Wild Chicken populations?

[EdgeC]

I don't think I would do this for ethical reasons... but I have 660 acres of woodland. My incubator setup, pumps out 270 chicks/18 days. If I selected the best possibly free ranging breed and If I cranked everything to the max, raised them til close to maturity and released them to free range the property... over and over. Would they possibly survive and out compete predation out of pure numbers? If not with my set up, is it possible in general?

This is purely a thought experiment, curious as to what would happen./people think would happen.

 

[Penpal]

Or, you could get jungle fowl.

 

[FrostRanger]

Well, first, what predators are in your area ad what breeds are we talking? Second, how much help would they have? Will they have a coop or will they roost in trees? Will they have access to supplemental feed when food is scarce? What's the landscape around your property like?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I don't think I would do this for ethical reasons... but I have 660 acres of woodland. My incubator setup, pumps out 270 chicks/18 days. If I selected the best possibly free ranging breed and If I cranked everything to the max, raised them til close to maturity and released them to free range the property... over and over. Would they possibly survive and out compete predation out of pure numbers? If not with my set up, is it possible in general?

This is purely a thought experiment, curious as to what would happen./people think would happen.

No. If there aren't already populations of feral chickens, it's because the land can't support their needs. To survive, they need to do more than just avoid being eaten. They need food too, especially in winter

 

[scyllarus]

I think it's technically possible, but it would depend a lot on...well, a lot. Chickens were domesticated from junglefowl, after all, and some areas do support populations of feral chickens - though I've only ever seen it in urban areas.

Given your thought experiment...I think it would depend on predators, location/weather, and how much human support (intentional or unintentional) they get. If you have a heavily predated area, you may just end up feeding the predators and even attracting more since you'd be releasing new chickens every few weeks. If your chickens aren't able to forage well (ie, you live in a desert, or a place with terrible winters) then that would be an issue - especially the winters, where you might lose all your birds over the season to cold, lack of forage, and even just...not being able to adapt - there is no gene that would allow for a chicken to go from brown to white in a short period in order to blend in with snow. And human support - obviously you've already posited that you would be supporting their numbers via artificial hatching/brooding. Would they also have access to human structures, such as a coop? Or even a structure not necessarily meant for them, like a barn meant for larger animals or a rooftop? What about a compost heap, garden, or other supplemental feed - even that meant for other animals?

 

[EdgeC]

No. If there aren't already populations of feral chickens, it's because the land can't support their needs. To survive, they need to do more than just avoid being eaten. They need food too, especially in winter

That's not how that works or invasive species would not be a thing... sigh.

 

[EdgeC]

Well, first, what predators are in your area ad what breeds are we talking? Second, how much help would they have? Will they have a coop or will they roost in trees? Will they have access to supplemental feed when food is scarce? What's the landscape around your property like?

I think it's technically possible, but it would depend a lot on...well, a lot. Chickens were domesticated from junglefowl, after all, and some areas do support populations of feral chickens - though I've only ever seen it in urban areas.

Given your thought experiment...I think it would depend on predators, location/weather, and how much human support (intentional or unintentional) they get. If you have a heavily predated area, you may just end up feeding the predators and even attracting more since you'd be releasing new chickens every few weeks. If your chickens aren't able to forage well (ie, you live in a desert, or a place with terrible winters) then that would be an issue - especially the winters, where you might lose all your birds over the season to cold, lack of forage, and even just...not being able to adapt - there is no gene that would allow for a chicken to go from brown to white in a short period in order to blend in with snow. And human support - obviously you've already posited that you would be supporting their numbers via artificial hatching/brooding. Would they also have access to human structures, such as a coop? Or even a structure not necessarily meant for them, like a barn meant for larger animals or a rooftop? What about a compost heap, garden, or other supplemental feed - even that meant for other animals?

The area would be Zone 7a/7b no extreme weather.
Mountains and valleys, lots of tree cover (Appalachia)
Predators would be the standard there. Hawks, Coyotes, Foxes, Possums and Raccoons.

Winter foods would be limited to bugs/scavenging
Spring/Fall/Summer would be lots of berries (blue/black) lots of stone fruit, bugs and lots of green.

No human help and we can go with the extreme of wild fowl and say we use jungle fowl or something really good at free ranging like a road island red.

Zero human help

Do they survive?

 

[scyllarus]

The area would be Zone 7a/7b no extreme weather.
Mountains and valleys, lots of tree cover (Appalachia)
Predators would be the standard there. Hawks, Coyotes, Foxes, Possums and Raccoons.

Winter foods would be limited to bugs/scavenging
Spring/Fall/Summer would be lots of berries (blue/black) lots of stone fruit, bugs and lots of green.

No human help and we can go with the extreme of wild fowl and say we use jungle fowl or something really good at free ranging like a road island red.

Zero human help

Do they survive?

Eh...I don't think they do.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feral_chicken#Locations_famous_for_feral_chickens

Feral chicken populations appear to be limited to tropical/semi-tropical areas, or at least areas that maintain a constant temperate climate. The winter season would probably doom any chickens you would theoretically put outside, especially if you get snow. If you were able to somehow magically remove winter, I would say the chickens would have an okay shot at establishing a population, but not a great one.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

This is highly dependent on where you are. Obviously, Jungle fowl have survived for many years in Hawaii. But there are many factors that support that and would not be the same in my area.....

 

[EdgeC]

Eh...I don't think they do.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feral_chicken#Locations_famous_for_feral_chickens

Feral chicken populations appear to be limited to tropical/semi-tropical areas, or at least areas that maintain a constant temperate climate. The winter season would probably doom any chickens you would theoretically put outside, especially if you get snow. If you were able to somehow magically remove winter, I would say the chickens would have an okay shot at establishing a population, but not a great one.

This is highly dependent on where you are. Obviously, Jungle fowl have survived for many years in Hawaii. But there are many factors that support that and would not be the same in my area.....

Awesome, thank you guys. So they would prob need a place like florida... yet they also have a bunch more predators there.