

[CHlCKEN]

Today.

I'm currently reading one of the supplemental (not required but just for fun) articles about chicken history

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-the-chicken-conquered-the-world-87583657/

“The epic begins 10,000 years ago in an Asian jungle and ends today in kitchens all over the world”

Thats how the article starts

 

[ackie]

"G. gallus (red junglefowl) browses on the forest floor for insects, seeds and fruit, and flies up to nest in the trees at night. That’s about as much flying as it can manage, a trait that had obvious appeal to humans seeking to capture and raise it. This would later help endear the chicken to Africans, whose native guinea fowls had an annoying habit of flying off into the forest when the spirit moved them."

 

[ackie]

You too can impress and amaze family at your holiday cookie exchange by regaling them with the history of chicken nutrition and the difference between animal welfare and animal rights! I’m so enjoying this course.

oh yes I am sure they are very excited for this hahahha. my uncle actually thought I was a vegan hippie living on a commune? because I told him we didnt slaughter our birds. no no, they're just not a meat breed.

I love Coursera! I discovered it last month but I haven’t done them yet edX is another great one too!! But idk if they have as many animal courses. But they do have a ton of other awesome ones!!

I am also taking "the science of well being" which I highly recommend to anyone interested in how your brain sabotages you into being less happy and how to combat it. but I signed up for the first time in like March, did one lesson and ghosted it haha. the chicken class and BYC thread has helped me actually keep up with that one too

I just started! and many thanks to BYC and @jwehl for starting this thread. So much cool chicken related stuff out there...never would have found it myself.

I had a brief moment after doctoring a chicken where I wanted to be a veterinarian...so I looked into what that would require and it was too much so I look up animal classes on coursera instead haha

 

[ackie]

these videos are super brief. I'm on 1.7 now.

 

[CHlCKEN]

@ChickenCanoe know anything about this course?

It’s by The University of Edinburgh, and Dr Victoria Sandilands, if that helps

 

[ackie]

Okay I completed all of week 1 I guess. got 13/15 on the quiz

 

[HollyWoozle]

I'm going to join too! Someone else had suggested it to me as well but I've not signed up yet. I'll get on that now.