a hen and her mouse: chickens are not vegetarians

[66SiK]

I used to have a hen that was cannibalistic. She'd kill and eat chicks.

[AFreak2005]

T-rexes must have tasted delicious.

[MoodyMooMoo1]

Lol weird my cat killed a mouse in my garden and I found my hens eating it, i managed to fight of the hens and put poor little mouse in a bag and buried it :(

[kellydjelly]

haha she didnt want to share

[shannondangc]

I still don't see why eggs are vegetarian. They came from an animal.

[rivier4]

chickens eat meat. pure genius.

[galanie]

Mine eat toads and small snakes all the time. I just wish they'd develop a taste for squirrels!

[gelflingfaysuzanne]

There was a black snake under our lawn mower one morning when we started it up and so we ended up having snack chunks all over the yard. So we called the chickens over since they ate most of the bugs in that part of the yard, and they ate that bad boy up! IT took them a while to realize it was dead since they could smell snake are generally afaid of them. But after that day snakes never came in the yard, the chickens kept going after them for food. lol.

[UPGardenr]

Great vid thanks for posting it.

[AOZXRAY]

I would guess that "vegetarian" in this case is intended to convey they are not fed a bunch of old dead meat by-processing products.

[Watsamadoing]

My chooks caught a mouse the other day but I didn't think they should have it for fear of getting the taste of blood and wanting to then kill and eat my cats ... so I took it off them.. perhaps that was a bit mean!

[EKWisner]

The music is kinda over the top, but I really appreciate the point. I want organic, NON-vegetarian-fed chicken eggs. I would hope that 'free range' chickens eat a lot of bugs and termites on the side, but realistically I suspect the big farms just give them enough room to stretch their legs.

[teddy0072]

Was it free-range, certified organic mouse? That's important if you want to market your eggs as organic!

[TheGenuineChristian]

This is a no brainer. My chickens eat bugs, worms, chicken, beef, pork, all kinds of meat.

[Highdoom]

Chickens will become cannibalistic if the opportunity exists or if they are in extreme conditions (usually overcrowding or starvation)...So I guess they can say "Hey..this tastes just like...me!"

[1abshiga]

Confirmed!! My hens woke me up this morning fighting over a mouse.

p.s you spelled homesteading wrong

[1abshiga]

Confirmed! My hens woke me up this morning fighting over a mouse.

[Janice2052]

LOL - excellent choice for the soundtrack

[lmankj]

It's interesting how the other chickens are desperate to try and get a piece of it.

[bluemoondiadochi]

there some happy chickens!

[Pattrion]

I love my chickens, still working on the padock shift thing however, since my backyard is dominated by a garden... go to richsoil.com/raising-chickens.­jsp for everyone curious

[My10Acres]

I know when I find that lost piece of beef way back in the freezer the chickens really go for it.

[jeusername]

Have we already forgotten that the mutated prion responsible for mad cow disease resulted directly from the practice of cow cannibalism?This video misses the point of the veg fed label. I don't care if my chickens are vegetarian fed, but I sure as hell don't want to eat cannibal chickens or the eggs they produce. It just so happens that the only reliable way to do that is with the veg fed label.

[khover4242]

@jeusername Really?

[HotSauceJohnny]

@jeusername You have missed the point of the video and nature altogether. In nature, a cow would consume pasture. That would lead to mad cow. If left alone in nature the chicken, an evolved omnivore, would eat both animal and vegetable proteins. Your argument is also illogical. If cow cannibalism results in mad cow disease, then chicken cannibalism results in mad cow (or mad chicken) disease? I think not. And I a chicken eating a mouse does not fit the definition of cannibalism.

[jeusername]

@HotSauceJohnny

I understood they were omnivores before video, and I have no preference for vegetarian fed chickens. I did not imply that chicken cannibalism results in 'mad chicken disease'... It was simply an example to demonstrate the risk and uncertainty associated with such a practice. I would never argue that a properly fed omnivorous chicken is not as good as a veg fed chicken. I just don't trust *industry* to protect me from the third alternative the way a veg fed label can.

[HotSauceJohnny]

@jeusername Furthermore, the "Vegetarian Fed" label is an absurd marketing gimmick. You, sir (or madam), have been duped.

[jeusername]

@HotSauceJohnny

Not duped...just following the logic. I don't eat things that might be making a habit of eating their own kind.  It's that simple.

[HISandman]

I always call it Chicken football!

[curlew0609]

I don't bother with vegetarian eggs in the store. Creatures are what they are. No, chickens are not naural vegetarians. My best friend when I was a child lived on a farm, so I know that. I know a lot of things about how my food got to my plate that other suburban-raised people don't. I try to buy wisely. I do buy cage-free eggs. I know the living conditions are still dismal on large commercial farms, but at they are an improvement, however slight. So, I support it with my purchases.

[mediamaker2000]

wow! LOL

[amberb57]

I used to throw the deer rib cage in the chicken pen after I was done cutting up the rest of it. The chickens would clean all the meat off it in a few days. Rhode Island Reds are actually a bit cannibalistic.

[BreakfastBentoBox]

300! fuck yeah!

[MrMadmax478]

Them Chicken seem to be more dangerous to the mouse than a Cat. hehehe

[sookiestackhouse2u]

Even chickens can't resist a good piece of MEAT ... neither can I.

;-)

[HotSauceJohnny]

Whenever I get my hands on a live mouse, I throw it into the coop as a treat for my girls. I love watching them play keep away. And yes, once they wise up, down the gullet in one bite!

[gardenfarmer]

I separated a few chickens and fed them exclusively vegetarian...respectively they now preach, give out videos of pigs in cages, and started a blog....

but then... the other chickens by comparison seemed very possessive and greedy

[ruggedtraditions]

My chickens love to eat mice, and this time of year lots of baby mice find a one way trip to the chicken run.

[singlechopstick]

Chickens know how the satisfy their hunger. I've seen free range chickens eat fresh fish through a straw basket. They'll eat meat, I think they love it!

[canuckartist]

Yup, my hens did the same thing, never had mouse problems in the chicken run.

[SleestaksRule]

Haha, smart hen!

[kcoker3335]

Poor chicken, has to eat and run.

[grba228]

Great video. Thanks Paul for posting it.

[blackpowderbill]

Oh yea, we found out when a opossum killed one of our birds he other hens had her half eaten. Then a few days later the eggs we had we almost iron clad when we tried to break them.

[27LJV]

Omnivores at there best! I have seen them tear into frogs, lizards, mice, even a turtle once. They really are tiny versions of how I perceive raptors would have behaved. I love how she just would not share, and all the other hens were slyly surrounding her. Very funny!

[repfreedomforce]

Even chickens seem to understand property rights.

[newbhomesteader]

I like this option MUCH better than having a cat... ;o) Thanks for posting!

[nedeljkomostar]

Yeah I have seen that while back up in the mountains back in Europe at my grand mom's house. Chicken love a small mouses...

[pac3lli]

Proving once again that vegetarian chickens are merely suppressed omnivores!

Great video. Liked it and favorited!!

[SuzyB1988]

I would like to think that vegetarian-fed just means the chickens get veggie compost and grain feed from the people raising them, but still get some good bugs and stuff around. Good to know you can feed chickens meat scraps.

[ahnamay]

@SuzyB1988 I would like to think they still get bugs around, too, but I think even some organic chickens are still factory-farm raised, or in limited, penned areas where the bugs don't have much chance to survive and and be a good protein source. Come to think of it, "bug deserts" happen in some home coop-and-runs, too.

[candiedpecan]

Ha! Cute