# Chickens: Ignorance-fighting opportunity **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 15, 2017, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675 "2017-05-15T19:33:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/21 "2017-05-16T02:08:00Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Huh. > > But again, let me ask: 'Muricans say this? Yes. I’ve had a rooster try to flog me. He wound up as a coyote’s dinner that night. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/22 "2017-05-16T02:10:53Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Huh. > > But again, let me ask: 'Muricans say this? LOL, yes, we do! At least **Cub Mistress** and I do. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/23 "2017-05-16T02:36:45Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **D’Anconia** : > > Do women ovulate if there’s not a man around? There’s your answer. Not a very good answer, because in some species, the females don’t ovulate if there’s not a male around. > [@](#): > > Quoth **Leo Bloom** : > > I’ve read that crows taste pretty horrible, no matter how you prepare them. Probably, but I said “cow”, not “crow”. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/24 "2017-05-16T03:05:14Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Do women ovulate if there’s not a man around? There’s your answer. That doesn’t follow. Chicken reproductive physiology isn’t the same as human. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/25 "2017-05-16T03:24:36Z")
Other facts - there are lots of different breeds, like lots. I currently have 6 and only 2 are the same breed. The different colors look cool. When shipped, the places I’ve seen have a minimum order of 3 so they can keep warm. They do establish a pecking order, one of our bigger ones killed one of our smallest ones unfortunately. If they didn’t poop constantly they be great indoor pets, some of them. I swear I have a lap chicken. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/26 "2017-05-16T04:11:42Z")
Here’s the Postal Service’s own policies on shipping live animals through the mail. [http://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c5\_008.htm](http://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c5_008.htm) I heard that mailing newly hatched poultry started during the Depression because it was the most cost-effective method of shipping and delivery. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/27 "2017-05-16T04:29:17Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > “I dream of a world where chickens can cross the road without having their motives questioned.” > –One of my t-shirts. I want this. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/28 "2017-05-16T05:27:25Z")
There’s no mistaking if your neighbor has a rooster, as it will crow. Are you awakened at 4 am by the cock crowing? Is your afternoon nap disturbed by the cock crowing? Do you hear the cock crowing as you prepare your evening meal? If not, then your neighbor has no rooster. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/29 "2017-05-16T05:27:39Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > 2: Even the wild ancestors of chickens laid a lot of eggs by wild bird standards (no doubt why they were chosen for domestication), but selective breeding has increased the amount immensely. In the wild, it would be a few a month. They’ve been bred even more specialized than that. Now there are ‘laying’ chickens and broiler (meat) chickens (just like dairy & beef cattle). Good laying hens can indeed get up to an egg a day, at the peak of their laying life. And that’s not long – the ones my mother raised lasted only about 1.5 - 2 years. Also, modern laying hens are bred to put all their energy into producing eggs. Mom said that when she butchered them at the end, there was hardly any meat on those hens. Mostly good for stews or soup – she said a chicken dinner from them would need about one chicken per person. > [@snowthx](#): > > My wife will be delighted to hear that the male chickens serve no useful purpose other than procreation, and are considered a nuisance and a drain on resources. I can already hear the ‘mm-hmmm’ comments from she and my daughter. Well, they can also be used in the chicken soup that you get at the grocery store. Not the cooking chickens, or the chicken sandwiches – those come from the ‘meat’ breeds of chickens. Actually, many of the male chicks in ‘laying’ breeds are killed right away – they don’t produce eggs, and don’t produce much meat compared to other breeds, so aren’t worth the feed to raise them. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/30 "2017-05-16T05:38:34Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Not a very good answer, because in some species, the females don’t ovulate if there’s not a male around. Which species might those be? ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/31 "2017-05-16T06:21:05Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > There’s no mistaking if your neighbor has a rooster, as it will crow. Are you awakened at 4 am by the cock crowing? Is your afternoon nap disturbed by the cock crowing? Do you hear the cock crowing as you prepare your evening meal? If not, then your neighbor has no rooster. I thought you were going to finish that by saying my neighbor has no cock.😃 ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/32 "2017-05-16T07:22:39Z")
On a roll with Larson. [![](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/95/78/8e/95788ec41833414932c68ac6fd66a93c.jpg) ](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/95/78/8e/95788ec41833414932c68ac6fd66a93c.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/33 "2017-05-16T09:26:59Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Which species might those be? [Cats, rabbits, camelids.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induced_ovulation_(animals)) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/34 "2017-05-16T11:40:59Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Why would a crow feel any more guilty about eating chicken than we do about eating cows? People seem bothered by the fact that my African Grey Parrot loves to eat chicken wings. Oh, and hearing crowing doesn’t necessarily mean a rooster is present. We continue to care for our hens once they stop laying. These post menopausal birds have low estrogen levels, and sometimes the testosterone their adrenals produce has odd effects. These hens will sometimes crow, fight, and become more muscular. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/35 "2017-05-16T13:24:32Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Here’s the Postal Service’s own policies on shipping live animals through the mail. > > [526 Mailable Live Animals | Postal Explorer](http://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c5_008.htm) > > I heard that mailing newly hatched poultry started during the Depression because it was the most cost-effective method of shipping and delivery. I would imagine chicks were shipped much earlier than the Depression. No cite, but I’ve read that one of the reasons for all the regulations for chick shipping was that during the Depression, chick orders dropped to almost nothing. The poultry-breeders, desperate to keep the doors open, resorted to shipping insured boxes to nonexistent addresses. They would be returned, but the chicks couldn’t survive the round trip and the breeder would collect the insurance. If the service had just started, I’m sure they would have written the whole thing off as a bad idea. As to “the post office will call you” above I can personally attest to that. Got a call about 3pm Saturday (this was long enough ago the P.O. still worked Saturdays) with a rather desperate, “Your chicks are here; can you pick them up right away?” with cheeping in the background. I could and I did. > [@Aspenglow](#): > > Not sure of the origins of the phrase, but a “flogging rooster” is a common way of referring to one who attacks you with his spurs. Just in the vernacular, I guess. 🙂 Gives [Flogging Molly](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flogging_Molly) a whole new meaning, doesn’t it. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/36 "2017-05-16T16:35:01Z")
Another thing about baby chicks - there are methods to sex them and some are more accurate than others. The place we got our chicks from said they were about 80-90% accurate and should be hens. It turned out that in a batch of 3 we got, one was a rooster. Since they don’t lay for a while, we couldn’t tell for about 3 months or so. They also don’t crow right away, so we didn’t know and were holding out hope. The larger size, different feather sizes, and well, the constant crowing gave it away after a while. Fortunately we were able to find a rooster surrender person that took it. I like to believe there are open fields full of roosters this person maintains. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/37 "2017-05-16T17:00:05Z")
> [@Kron](#): > > I want this. Here you go. [http://www.northernsun.com/Chicken-Motives-Organic-TShirt-(8359).html](http://www.northernsun.com/Chicken-Motives-Organic-TShirt-%288359%29.html) ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/38 "2017-05-16T17:20:08Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > Fortunately we were able to find a rooster surrender person that took it. I like to believe there are open fields full of roosters this person maintains. Out of curiosity, why didn’t you eat it? ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/39 "2017-05-16T17:26:15Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Gives [Flogging Molly](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flogging_Molly) a whole new meaning, doesn’t it. It does! Although I have never considered naming a rooster Molly. The recently-departed one was named CULLigan, since I was pretty sure his destiny was to eventually end as it did. > [@Bone](#): > > Fortunately we were able to find a rooster surrender person that took it. I like to believe there are open fields full of roosters this person maintains. It’s nice to think that, isn’t it? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/40 "2017-05-16T18:31:24Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Out of curiosity, why didn’t you eat it? The deal the family made when we decided to get chickens was that we wouldn’t eat them (those specific chickens, we still eat chicken in general). I know their egg laying window is not as large as their lifespan, but in getting them we committed to caring for them even when they weren’t able to produce - like pets. Roosters though, we also agreed that if any happened to be roosters they wouldn’t be allowed to stay with us. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675.md?page=3)