• Xanthrax@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    I’ve seen chickens do this to other chickens. It’s normal for them to peck at each other a bit, but if they see blood, they go crazy. They also eat eggs sometimes. Chickens, though

    • Jax@sh.itjust.works
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      1 day ago

      Chickens actively hunt and eat mice, as well. I’ve actually seen one of my chickens find, slam around until dead (I fucking hope it was dead anyway), and swallow whole a mouse.

      Brutal little creatures. They would 100% kill and eat you if they were big enough/ you were small enough.

      • brucethemoose@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        Humans are a very fortunate size, aren’t we? A little bigger, and we’d be extinct like most megafauna. A little smaller, and our place on the food chain would be very different.

      • Quantenteilchen@discuss.tchncs.de
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        1 day ago

        Dinosaurs, ey?

        (Quick edit: As I am not close enough to biology this statement may be incorrect as chickens may not technically belong to the category [whichever level and correct name it may be/have] of dinosaur. In this case I am sorry for perpetrating this misinformation)

        • Jax@sh.itjust.works
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          1 day ago

          Avian dinosaurs certainly existed, it isn’t inaccurate to just call them dinosaurs.

    • village604@adultswim.fan
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      1 day ago

      Chickens typically eat eggs when they have a vitamin deficiency, although that’s why typically obligate herbivores will sometimes eat baby birds and small rodents.

      • exasperation@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        2 hours ago

        One thing to think about is that all birds are descended from a common ancestor that is carnivorous. Every omnivorous or herbivorous bird evolved that diet from ancestors that primarily ate animal products.

        Just goes to show that with enough time, life finds a way to make use of biomass all around it, even if it means evolving away from an ancestor’s dietary limits.

      • Xanthrax@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        I agree. It’s a struggle based on food availability. The bigger fowl, keep them away from their food, and the smaller fowl, eat their eggs.

        Honestly, we incubated too many eggs with too small of an enclosure. They’re getting better, also winner winner chicken dinner