Quote: Commercial hatchery bred birds can lack instincts and eat dangerous things. If your birds have come from a sawdust and concrete environment, or one whose yards are exclusively dirt or grass, they may not know what's safe.
Instinct can be bred into and out of animals, as we have proven with non-broody hens and the various other modified instincts. Some chicks lack instinct to cope with a mother; loss of filial instinct, like loss of maternal and paternal instinct, is caused by artificial breeding methods and rearing in artificial environments for too many generations. Loss of instinctive understanding of environmental dangers and the right reactions to them is achieved the same way. Hence hens may fail to run from a fox, or be curious about a venomous snake, or not react to a hawk stooping.
Instincts are not static or permanent though some are so strong they can give the illusion that they are, and fool many; if an instinct is not engaged, required, reinforced etc for enough generations it can fade, be transmuted into a new expression, or be replaced with a more relevant instinct.
Normally citrus trees present no threat, but if you see any cage-bred bird tucking into the leaves, perhaps keep an eye on her. It's incredibly unlikely that they will give you trouble with your hens though.
Also, some plants are not a threat until they are a certain number of years old, or there has been a thunderstorm, or the soil is imbalanced, or it's been overpruned, or it's flowering or fruiting, or there's been a dry spell, or a long wet spell.... Etc. Some plants kill the animal over a year after eating them. Prevention is better than cure, and the best prevention is allowing your birds to maintain instinct and breed on their knowledge. Local knowledge isn't helpful to a bird transported overseas for example.
One great precaution against many types of disease or toxicity is to make sure that their diet is sufficient. A cheap, commercial ration is often deficient in many nutrients which they need and crave nonetheless. A survival ration is a better description of these feeds as they will keep an animal alive for long enough to produce the expected amount but often the animal sustains permanent harm during this short lifetime of malnutrition, and is unlikely to reach old age.
A nutritionally desperate bird will eat all manner of stupid things. Research 'pika' if you don't know what it is. Birds from hatcheries often have mild to severe Pika and are the prime candidates for self-poisoning and death by eating inedibles, lol.
I prefer to allow my birds, if from hatcheries, to regain their lost instincts by exposing them to the natural dangers of the outside world while keeping an eye on them. Well, these days I prefer to avoid hatcheries but if you get birds from them, be aware that they will not be 100% instinctively.
A bird that was raised in a cage that is suddenly freeranged, that comes down with something, is often a case of an experimental taste testing gone wrong. Chickens can relearn lost instinct rapidly, especially because they have an instant feedback system that confirms to them that what they're tasting is good or bad to eat. That's why you see them peck things then spit them out. Humans also have this function to some degree but it's largely retarded in us like many of our instincts. We're pretty cage-bred ourselves.
Be wary of internet information but also don't trust anyone's 'facts' without question just because of 'x' amount of experience or age. We're all learners. Everyone's got pieces of the puzzle, not the whole picture.
Best wishes.
Instinct can be bred into and out of animals, as we have proven with non-broody hens and the various other modified instincts. Some chicks lack instinct to cope with a mother; loss of filial instinct, like loss of maternal and paternal instinct, is caused by artificial breeding methods and rearing in artificial environments for too many generations. Loss of instinctive understanding of environmental dangers and the right reactions to them is achieved the same way. Hence hens may fail to run from a fox, or be curious about a venomous snake, or not react to a hawk stooping.
Instincts are not static or permanent though some are so strong they can give the illusion that they are, and fool many; if an instinct is not engaged, required, reinforced etc for enough generations it can fade, be transmuted into a new expression, or be replaced with a more relevant instinct.
Normally citrus trees present no threat, but if you see any cage-bred bird tucking into the leaves, perhaps keep an eye on her. It's incredibly unlikely that they will give you trouble with your hens though.
Also, some plants are not a threat until they are a certain number of years old, or there has been a thunderstorm, or the soil is imbalanced, or it's been overpruned, or it's flowering or fruiting, or there's been a dry spell, or a long wet spell.... Etc. Some plants kill the animal over a year after eating them. Prevention is better than cure, and the best prevention is allowing your birds to maintain instinct and breed on their knowledge. Local knowledge isn't helpful to a bird transported overseas for example.
One great precaution against many types of disease or toxicity is to make sure that their diet is sufficient. A cheap, commercial ration is often deficient in many nutrients which they need and crave nonetheless. A survival ration is a better description of these feeds as they will keep an animal alive for long enough to produce the expected amount but often the animal sustains permanent harm during this short lifetime of malnutrition, and is unlikely to reach old age.
A nutritionally desperate bird will eat all manner of stupid things. Research 'pika' if you don't know what it is. Birds from hatcheries often have mild to severe Pika and are the prime candidates for self-poisoning and death by eating inedibles, lol.
I prefer to allow my birds, if from hatcheries, to regain their lost instincts by exposing them to the natural dangers of the outside world while keeping an eye on them. Well, these days I prefer to avoid hatcheries but if you get birds from them, be aware that they will not be 100% instinctively.
A bird that was raised in a cage that is suddenly freeranged, that comes down with something, is often a case of an experimental taste testing gone wrong. Chickens can relearn lost instinct rapidly, especially because they have an instant feedback system that confirms to them that what they're tasting is good or bad to eat. That's why you see them peck things then spit them out. Humans also have this function to some degree but it's largely retarded in us like many of our instincts. We're pretty cage-bred ourselves.
Be wary of internet information but also don't trust anyone's 'facts' without question just because of 'x' amount of experience or age. We're all learners. Everyone's got pieces of the puzzle, not the whole picture.
Best wishes.
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