Survival of the Fittest?

[crayon]

Do you ever just feel like you should get a ton of chickens due to survival of the fittest?

I am feeling that way... To the point where I feel like I am already tired of emotionally investing in chickens that are pray- so once they get to be full sized- they do not seem to be so fragile and so targeted. Then I will invest. But I am feeling a bunch of chickens in the spring and just letting nature happen!!!

My husband says this is why chickens reproduce so quick- they are easy pray, not that intelligent and so they have to mate and have babies so fast as to keep up with the survival of the fittest!

 

[screager312]

Quote:
Easy prey I agree, not that intelligent I don't agree.

Any animal can be easy prey to something bigger, or a pack of something bigger.

My chickens amaze me almost daily. They are smart enough to know when I'm bringing them treats and they can see this from 25 yards away. They hear the sound of tne coop door opening they come running to get out.

 

[aprophet]

this is the reason I trap as hard as I do during trapping season I am just starting to see preds again here where I live

 

[crayon]

At night they are totally safe- during the day they free range the 10 acres. It has mostly been our dog- who we are working on. And the hawk. But- agrrrrr.................

The chipmunks started running like crazy the last 10 days- getting supplies for the winter stock pile. And my dog has been on such high gear- he got 2 chickens last week! Like I said- we are working on him- but it is just annoying!

The larger chickens peck him if he gets close- but the younger (10 week old ones) are not quite as defensive and are pretty cute to play with to a dog. Once they get about 12 weeks-15 weeks they are big enough he will not mess with them. But due to natural causes, the dog and the hawk we have lost 1/2 of our 2nd round of chickens. It just makes me not want to even get attached to a chicken!

 

[screager312]

Seems like the dog needs training before he/she can be around chickens.

 

[donrae]

You need to be more responsible for your young bird's safety. This is not what I'd call natural selection, this is the birds being in a position where you know they are in danger--your dog--- and you're not securing their safety. "Working" on your dog is fine and good, but that dog needs to be confined unless you're actually "working" on it at that moment.

 

[crayon]

No this is recent- so he is not allowed to roam right now. So yeah we are working on it.... But we have had issue with some natural death and a hawk. So it just seems like in general- they drop like flies! I have lost more to "natural" issues and other predators than to the dog. We realized he is on high alert right now to hunt- being the season when the wild animals start packing away from the winter. So we are being responsible for his actions. We had not had any issues with him and the babies for a long time- but then the wild animals started going crazy in the fall and he went into overdrive.

Yes the babies are safe... But it just seems, like I said, a lot of factors in general they do not seem too hardy as babies!