When a hen lays an egg and clucks, is this happy relief, just one of those, or somethng else, and has this clucking evolved in any sense to advertise whatever.
I wonder too if it’s so different to my dog getting a happy spring in his step and smile on the dial after he has a dump.
transition said:
When a hen lays an egg and clucks, is this happy relief, just one of those, or somethng else, and has this clucking evolved in any sense to advertise whatever.
Good question. Advertising the fact you have just laid an egg would not seem like a great move, from an evolutionary point of view. Nonetheless, those who do it do seem to have survived in the greatest numbers.
transition said:
I wonder too if it’s so different to my dog getting a happy spring in his step and smile on the dial after he has a dump.
Can’t say I’ve noticed that in my kelpie/collie, but something she does do is scrape backwards with her back legs, as if to cover the mess up, except it’s usually on grass, and she does the scraping a couple of metres away from the deposit, so it’s totally ineffective.
A hangover from the days when her predecessors lived in the desert perhaps?
The Rev Dodgson said:
transition said:
When a hen lays an egg and clucks, is this happy relief, just one of those, or somethng else, and has this clucking evolved in any sense to advertise whatever.
Good question. Advertising the fact you have just laid an egg would not seem like a great move, from an evolutionary point of view. Nonetheless, those who do it do seem to have survived in the greatest numbers.
transition said:
I wonder too if it’s so different to my dog getting a happy spring in his step and smile on the dial after he has a dump.
Can’t say I’ve noticed that in my kelpie/collie, but something she does do is scrape backwards with her back legs, as if to cover the mess up, except it’s usually on grass, and she does the scraping a couple of metres away from the deposit, so it’s totally ineffective.
A hangover from the days when her predecessors lived in the desert perhaps?
yes, burying scats would help predators not to follow you, but dogs do seem to be quite ineffective about it. While cats actually bury their waste, dogs seem to be quite half hearted about it… so maybe a slight, unimportant hangover..
or laziness.
(prepares for stories of dogs that do actually bury)
Arts said:
The Rev Dodgson said:
transition said:
When a hen lays an egg and clucks, is this happy relief, just one of those, or somethng else, and has this clucking evolved in any sense to advertise whatever.
Good question. Advertising the fact you have just laid an egg would not seem like a great move, from an evolutionary point of view. Nonetheless, those who do it do seem to have survived in the greatest numbers.
transition said:
I wonder too if it’s so different to my dog getting a happy spring in his step and smile on the dial after he has a dump.
Can’t say I’ve noticed that in my kelpie/collie, but something she does do is scrape backwards with her back legs, as if to cover the mess up, except it’s usually on grass, and she does the scraping a couple of metres away from the deposit, so it’s totally ineffective.
A hangover from the days when her predecessors lived in the desert perhaps?
yes, burying scats would help predators not to follow you, but dogs do seem to be quite ineffective about it. While cats actually bury their waste, dogs seem to be quite half hearted about it… so maybe a slight, unimportant hangover..
or laziness.
(prepares for stories of dogs that do actually bury)
Dogs have the anal gland which tells other dogs all sorts of info, I am not sure they are trying to bury it but more like spread it far and wide so the smell spreads.
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
(Repeat)
2pm – 4.30pm
7TWO
I wonder if that chook that lived without a head was happy?
Arts said:
I wonder if that chook that lived without a head was happy?
It didn’t know.
OK, I had to do some googling on clucking…
Found this (second and third answers are very interesting!):
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_do_hens_cluck_when_laying_an_egg
They announce to the rest of the flock what they have done.
This clucking usually starts a few minutes after the egg is laid and continues for about three or four minutes. If you want them to stop just throw them something to eat like a handful of chicken food and they will stop yelling.
—-
My observation of free-range chickens contradicts the above. Given the right environment, a chicken will hide its nest and sit quietly while laying. It waits until well after laying an egg and moves some distance away from the nest before clucking. This all points to a more common bird behavior : drawing the attention of potential predators away from the nest.
——
I agree with the second observation made here. My life long observation of free-range chickens also, is to more of cackling than clucking. A cluck is a very subtle and low tone “wine”. Where is a cackle is loud and announcing. The hen will cackle to announce to the rooster that she is ready to go to her nest. Once the rooster has scouted the area and sees that it is safe he will begin to cackle. The hen will very quietly, slowly and evasively go to the nest. All the while pecking on the ground as if she has no plan to go to a nest. The rooster will stay local until she is done laying. She will cackle very shortly and subtly to notify the rooster that she is ready to leave the nest. He will began cackling when the coast is clear for her to leave the nest. The hen will run from the nest to near the rooster.
>All the while pecking on the ground as if she has no plan to go to a nest.
Sneaky bird.
Skunkworks said:
Dogs have the anal gland which tells other dogs all sorts of info, I am not sure they are trying to bury it but more like spread it far and wide so the smell spreads.
this one. And cats do this too – both ferals and domestics (e.g. the neighbour’s tom is currently doing this) leave scats in conspicuous places as an indicator of territory.
Skunkworks said:
Dogs have the anal gland which tells other dogs all sorts of info, I am not sure they are trying to bury it but more like spread it far and wide so the smell spreads.
that seems very reasonable… and likely. Good thinking
neomyrtus_ said:
And cats do this too – both ferals and domestics (e.g. the neighbour’s tom is currently doing this) leave scats in conspicuous places as an indicator of territory.
And my front garden :-/
I wonder if it actually hurts the chooks… are there pain or sense receptors in the cloaca?
Arts said:
I wonder if it actually hurts the chooks… are there pain or sense receptors in the cloaca?
They get quite uncomfortable when egg-bound, so I’d say yes.
The Rev Dodgson said:
Good question. Advertising the fact you have just laid an egg would not seem like a great move, from an evolutionary point of view. Nonetheless, those who do it do seem to have survived in the greatest numbers.
these are social animals, with quite a hierarchy of dominants and subordinates among females and males. They have a wide range of social calls, including this indicator of fecund status to all and sundry, including the dominant rooster.
neomyrtus_ said:
Skunkworks said:Dogs have the anal gland which tells other dogs all sorts of info, I am not sure they are trying to bury it but more like spread it far and wide so the smell spreads.
this one. And cats do this too – both ferals and domestics (e.g. the neighbour’s tom is currently doing this) leave scats in conspicuous places as an indicator of territory.
In the case of my dog, if that is her intention, she’s absolutely bloody hopeless at it.
Ha.
Our dog is happiest just after snapping one off as well.
I just thought he was weird…
>Our dog is happiest just after snapping one off as well.
Always gets a chuckle when this one does a metre or so dragging his arsehole with front legs, and the daughter’s dog does neat circles on its ring.
Always gets a chuckle when this one does a metre or so dragging his arsehole with front legs,
——————————————————————-
I thought that was a sign of worms…
>I thought that was a sign of worms…
Nah, it’s cheap toilet paper, gets wormed regular.
It may be that chooks clucking after laying is the product of domestication and selective breeding, and they do it more if feeling secure, like caged etc, courtesy of their human friends, to which they have had a long relationship with.
I saw once someone suggested humans and dogs had co-evolved, and that dogs may have even influenced human evolution. I wonder if the chook could have influenced human evolution.
>yes, burying scats would help predators not to follow you, but dogs do seem to be quite ineffective about it.
I got the impression they were more cleaning their paws. I also get the impression this dog goes to some effort to avoid pooping near where it dwells, and avoids stepping in it. In fact it tends to seek elevated vegetation to poop on. Next best thing indoors on the unlucky occasion it didn’t have many options was to poop in the wife’s shoe, but it could have been worse and done it in her knitting bag.
transition said:
It may be that chooks clucking after laying is the product of domestication and selective breeding, and they do it more if feeling secure, like caged etc, courtesy of their human friends, to which they have had a long relationship with.I saw once someone suggested humans and dogs had co-evolved, and that dogs may have even influenced human evolution. I wonder if the chook could have influenced human evolution.
I always honestly thought it was the chooks shrieking in pain, I mean laying an egg has gotta create some level of discomfort. Kind of like chook for “yeeeeeeowwwwwww”
transition said:
It may be that chooks clucking after laying is the product of domestication and selective breeding, and they do it more if feeling secure, like caged etc, courtesy of their human friends, to which they have had a long relationship with.I saw once someone suggested humans and dogs had co-evolved, and that dogs may have even influenced human evolution. I wonder if the chook could have influenced human evolution.
I suppose they influenced each other’s evolution
the chook felt more protected from natural prediaors
and we no longer had to hunt for big-fat-birds to eat.
(same as cultivating crops changed us for ever)
Maybe barnyard chooks call attention to an alternate
source of protein (as in…other than themselves.. <;3 )
Cats & Dogs is Apples & Oranges.
Cats are lone hunters that operate by stealth.
It’s in it’s own best interest to see that prey remain
as clueless as possible as to it’s presence, so it
buries it’s feces, and stays meticulously clean,
to avoid tipping off unwary prey of it’s approach.
Dogs are pack animals that depend upon knowing
the intentions and condition of each member of
it’s pack to maintain a territory, hunt successfully,
and understand the pack dynamic and hierarchy
to mate & get a share of the kill without having
to risk injury mating and for every scrap of food.
Sniffing each other’s butt and flipping it’s feces
abound advertise it’s presence and it’s fitness.
Each dog acts differently because they fill a niche
within the hierarchy according to it’s disposition,
ranked anywhere from Alpha to subservient/
subordinate rolling over and peeing itself at the
approach of a higher ranking member of the pack.
>Each dog acts differently because they fill a niche within the hierarchy according to it’s disposition, ranked anywhere from Alpha to subservient/subordinate rolling over and peeing itself at the approach of a higher ranking member of the pack.
Do they ever give each other a bit of space so rank doesn’t matter, I wonder.