In the 1950s, a competition was held to create the “chicken of tomorrow” through selective breeding. This is the path that got us to the modern broiler chicken. Unlike their recent ancestors (and much unlike their distant ones) these birds grow so large so quickly that they are prone to health issues and disease.
This is a quick and interesting read: https://exhibits.library.cornell.edu/backyard-revival-american-heritage-poultry/feature/the-chicken-of-tomorrow
I saw a nutjiub once protesting selective breeding, calling it ‘Eugenics for Plants and Animals’, saying we should all return to the planet.
He returned to the planet pretty fast after I pushed him in a well.
Source: Entirely made up
I’m all for selectively breeding crops. It’s selectively breeding animals where it gets ethically murky for me.
Should we be supporting the breeding of snub-nosed dog breeds, for instance, considering the respiratory issues they have? What about broiler chickens that can’t stand up and are prone to cardiac issues? What about egg-laying hens that commonly develop osteoporosis, egg yolk peritonitis, and cloacal prolapse? Cows bred to produce so much milk they display severe discomfort and are prone to mastitis?
Like I said, the lines get blurred quite a bit when you have to also consider the health and comfort of animals.
I think selective breeding of animals is just as bad as arranged marriage.
Wait a minute, are selective breeding and arranged marriage the same thing?
Hmmm, roughly doubling in size every 20-30 years. Fortunately it should be at least a few centuries before we really have to worry.
Actually, chickens are already so big, they’ll die from the weight before getting to adulthood.
Relevant XKCD: https://xkcd.com/605/
Relevant radio drama: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao4ySjqjV3c
its putting on some weight thats for sure
That’s not just any chicken, that’s The Chicken of Tomorrow!
What if chickens seem simple because they share a single hive mind?
52
Quick mafs.
‘As a paper in the journal Poultry Science puts it, if humans grew as fast as broilers, “a 6.6 lbs. newborn baby would weigh 660 lbs. after 2 months.”’
So percentage weight isn’t a perfect stat for cross species comparisons I understand that but holy shit that’s messed up. And it’s not like theres no other evidence of this being insanely unhealthy for the species…
Great article. Also pretty sad to see what we’ve ended up with in the name of business. Maybe if humanity survived another few hundred years we will look back on this time of corporations with disgust.
Humanity will survive. Our current society may not.
So why does the one on the right have the thing on its head and the others dont
Some broiler chickens are 6 weeks when slaughtered. That’s the most extreme they get… So far.
These look like they’re taken at different stages in a chicken’s life. The more developed head thingy and size of the bird is because it’s older.
