Can you get wild chickens? And if chickens have not been domistacted by us from wild chickens where did they come from?

[DooinMeCleanin]

Asks my sister. I want to make it very clear it is my slightly drunk sister who is wanting to know the answer to this ridiculous question.

Please someone answer her. Every time I have a drink with her she becomes obsessed with wild indian chickens.

[DooinMeCleanin]

She would now also like to know if they can fly. She says and I quote "Chickens can totally fly"

I worry for her sometimes. Really I do.

[OldLadyKnowsNothing]

Yes, sort of...

[OldLadyKnowsNothing]

Chickens can fly, but it's not their forte.

[DooinMeCleanin]

She is very entertaining tonight. SHe would now like to know if they fly south for winter. Otherwise how do they survive.

Oldlady, she doesn't think they can flap along the chicken yard a few inches above the ground. SHe believes that they actually fly up in the sky like ducks.

And if they are descendant from pheasents then why doesn't pheasent taste like chicken and she still says you can get wild chickens.

[OldLadyKnowsNothing]

PMSL, no chickens do not fly south for the winter, they have been domesticated for many thousands of years and in any case originated in warmer climes. They can fly as high as a tree for roosting purposes, but they're really not long-distance athletes.

I'm sure there are feral chickens...

[DooinMeCleanin]

Oh she has forgotten about chickens we are to monkeys now....

[OldLadyKnowsNothing]

Ah, I know bugger-all about monkeys, so I'll bow out at this point.

(Not that I know much about chickens, either, tbf.)

[Lizzabadger]

Chickens are descended from jungle fowl. You can look these up on Wikipedia. You can still get them - there are some in Golders Hill Park in London. They look recognisably chickeny!

Some chickens fly quite well, e.g. Leghorns. Most fly when they are chicks/young birds and can still fly short distances when they are bigger. Frizzles are an exception as their feather type does not support flight.

[catinthehat2]

I am so bumping this.

I want more chicken people to come out of the undergrowth and share their bizarro knowledge.

I LIVE for threads like this.

[MissBeehivingUnderTheMistletoe]

Aren't chickens the closest relatives to dinosaurs?

And alektorophobia is the fear of chickens.

My chickens can't fly (silkies)or roost. They have, even by chickens standards - very.little.brain

[GentleOtter]

The sometimes hum at night when they roost. One chicken holds the note and the rest join in.
I swear this is true.

[catinthehat2]

Noooooooo

[GentleOtter]

Brownie's Honour.

[OldLadyKnowsNothing]

I used to have a cockerel who would crow at 2 and 3am.

In Scotland.

In January.

[meltedmarsbars]

feral chickens

[catinthehat2]

I don't trust you chicken ladies any more

[GentleOtter]

Come back....we are not foul.

[meltedmarsbars]

They will eat a live mouse if it dares to run across their run!

[catinthehat2]

You're just mocking me now grr

[GentleOtter]

No. They really will go for a live mouse.The winning hen which catches the mouse runs away with it in her beak and the others try to snatch it from her.
They are pretty gross tbh.

[catinthehat2]

Cripes. That does sound like velociraptor stuff I agree

[MissBeehivingUnderTheMistletoe]

And frogs. Mine clear up any mousey leftovers from the cats.

[sethstarkaddersmum]

my chickens are totally dinosaurs.

the creepiest thing they do is to walk slowly across the lawn, in a line, staring intently at the ground hunting for bugs. They are unnervingly systematic.

the people who made Jurassic Park had definitely spent a long time watching chickens.

[meltedmarsbars]

Filthy things to clean up after, though.

It doesn't come off carpet well

[Fava]

My cockerel looks like a red junglefowl , he loves singing when is sunny and warm.

My chickens are dinosaurs too! They even knock at the back door, Jurassic park style and one of them has learnt to jump on the handle to open the door (they know were I keep the scraps for them!).


This summer they played at being a composognathus herd and attacked a snake (sloworm probably) and ate it alive. eeek

Still they're lovely and got rid of all the slugs. I had hardly any ants, virtually no bugs on the plants. Now, if I could only convince them that weeds are nicer than fruit!