What if chickens could reproduce without mating?

[MysteryChicken]

But all the chicks would be males, which are not what the egg industry and the backyard enthusiast want.

Since males grow faster than females, I can see possibilities for the broiler industry, but only if they managed a good hatch rate of healthy chicks (currently not possible.)

Extra cockerels just end up in our freezer.

 

[Tankueray]

Yes, true.

I just recently came a across a couple things with both Biologists, & Zoologists that are talking about birds being actually reptiles, but the subject is still controversial to some.

This is the next major milestone in evolutionary biology. The two most basic distinctions in Subphylum Vertebrata are cold/warm bloodedness and live birth. (Birds, monotremes, and sharks are the three that buck the convention of warm blood and live birth.) Recent discoveries (e.g., egg shell research - Yale) indicate that some dinosaurs may have been warm blooded, which makes sense, because large body mass, flight, and the metabolism of fibrous plant matter and/or meat all require massive amounts of energy. The laws of thermodynamics dictate that heat would be a product of the use of that energy, and at some point the storage of that energy for later use would be an advantage, especially to be able to traverse multiple climactic geographies (you know at some point if you're a brontosaurus or t-rex, you're going to eat all the food in your area and need to migrate). That was always a prevailing argument for the rise of mammals, but it's hard to imagine that the giant or flying dinos would have thrived if they relied solely on the environment to maintain their body temperature. Another supporting argument would be the ability to breathe air, a significant contributor to metabolism, which is a distinction between most (juvenile) amphibians and reptiles, and fish and aquatic mammals.

Had extinction events not occurred that greatly reduced the available food sources and favored the more efficient mammalian adaptations for thermoregulation, we might still have the giants roaming the earth today. (Not actually likely because...humans, but still an interesting thought. Or perhaps humans would not have evolved as quickly, or at all? I bet our primate ancestors would have been tasty treats to meat eaters.)

Without birds, however they evolved, the human mind wouldn't have either. Besides microorganisms and peas, I can think of few other examples of cornerstones in biological science. Darwin's Finches and Archaeopteryx are as important to Biology as Einstein and Newton are to Physics.

To be able to see a living part of the history of life on this planet every day in my backyard, and knowing that the night sky and the oceans have been constants for millenia, it's astounding - the simultaneous feeling of being a giant and a speck of dust.

 

[nicalandia]

Had extinction events not occurred that greatly reduced the available food sources and favored the more efficient mammalian adaptations for thermoregulation, we might still have the giants roaming the earth today. (Not actually likely because...humans, but still an interesting thought. Or perhaps humans would not have evolved as quickly, or at all? I bet our primate ancestors would have been tasty treats to meat eaters.)

Dinosaurs were and still(birds) more efficient than mammals.

The first milk giving fur coated mammal-like creatures were actually older than the first Pseudo Dinosaurs

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

There remains a Whole lot more paleontologists don't know than that they do, & most of what they surmise is speculation and hypothesis. If some dinosaurs were warmblooded & distinct from true reptiles such as mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, etc, then possibly birds are more closely related to dinosaurs than reptiles. Or birds may be completely unique. Unless scientists find a way to clone/re-create ancient life same as was done in the Jurrassic Park movies, we will probably never know for sure.

This entire thread is very interesting, but the original very interesting question was "Can birds/chickens reproduce without mating?" The answer to that modern-day question will likely be solved faster than mysteries from 66+ million years ago. @Nicolandia, i saw the info you posted from MSU was from 2007. Did you find any info as far as results of that study? Just curious.

 

[nicalandia]

If some dinosaurs were warmblooded & distinct from true reptiles such as mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, etc, then possibly birds are more closely related to dinosaurs than reptiles. Or birds may be completely unique. Unless scientists find a way to clone/re-create ancient life same as was done in the Jurrassic Park movies, we will probably never know for sure.

It is well known by DNA studies(taken out of a T-Rex) that the Chicken is the closest relative to T-REX,

@nicalandia, i saw the info you posted from MSU was from 2007. Did you find any info as far as results of that study? Just curious.

This is the most recent work done by Dr. Christopher D. McDaniel on Parthenogenesis

Ramachandran, R. and C.D. McDaniel, 2018. Parthenogenesis in birds: A review. Reproduction

https://livedna.net/?dna=1.22437

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Yes based on dna evidence, chickens And ostriches are most closely related to t rex. But what paleontologists still dont know are the true attributes of a living t-rex itself. Scientists are working hard to solve the mysteries, but for now it remains mostly educated guesswork.

It's actually an ongoing science program at The Agricultural Research Center in Beltsville, Maryland.

Oh ok. The article began with "Our laboratory at Mississippi State University--" so i thought they may have found some answers by now, 14 years later. Glad to know the issue is still being actively studied.

 

[nicalandia]

Oh ok. The article began with "Our laboratory at Mississippi State University--" so i thought they may have found some answers by now, 14 years later. Glad to know the issue is still being actively studied.

Check for the Edit.(I thought you were talking about the Turkey)

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

We don't have to wonder...they made a movie about it. "They were so preoccupied with thinking about whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should"...

 

[nicalandia]

We don't have to wonder...they made a movie about it. "They were so preoccupied with thinking about whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should"...

I am one of those that would not stop to ponder if we "Should" I would just do it. I mean just look a some Aseel Strains now, they are just Dinosaurs.

 

[micstrachan]

I must be a nerd too! I felt the same way about Golden Eagles and my long term goal is still to see a Harpy Eagle in person. I wanted to be an ornithologist too! Even started off college in wildlife sciences…but sadly learned how hard it is to get a job doing any of the good jobs! Not just Id’ing roadkill and other low paying seasonal jobs! So I shifted to Conservation Ecology to be in proximity to the birds by working in their habitat! Having chickens should have come much sooner in my life—it has helped satisfy my love of large birds!

Harpy eagles! Learned about them many years ago… when my kids were little, we did a summer project of picking one type of bird each and writing reports. My son chose the harpy eagle. I, too, loved birds before becoming a chicken lady!