Author Topic: Carnivorous chickens  (Read 909 times)

Carnivorous chickens
« on: 27 March, 2009, 11:27:19 am »
Our cat dropped a vole it had killed and in a flash one of our chickens had picked it up and ran off with it chased by the other chicken. They then proceeded to eat the vole. I didn't know chickens were carnivorous (well apart from grubs, worms and insects that is).
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Wowbagger

  • Former Sylph
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Re: Carnivorous chickens
« Reply #1 on: 28 March, 2009, 09:11:45 pm »
When I were a yoof I worked on a chicken farm, being responsible for feeding and watering the birds. The farmer had sold all his land to a building co (they only ever got planning permission for 16 of the 200+ acres, thankfully) and rented one field where he kept hens, a few turkeys, a cow and some pigs.

His hens were on "deep litter" - they were free to roam around inside sheds - and the houses were partitioned. One of these partitions had been patched with an older paper chicken food sack.

I can't remember why, but we had to remove this sack for some reason - and it was full of mice. Dozens of them came pouring out, and the hens had a fine old time grabbing them and devouring them avidly.

I've also known hens attack one another. They definitely establish a pecking order, and sometimes the poor bird at the bottom gets pecked to death by the others. I can remember helping my dad, who also kept hens (he bought a couple of the sheds from the farmer's widow) covering open wounds with Stockholm tar.
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Re: Carnivorous chickens
« Reply #2 on: 29 March, 2009, 12:48:39 am »
Once upon a time that yappie little dog was a wolf - The chicken was a small predatory dinosaur once as well.