Would you apply the word flock to a group of humans?
The studies I would like to link to are on another hard drive which I can’t access at the moment. I will dig them up though when I’ve got the hard drive back.
However, if you do a search on the internet you can find a few studies of jungle fowl behaviour and domestic chickens that have since become feral populations.
https://academic.oup.com/beheco/article/28/3/760/3057961
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_junglefowl
In brief, jungle fowl and feral chickens create a social structure much like humans. There is usually a senior male and a hen, sometimes two and up to a certain age, their offspring.
They live in small related family groups. In the jungles, each group has a defined territory which the cocks defend from other males. This is not flock creature behaviour.
There are a number of people here on BYC that have seen feral flocks, sourland who is observant has mentioned seeing small groups or tribes when visiting Hawaii. Others have mentioned the same including my daughter.
It’s a matter of reading what studies there are and making comparisons.
There is a vast amount of misinformation about chickens that gets repeated over and over again until it becomes an incorrect fact.
Let me illustrate this with a few examples.
The egg song which you have written about. People still call the escort call the egg song.
Chickens bath in dust to remove parasites. Even the wiki puts this one to rest
Hens stop laying eggs because they’re moulting. An old wives tale that still rattles around this forums and others as fact.
The correct ratio of roosters to hens is ten to one. It’s complete nonsense and the chickens ancestors usually had a one to one relationship.
Chickens can’t see in the dark. This isn’t true; they can see, but like many creatures they don’t see as well in the dark as they do in daylight.
Aggressive roosters produce aggressive cockerels. There is so much evidence that this isn’t true just on these forums that no more is needed.
Giving chicken cold water helps keep them cool. Basic biology shows this is wrong. It may help with a water based sweat system by providing moisture for the sweat glands to excrete but chickens don’t have sweat glands.
I could go on for quite a while…..
From my observations here, and all the various picture and posts I’ve made it should be apparent that I have groups, mainly related, each having their own territory. This is born out by a very few others here on BYC who keep free range chickens. Even with some of the more observant back yard keepers it is apparent that similar looking chickens, or related chickens tend to group together, much like humans.
It is true you can force every race and type into an enclosed space and in general everyone will rub along. Give chickens and humans the freedom to choose who they live with and where and you get groups with common cultural, common looks, or common family joining together.
It may well be an unpopular view but the evidence is there.
None of the above means these groups or tribes cannot and do not cooperate for the common good.
What it does mean is chickens left to their own devises are tribal creatures and not flock creatures.
But we don't. Have a look at the broad dictonary definitions. Many, not all, seperate humans from animals.
been lots of interesting stories, info and beautiful photos though, I’m enjoying reading it all.
always good to know that it’s not only your chooks that act the way they do, that you’re doing anything ‘wrong’, it’s just their individual preferences
)
I've included some general ones so that you get the idea. (I've scanned them in so the quality isn't necessarily that great). I sewed most of my costumes myself.
