My chicken ate a baby bird

[Mimi13]

Last year my four hens got ahold of a frog. By the time it was said and done, it was completely dismembered and all four had some. After they were done wiping their beaks I asked them, “Well, did it taste like chicken?”

 

[LittleMissCountry]

Last year my four hens got ahold of a frog. By the time it was said and done, it was completely dismembered and all four had some. After they were done wiping their beaks I asked them, “Well, did it taste like chicken?”

Ha! Mine have eaten several frogs and lizards, and even a vole that they took away from the cat. Lol

 

[tripletfeb]

I haven't read through this whole thread but yes, todays birds are descendents of dinosaurs. Well, there are two main groups of dinosaurs. Bird hipped and lizard hipped. So not all dinosaurs were of the bird kind. There is a dinosaur named Gallimimus, whos name means chicken mimic! Sorry, just had to add all that. My 7 year old son wants to be a paleontologist, he and I even started a Dino Club at his school! He loved it when we got chickens, even named one Mini T-Rex!

 

[Wrightjl4]

My father had bought some pheasant chicks and tried to keep them separated from our chickens by keeping them in a cage within the chickens run. One managed to escape one day and all we found was a little pheasant wing

 

[GrannyHeeney]

I am glad my daughter was at camp this week and didn't see it. She is such an animal lover that she gets upset when the chickens eat bugs.

I have one like that, too. :-o She knows on one level that someday, we'll be eating the offspring of the birds we're now raising, but OY! =( She rescues moths and even spiders out of the house...

 

[Fishkeeper]

Birds aren't just descendents of dinosaurs, they are dinosaurs. They never stopped being dinosaurs. In fact, they're more closely related to small theropods than to the "first bird" the Archaeopteryx. The smallest known dinosaurs are hummingbirds. Believe me, the hummingbirds still think they're tyrannosaurids of some variety.

Wild chicken ancestors would happily have killed and eaten anything they could grab, like modern chickens. Any sort of meat they can kill is excellent enrichment. If you don't want to throw a live vertebrate to your chickens, you could tie a dead mouse (available from pet stores as snake food) or some sort of meat to a string and let them chase it around. It shouldn't be a primary part of their diet, and I'd avoid feeding them other birds if possible in case of pathogens, but it'd sure provide them some entertainment.

 

[EggWalrus]

Any reptile that crosses my yard is pretty lucky if they make it. Frogs, lizards and small snakes are all on the menu here.

 

[LittleMissCountry]

I have one like that, too. :-o She knows on one level that someday, we'll be eating the offspring of the birds we're now raising, but OY! =( She rescues moths and even spiders out of the house...

Yup, mine does that, too. She understands the predator/prey relationship, but still wants to save everything.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

... I was outside... watering my garden. A baby chickadee fell from the tree. Before I even knew what was happening the chickens descended upon it. I saw a blur of white as they fought over it, then it was gone... I feel sorry for the poor chickadees.

This is the price that we pay for freerange.... well it is the price that the chickadees pay for us free ranging our chickens. I bet however that your chickens were quite happy that a baby chickadee fell into their life. This is the essence of a chickens' free range life style.

 

[Hawaii ChickenGirl]

Mine just did that too!!!!! That’s why I decided to see if any of chickens have done it!!! The ones mine ate looked to be no more than a day old as it was naked and tiny... I literally saw him grab it super fast and as I was chasing him to get it out his mouth he swallowed it whole!!! I wanted to throw up.... I guess a part of life as sad as it sounds!!!