Vegan Universal

Best Tips to Make Adopted Pets Get Along in Your Home

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No doubt, adopting pets that enter animal shelters every year is certainly a noble gesture as you save the lives of stray, or abandoned animals. 

While bringing these animals to your home can be your initial step, living with them can have its own challenges to overcome and fulfill your purpose.

Especially, if you have multiple pets in the house, you would want them to get along well having a healthy bond. Thus, if you have more than one pet or are aspiring to adopt another one, this post can be quite useful. 

Fortunately, two or more pets can live in harmony and enjoy each other’s company. The key to achieving this is patience, and smart techniques, which can enable them to bond like good siblings.

So, let’s explore all the top tips to make two or more pets get along at your home.

Make The Introduction at a Neutral Zone

First of all, try not to bring a new pet, a dog, a cat, or any other adopted animal directly to your home. 

This may provoke the home pet which can create chaos. The first introduction can be in a park where the home pet may not consider the other pet a threat. 

Under your close observation, let them sniff and have a quick contact. Let your home pet explore them in a safe, open, and spacious location first. The sniffing and becoming familiar outside the home could allow them to have their first contact and put them at ease.

Give Personal Space and Individual Attention

Home Deco for Cat Lovers
Love the above canvas art? Click here ElephantStock

Just like we need our personal space, we must respect pets’ need for their personal space. 

There can be a case where one among your pets is a loner who stays quiet and doesn’t bond much. Contrary to this behavior, there can be some pets who are aggressively trying to control others. Hence you can consider creating some partitions or giving them different corners with a distance allowing equal spaces. 

You can also pay personal attention by appropriately placing their favorite toys for teething, beautiful food containers, pillows, beds, and nighttime toys. Also, it could be an exciting prospect for you to consider giving character to such areas by hanging unique wall art with animals, that can add life to the walls. 

This cozy area with toys, sleeping essentials, and cute decor would not only stimulate you but make your pets feel equally loved and enjoy their personal space. Spend some time with each one individually so they never feel left out.

Introduce Each Other’s Scents Indirectly

It’s observed that two pets get along well if they start early. Anyway, if that’s not the case, there are other tips. One great idea is to swap each other’s scents. Help both the dogs to get attuned to each other’s scents via blankets, toys, etc. Also, you can practice this for cats, and other pets as well. The familiar smell will let them connect and get accustomed to each other.

Take Charge

In case of multiple dogs in your place, take the role of the pack leader. It’s the natural tendency of the dogs to be in a pack, and they follow their leader. If you fail to perform this role, the dominant dogs may try to control the submissive or quieter dogs. Thus, be the pack leader earning their respect, and avoid fierce fights, and even injuries.     

Tip: if you’re adopting a new dog, study the traits carefully. Dogs with similar traits may get along well with each other.

Never Allow to be Biased (highly unlikely for a vegan)

Pets are one of the most lovable beings, where you get to experience their affection unconditionally. During the introduction and regular meet-ups, treat them wholeheartedly and give attention to both the pets. 

Give them individual love, applaud them when commands are followed, and never let one feel sidelined. Always offer equal love and care to both. 

Pets have a great range of emotions and be considerate while loving your extended family, which we believe quite natural for vegans.

Obedience Training

Home Deco for Dog Pups Puppy Pet Lovers
Love the above wall art? Click here ElephantStock

The majority of dogs have an inborn tendency to go after small animals. Therefore, it’s wise to train your dog or other pets well before bringing another small new dog or cat. Bonding with a cat will require a lot of patience. 

So, it seems sensible to train your pets to follow a few commands like sit, stand, spot, and a word that means “to stop.” If your pets follow such commands, they may not be a threat to other pets.  

Tip: Treat your pets with their favorite food when they follow your commands and be gentle with other pets. It will foster good behavior and allow you to strengthen your bond with them!  

Never Leave Them Alone

Be as responsible as you can, and don’t leave them alone together for a long period of time. You wouldn’t want to see a moment of heat resulting in injuries. So, please be mindful to dedicate some time to supervise their behavior. 

Observe Your Pet’s Mood

You can detect aggressive or calm behavior in dogs or other pets from their gestures. If your home dog shows signs of teeth-baring, staring, stiff tail, forward ears, or growling, just delay the introduction of a new pet for now. 

In the case of cats, having a stance where the rear end is raised and the back sloped downward, showing signs of staring, constricted pupils, forward upright ears, piloerection, scratching, exposed teeth & claws, growling, or yowling, can mean aggressive behavior!    

Also, with dogs, tail wagging, relaxed tongue, snout licks, soft eyes with relaxed lids, rolling over the back, lowered tail, and yawning are all calm & friendly signs. For cats, an upright tail, soft eyes, slow blinking, rubbing their heads and cheeks against you, rolling onto their back, and a hop-up could mean their calm and affectionate.

You can make out a lot from these signs and bring the other pet home when you’re confident that the atmosphere is calm & welcoming.

Give Your Cat Sufficient Time

Since a cat is a smaller animal compared to a dog, it’s quite natural for them to be scared of dogs initially. 

A cat will take some time to adapt and feel comfortable. In case the cat feels threatened, you may create a separate zone that is inaccessible to the dog/s. 

If during initial encounters the cat runs away, no need to panic! You don’t have to force the cat to bond with the dog instantly. Make sure to keep the dog away from the cat’s litter box. Patience is key, and if you follow the tips we’ve given above, hopefully, they should get along well with time.

Last Thoughts

You being an animal lover try to know the traits of your adopted pets and do your best to create a bonding between the pets.

You have to put yourself in their context and then assess the situation. Be smart & caring when adopting them to create a beautiful family.   

Patience, care, and timely observation will make them feel equally loved, belonged, and protected. So, try all the tips we’ve mentioned above and have a paw-some time!

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Image credit: “senior cat and dog hold paws” by rikkis_refuge CC BY 2.0

Facts about Cows (Cattle)–Sentience, Intelligence and Social Behaviour

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Facts about Cows (Cattle)–Sentience, Intelligence and Social Behaviour

When people see cows in a field standing around, lying down, grazing & chewing cud or staring at space they may think cows are dull & brainless creatures who don’t look like the experts of their field.  

Though that could be the first impression where they’re merely seen as steak, ground beef, veal, leather and dairy, suitable only to be enslaved for our appetite, if you come into contact or observe them over a period of time, you will realize there’s a lot going on between those ears of these creatures and there is more to them than meets the eye.

The facts you get to know from this post about sentience, intelligence and social behavior of cattle should hopefully let you appreciate how amazing, smart and emotional cows are. Do note that when we’re talking about cows, we’re referring to cattle in general.

Sentience

sentience, intelligence and social behavior of cattle - cow & calf bond

  • When it comes to showing affection to their offspring cows are much like human mothers. They have a gestation period of nine months and lactate allowing their newborn calf to suckle for 9-12 months. Prior to giving birth cows are known to distant themselves from their herd and hide their calf/calves behind long grass or under a shady tree for several days to protect from all intruders.
  • Due to mother-calf strong bond, there have been numerous reports where mother cows continuously bellow and call out in search for her calf, when the calves are separated and sold to veal farms. She will stop for a while and start crying again. They’re so devotional, some have even walked miles to find their lost calves.
  • Though many emotions such as disgust, sadness, happiness, fear, anger, and surprise can easily be detected with human facial expressions, it doesn’t mean cows don’t have such emotions since their facial expressions are not as detailed as ours. Let’s say we’re not accustomed to have a close look at their expressions. You can know a lot by simply observing their eyes. Usually when cows are in a state of calmness the white of their eyes are much less whereas when they fear, anxious or under threat, the white would drastically increase. This can easily be seen when calves are separated from mothers which is a common & routine practice in the dairy industry.
  • Just like eyes, their ears, heart rate, and hormone levels can show how cows feel. For an instance, when cows were stroked on their favored areas such as their cheeks & neck they got into a relaxed state which lowers the heart rate, stress hormone levels and ears were either loosely held backwards, or hanging downwards. You can also know whether the cows are on alert when you see their ears are held upright or forwards.
  • While stroking cows another notable change was their nasal temperature which can be a useful indicator of emotional state. Researchers have found when cows were more relaxed while stroking had a lower nasal temperature compared to the average temperature of pre-stroking & post-stroking.
  • When cows are released into outdoor fields after being confined to indoors for long periods of time, they seem to be over the moon with jubilation. They run, jump, and buck in excitement with freedom and joy.


Intelligence

  • According to studies done on leadership in cows show that they don’t consider another as a leader based on facts such as how well they bully & harass others, how often they moo, selfishness, or their size & strength. They naturally follow another as a leader based on their intelligence, direction with a purpose, confidence, good social behavior and experience. The reason for putting this point under intelligence is the fact that it takes intelligence to follow authentic leaders rather than fake leaders.
  • Cows seem to have an understanding of cause & effect which shows their awareness and advanced cognitive capabilities. Studies have shown that cows have learned to push a lever to obtain water from a drinking fountain and when they’re hungry to press a button from their heads to receive food. Certainly not dumb animals and show how well they can learn new tasks which are completely different from what they’ve been doing naturally.

via GIPHY

  • In 2004, Cambridge University research showed that heifers (young cows under three years old and never given birth) were full of enthusiasm when they were put under certain challenges and overcame problems reaping a food reward. Their brainwaves were more active, heart rate increased, and many of them were seen to be jumping & kicking in excitement after solving the problem. When they were simply given the same food reward with no challenge, no signs of excitement was shown. This proved, what gave them joy is problem-solving and not merely the food reward!
  • Cows also show how they use memory to overcome their routine challenges and social behavior. In their natural habitats cows remember sources of food & water, migrating routes, ideal locations to shelter, and differentiate individual cows.
  • Another way they use experience and memory is to maintain their resistance to disease and parasites by consuming medicinal plants and keep illnesses at bay by avoiding poisonous forbs & plants. This is something they seem to pass down from generation to generation.
  • Just like us cows avoid danger & harm learned by previous experiences. They tend to avoid and communicate others in the herd about painful experiences with electrical fences, electrical prodding and have shown fear responses to humans from previous encounters of harm to their lives.
  • Ever thought, what exactly cows are trying to say when they ‘moo’ or ‘bellow’? Certainly, it’s not a crazy & mindless sound they make. It’s their way of communicating to convey messages and show others how they feel or the needs they have. These sounds have subtle differences and used to find each other, indicate that they’re ready to mate, to show excitement, joy, pain, grief, and anger. Further sounds made by calves show their requirement for nursing, and bulls have territorial calls. Cows will continue to make loud high-frequency calls days or even weeks when they have lost their calves or being separated.


Social Behaviour

  • Cows just like many other animals and humans have varied and interesting personalities. Some are bright, others can be slow learners. Some are bold & adventurous others can be shy, nervous or timid. Some can be bossy, mean & aggressive yet others can be social and friendly. Some can be curious about new things they find while others can be indifferent.
  • Cattle have a social hierarchy and through leadership hierarchies and bonds they gain a lot of knowledge about their members of the herd and have social interactions. While grooming (licking), sleeping arrangements, and queue positions show individual ranks in the social hierarchy, the ringleaders will always act promptly when trouble occurs.
  • Cattle also prefer to sleep close to their families and they form close friendships where they tend to spend most of their time with a few conspecifics they prefer. They may also dislike some members of the herd and can hold grudges for a long time.
  • According to research, cows mourn when they’re separated from their families, friends, or human companions. Their suffering is apparent, and they can be saddened even for a brief separation.
  • Just like many other animals and us, cows enjoy playing and they may even bond with animals from other species and play with them. When they’re not in a healthy state, the playful activities will reduce.

Pinterest Pin: Facts About Cows (Cattle)–Sentience, Intelligence and Social Behaviour

Last Thoughts

When people say “stupid cow” or “herded like cattle” not only they insult humans but they insult cows showing a lack of knowledge about their sentience, intelligence, and social behavior.  

Now that you got to know a lot about cows, we just hope you understood how amazing they are and the amount of respect they deserve as sentient beings.

It’s pretty obvious that they are not happily submitting themselves to be a piece of steak or a leather jacket.   

We just hope you will admire these creatures for who they’re and consider a vegan diet which is compassionate, healthy and environmentally-friendly.


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25 Facts about Pigs–All about Swine (Sentience, Intelligence, and Social Behavior)

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25 Facts About Pigs–All About Swine (Sentience, Intelligence, and Social Behavior)

According to many studies and observances, it is believed the intelligence and sociability of pigs set them apart from other domesticated animals and may even be comparable to other intelligent animals such as elephants, dolphins and great apes.

Pigs tend to have a lot of similarities with humans in terms of emotions and cognitive states and further scientific research has acknowledged their significant mental capabilities, social nature, and capacity to experience pain, pleasure, fear, and joy.

While pigs are also known as hogs or swine, male pigs are called boars, females are known as sows, young are called piglets and herds are also called sounders.

Let’s know some interesting facts about pigs to appreciate how intelligent, social and amazing they are.

Basic Facts about Pigs

The Average Size & Weight of a Pig

1) The body-length ranges from 3 feet to 5.9 feet and can weigh from 50 to 400 kg depending on the type of breed. A Göttingen minipig can weigh as low as 26 kg (57 lb).  

How Long Do Pigs Live?

2) The lifespan of wild boars generally tends to be 11-25 years whereas domesticated pigs raised for meat are usually slaughtered at around 6 months of age when they have not even reached their maturity.

How Fast Can They Run?

3) Though the domestic adult pigs can run at speeds of up to 11 mph (17.7 km/h), the wild boar can hit top speeds of 30 mph (48.2 km/h) and can maintain their speeds up to a distance of 1 mile.

The average human may run faster than a domestic pig, but the wild boars cannot be beaten even by Usain Bolt who’s recorded top speed is 27.8 mph (44.74 km/h) when he finished 100 meters in 9.58 seconds at Berlin.     

Pig Breeds & Number of Pigs in The World

4) There are hundreds of pig breeds around the world. The most common breeds are Yorkshire, Berkshire, Duroc, American Landrace, Chester White, Hampshire, Landrace, Poland China, and Spotted.

5) The worldwide pig population is apparently more than 2 billion if you include the domesticated pigs kept for human consumption, and about 1.2 billion pigs are slaughtered annually [1].

How Pigs Were Domesticated

6) According to historical records, pigs have been domesticated in the Near East about 9,000 years ago with domestication and multiple crossbreeding taking place between Asian and European groups [2]

The modern domestic pigs you see today bred for slaughter are a result of selective breeding for growth and reproduction [3] and descended from Eurasian wild pig (wild boar/Sus scrofa).

Sentience & Intelligence of Pigs

Though we’re still learning about the psychology & behavior of pigs, what is known clearly shows that they share many similarities with animals whom we consider as highly intelligent.   

Pigs are so intriguing animals and just like us they have a wide range of emotions, different & unique personalities, they love to play, and when tested they have shown their capacity to solve challenging problems.   

Memory, Object Identification, and Learning

7) Pigs use olfaction (sense of smell), along with other senses such as touch and vision to identify and differentiate objects in their natural environment. The specialty of their skill is to use all of these senses or to use either visual or olfactory cues to search for food. They also tend to use vision and audition more than olfaction when differentiating humans [4].

8) In one study when the response of pigs on novel and familiar objects was assessed, pigs were able to remember those objects for 5 days and showed their preference for novel objects over familiar ones demonstrating their ability to identify objects based on long-term memory.  

9) They also have shown their capacity to prioritize tasks based on this memory when it comes to foraging. When presented with the choice of having access only to one of two food sources, they frequently preferred the food source with more quantity and remembered the location.

10) Pigs have a good sense of direction learning to navigate mazes and have found their way home even over long distances.

11) In a research done at Pennsylvania State University, pigs were taught to control a specially designed joystick with their snouts with a food reward and they learnt to move the cursor around a computer screen and play simple matching games. The pigs have shown a level of learning in such tasks which is similar to primates.  

Social Behavior

via GIPHY

Do Pigs Play?

12) Pigs are playful animals just like dogs and some mammals. A study showed that they participate in various types of play that consist of social play and playing with objects.

They would play with objects such as balls, sticks or straws, shaking, carrying or tossing them. Their other playful motions & gestures include waving their head, scurrying, jumping, hopping, play-fights, pushing & running after each other, nibbling, circling, pawing, and flopping on the ground.

Groups & Hierarchies

13) Pigs are social animals that form matriarchal herds (lead by females) typically comprised of 2-6 sows and their offspring. Boars don’t have any permanent association with such groups. They’re either solitary or be among ‘bachelor groups’.

Similar to a ‘pecking order’ established with chickens, a ‘teat order’ in the social structure of pigs is formed at the beginning stage in the life of piglets, giving each piglet their own teat during the nursing period.

Sows have a good sense of their communal duties within the groups, and if some sows are nursing litters others may share maternal duties by foraging.

Male piglets will remain within the group until other dominant males in the neighborhood force them out when they reach youth at around 7-18 months of age. These young males may then join a ‘bachelor group’ with other young adults and gradually become more solitary with age.

Communication

14) Pigs have 20 different recognizable sounds which include oinks, grunts, snorts, growls, barks, snarls, squeaks, and squeals to name a few that have various meanings.

These sounds communicate a wide range of information such as location, feeding, mood, relationships, well-being, motivation, intent, and many other social activities.

There’s a strong vocalization between the sow and her piglets and they will recognize and respond to their mother’s voice when she calls them to suckle. Piglets also have the ability to differentiate between their own mother’s voice from other sows.

Male Female Relationships

15) There is preferential mating between boars and sows.

Preliminary courtship includes boars producing thick foaming saliva rich in pheromones, urinating several times, and grinding teeth. Sows will have erect ears, reddening or swelling of vulva discharging mucus, and release heat pheromones.

During courtship boars will sniff and nuzzle head to head, shoulders, flank, and anogenital area of sows.

Health & Hygiene (who says they’re dirty??)

16) Contrary to popular belief, pigs are naturally hygienic animals and choose remote areas for defecating and urinating far away from their sleeping, living and feeding areas.

Though there is an expression “sweating like a pig”, pigs have no sweat glands and susceptible to heat stress. So bathing in water and wallowing in mud are essential to regulate & maintain body temperature. The mud offers a layer of protection covering their bodies from flies and prevents sunburn.

What Do Pigs Eat (pig diet)

17) Pigs primarily consume plant matter but they’re omnivores and can include a wide array of food in their diet. Their plant foods include grass & herbage, leaves, roots, bulbs, tubers, wild oats, mushrooms, veggies & fruits, nuts, acorns, and flowers.

They also supplement their diet with earthworms, insects, slugs & snails, amphibians, reptiles, rodents, and can even scavenge on carrion.

Fun & Interesting Facts About Pigs

18) Pigs prefer to snuggle close to one another and like sleeping nose to nose

19) Pigs have three times more taste buds than humans

20) Did you know pigs like music? Apparently, it’s so soothing for them to listen to Celine Dion 😉

21) Pigs have 4 toes pointed downwards on each foot but they only walk on 2

22) They can easily learn functional tasks such as operating levers and switches to obtain food and water

23) Pigs can scream above 100 decibels! [5] That’s louder than your kitchen blender or food processor which is 80-90 decibels.

24) The actor James Cromwell who played the role of farmer in the movie ‘Babe’ (1995) where a pig learns to herd sheep, turned vegan during the movie and became an animal rights activist

In the end, if there is a twist to the tale–you know that was about a pig 😉

Do Pigs Eat Their Young? (savaging)

25) Considering the hell like environments in which pregnant sows have been forced to become ‘breeding machines’ by factory farms, this comes as no surprise.

Breeding sows in 'gestation crates'
Image: Farm Sanctuary (CC BY 1.0)

Based on research the reasons for such behavior found to be,

  • Sows are continuously kept in cages with bars even during pregnancy separating them from other pigs and depriving them of natural behavior and social connections
  • The cage is merely 2 meters long and 1 meter wide slightly bigger than her own body where there is not enough room to make a turn
  • By now you know how playful, social and hygienic pigs are. But here she is cramped, lives with her own excrement and, experience boredom, stress, sores, injuries, and depression
  • Some farmers may create further agitation due to their own behavior rubbing salt into the wound
  • Selective breeding by factory farms to produce as many piglets as possible can also cause a lot of discomfort for pregnant sows when giving birth (going against nature)

So what do you think? Can a pregnant human mom happily endure such circumstances?

Pinterest Pin: 25 Facts About Pigs–All About Swine (Sentience, Intelligence, and Social Behavior)Last Thoughts

You got to know some amazing facts about pigs and how intelligent, social, and lively creatures they can be in their own habitat with freedom.

Yet the question remains, how such an intelligent & sentient animal was forcefully bred under a horrific environment & to end their lives with an agonizing death merely to gratify our taste

The bitter truth is while you were reading this post, pigs were killed in thousands and 1.2 billion pigs slaughtered throughout the world annually.

We just hope this post enlightened you and pigs earned your respect and thoughtful consideration.

The best you can do is to ditch meat and choose a vegan diet which reduces the demand for animal products, provides you with many health benefits and environmentally-friendly.  

If you happen to visit a pig sanctuary (listed below), don’t forget to give them a super belly rub. Pigs just can’t get enough of it and you will lose your sense of time!

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Meet Pigs at Sanctuaries:

References

1 https://apps.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/circulars/livestock_poultry.pdf

2 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1461048/

3 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8sx4s79c#page-1

4 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8sx4s79c#page-1

5 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19749207

Image credit: maxpixel

25 Facts about Chickens (Roosters, Hens, and Chicks!)

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25 Facts About Chickens, Roosters, Hens, and Chicks!

Many may perceive chickens merely as a food source let alone having any recognition for their sentience & intelligence compared to monkeys and dolphins that display higher cognitive capacity.

What’s unfortunate is the fact that we have bred these animals to serve our own needs depriving them of evolving in their natural habitats while restraining their intelligence.

Just like how a scientist, a doctor or an engineer cannot reach their potential if they were denied of their education, internships & professional experience, a chicken cannot be expected to display their normal behavior or evolve as they ought to when they’re treated as commodities.

Seems like it’s not even fair to question the intelligence of farmed chickens, isn’t it?

We hope this post will shed light on the unknown facts about chickens and help change common perception.

So get ready to be amazed by some fascinating facts about chickens!

Are Chickens Smart & Intelligent?

1) Chickens are social animals with hierarchies that enjoy the company of their flock. This social structure is known as the pecking order and they know their place & role in this order. Individual chickens also have distinct personalities shown by their behavior.

2) They watch and learn from each other. This is especially true when it comes to chicks who will learn a lot from their mom. They also learn from past experience and knowledge from their own environment to safeguard themselves and others in their flock being able to make decisions based on what’s best for them.

3) It has been found that chickens can reason by deduction apparently a skill that humans develop with time after becoming toddlers and an indication of the cognitive capabilities of chickens.

4) In another study, chickens have shown their numerical talents at a very early stage of their lives. 5-day old chicks were presented with 2 sets of objects carrying different quantities and were hidden behind two opaque screens. Chicks were able to identify which screen hid the larger quantity even if the quantities were changed between the screen [1].  

5) Another study in 2005 led by Siobhan Abeyesinghe, at the University of Bristol, UK  gave chickens one option out of two to peck and have access to food. One option had a two-second delay with less food and the other had a six-second delay with more food. The chickens were more likely to peck at the second option which gave the higher food reward though it required patience with a six-second delay. This shows their awareness of time, anticipation of future and self-control.  

6) Chickens also have developed the ability to communicate which can be vocal & non-vocal. Crowing, cackling, clucking, pecking, wing flapping, head movements, puffing their chest out and making an alarm call for danger are some vocal & body language they use. Their communication shows their self-awareness, and having a perspective of their flock and it can be compared to the communication of other intelligent species such as primates.

7) Chickens have shown to have simple & basic forms of empathy at least with regard to their offspring. Hens have shown signs of tension and would make clucking noises to alert and warn their chicks when they’re under distress.  

8) If a male chicken finds a bit of tasty food he will try to impress the hens and perform a dance with a food call. However subordinate males can get attacked by the alpha male should they choose to do the same. Subordinate males use a cunning tactic by performing a silent dance if the alpha male is nearby (without getting noticed) to impress the females. These guys never give up don’t they 😉

Other Interesting Facts about Chickens

How Many Chicken Breeds are There?

9) The physical, personal and behavioural characteristics used to differentiate different chicken breeds are size, plumage color variations, type & amount of feathers, comb type, tufts, feather crests, skin color, eye color, tail variations, number of eggs laid, number of toes, egg color, temperament, brooding nature and place of origin.

According to The Behavioural Biology of Chickens by Christine J. Nicol, there could be more than 500 breeds worldwide with varying appearances. Of course, not every breed is officially recognized in all countries.

Can Chickens Fly?

10) Yes, they can but distance is not their main purpose but to evade predators, fly above obstacles or reach high ground. This is why you may see jungle fowls roosting on top of branches. The flight distance they can achieve would depend on breed type & size.   

Here are some chicken flight records:

  • In 2014, a chicken had flown for 13 seconds!
  • The longest distance recorded by a flying chicken is 301.5 feet.

via GIPHY (video: by Chong Hong Sun CCPL 3.0 )

Do Chickens Play?

Chickens Play Dance

11) Just like us chickens love playing. If you observe chickens you would see how they spend time running (they can really run fast for their size and super agile), jumping, scraping, digging soil to create dust baths, jousting with other chickens. Dust baths help them to keep cool during summer.

Are Chickens Omnivores?

12) Yes, chickens are omnivores and not vegetarians. In the wild, chickens forage and scratch the soil to search for seeds, worms, insects such as termites, ants, grasshoppers and could even consume animals as large as lizards, and small snakes.

What’s The Lifespan of a Chicken?

13) Lifespan could depend on the type of breed. On an average, a chicken could live for five to ten years.

How do Chickens Communicate?

14) Apparently, chickens have more than 30 variations of unique vocalizations that communicate a broad range of information with regard to territory, mating, food discovery, joy, dominance, nesting, anger, distress, danger, fear, all of which convey a different message. As we learned before chickens also use body language to communicate.

Are Chickens Related to Dinosaurs?

15) A study about the amino-acid sequence was done by a team headed by John M. Asara and Lewis C. Cantley, from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and Harvard Medical School (HMS). It was a comparison study about the amino-acid sequence from the T-Rex collagen to a database of existing sequences from modern species.

The sequences had a remarkable similarity to that of chickens (and birds in general). This discovery supports the idea that chickens and T-Rex share an evolutionary link.

How Do Chickens Reproduce?

16) Both the roosters and hens have cloacae which are an orifice used for digestive, reproductive, and urinary purposes. When cloacae of both the rooster and hen kiss each other called the cloacal kiss the sperm is carried into hen’s reproductive tract.

Do Chickens Have Ears?

17) Yes, chickens have ears! Chicks actually start hearing from day 12 of incubation! Their ears are not externally visible like ours and the small ear holes are on either side of their head which could be covered with feathers.

Do Chickens Have Full-Color Vision?

18) Surprisingly as far as color vision is concerned, chickens have beaten us according to a study! Chickens have structurally well-organized eyes to detect a wider range of colors and can also detect ultraviolet light as well.  

Facts about Roosters

Facts about Roosters

19) Roosters have a dance called tidbitting to impress the ladies and to communicate other chickens about the presence of food.

20) If a rooster notices danger, the flock will be immediately alerted with a sequence of low noises to stay close and to remain on their guard. If required roosters will attack predators and even sustain injuries or lose their lives to protect their flock.

Facts about Hens

21) Seems like hens favor roosters who perform a lot of tidbitting and they also like them to have big, bright red combs with tall points on their heads, even wattles, long spurs, and shiny & colorful feathers.

22) Hens make amazing mothers and would guard their young from predators. While brooding (incubating) hens are so protective of their eggs and once they’re hatched mama hen will be quick to shield the chicks under their wings from any harm or bad weather. Hens will sacrifice their lives to protect their babies.    

Facts about Chicks

23) Baby chicks are not merely tiny little creatures full of cuteness, but they’re smart. Chicks have the capacity to work with numbers up to five which apparently is better than human newborns which is three according to a study.   

24) Chicks take approximately 21 days to hatch and after 18 days, they will start breaking through the shell. The hen will further support this process by clucking to help the chick out. After about 3 days the chicks should come out of the shell completely.

25) Once the chicks become bigger inside the eggs and find it difficult to get oxygen through the micro-holes of the eggshell they use their egg tooth and pipping muscle to peck and break the shell. The egg tooth falls after a few days of hatching.

25 Facts about Chickens, Roosters, Hens, and Chicks!

Last Thoughts

So what do you think? After going through all the amazing facts about chickens do you still believe they should end up in your plate?

Worldwide, about 50 billion chickens are slaughtered each year, which means about 137 million per day.

In the wild, hens tend to lay approximately 10 to 15 eggs a year during the breeding season but commercial hens have made to become egg-laying machines to lay between 250 to 300 eggs a year with a lot of physical stress.

Did you know male chicks that are not commercially viable (as they don’t lay eggs) are ground in a macerator like waste products?

We just hope this post gave you food for thought and pave the way to make ethical food choices.

In fact going vegan would help you reap many other health benefits, besides being the most friendly diet for animals and the environment!

Guess you now know how believable the ‘Chicken Run’ movie is! 😉

Related Posts:

 

References

1 Marino, L. Anim Cogn (2017) 20: 127. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-016-1064-4  (CC BY 4.0)

Animal Cruelty Facts—Sentience, The Reality, and Our Quest for Animal Rights!

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animal sentience, animals are sentient, animal exploitation, compassion for animals

Whether it was fishing trips with dad, or envying over that ridiculously cool leather jacket, visiting the zoo, or the tempting meat & dairy food choices we made—most of us are/were guilty of participating in carnism & supporting the exploitation of animals in one form or another.

For most people, going vegan and rejecting animal cruelty may not even cross their minds until later in life. So ubiquitous is the societal acceptance of using animals for our own gain, be it for food or for other purposes.

When people enjoy a steak at their favorite restaurant, admiring a tropical bird in an aviary, or purchasing a silk scarf, they may not stop to think of the impact of those choices and actions have on the species that exist behind a psychological wall built by the society at large. It is what goes behind the scenes, the dark activities that are kept very deliberately secret that we need to shed light on.

Animal Sentience, How Should Animals be Treated?

animal cruelty facts, animal rights, animal sentience
Artwork: By Auguste Vimar (1851-1916)

Let’s take a look at these emotions / mental states:

  • Love
  • Enthusiasm
  • Pleasure
  • Joy
  • Devotion
  • Trust
  • Loyalty
  • Anticipation
  • Fear
  • Surprise
  • Jealousy
  • Anger
  • Pain
  • Suffering
  • Sadness
  • Grief
  • Sympathy

Now look at these activities & skills:

Animal Homes Structures - Termite Cathedral Mounds - animal cruelty facts, animal rights, animal sentience
Termite Cathedral Mounds (by Ray Norris)

  • Finding food
  • Communication
  • Navigation
  • Use of tools
  • Attracting and impressing a partner
  • Produce & take care of offspring
  • Socialization
  • Teamwork
  • Architecture/building structures
  • Using survival strategies
  • Making sacrifices for the benefit of others

You get where we’re going here – these are not just human emotions, skills, and activities. All of the above are demonstrated clearly and repeatedly by various animals. If you’ve ever observed animals or had pets that you loved dearly, you know this to be true.

This is why many dog/cat lovers are appalled by the idea of consuming cats and dogs by certain countries. Probably because they know how lively and sentient these pets can be.

As ironical as it can be, guess what? So are cows, pigs, chickens, sheep, and turkeys. Veganism is about acknowledging the sentience of animals and respecting their rights.

The renowned naturalist Charles Darwin often made references to animals’ ability to feel pain and their many other similarities with us. Science has shown exactly this over and over again.

Animal sentience science fraternity accepts that vertebrate species (animals with a central nervous system) are sentient [1]. Scientists are now finding complex neurons, which were once believed to be unique only to humans, in several species of primates, cetaceans (whales, dolphins, orcas, etc.), and elephants.

There is enough evidence to suggest that invertebrates too can be sentient as they possess a nervous system with many neurons. Just because the anatomy is different it is not a valid reason to disregard their sentience.

Personally, we don’t need a scientist to tell us that animals are capable of joy, empathy, fear, pain, or can learn new skills. We are constantly amazed not just by our own observations of fellow animals, but those we see & understand by means of documentaries and reading.

How Animals Considered as Food are Sentient

Cow Calf Affection - animal cruelty, animal rights, animal sentience

  • Mother cows distressfully cry and search for their calves when the baby and the mom are separated and calves being sold for veal. Just picture yourself as a mom after going through all the emotional distress, the contractions, the pain, the labor & delivery, finally you get to see your baby who becomes your new world. Then within the first 24 hours, your little one will be separated from you and you will no longer see or own your baby because others decide who gets your milk and who owns the baby. We will leave it for you to feel what you would be going through when your joyful new world comes down upon you.
  • Apparently, cows get excited when they learn to move a lever in a drinking fountain when they are thirsty or when they’re hungry, push a button with their heads to free the grain.
  • Hens can signal (communicate) danger to her chicks and even may sacrifice her own life to save the chicks. So next time when someone says don’t be a “chicken” tell how awesome chickens are and to watch “chicken run”.
  • Before they even hatch, chicks are able to have some form of communication with their mother.
  • Pigs love listening to music, play with each other and have mock fights like dogs.
  • Cows tend to select their leaders based on ability, maturity, and good social qualities, while harassment, selfish behavior, size, and strength are not considered proper qualities for leadership. Yes, they prefer genuine leaders to fake leaders. A leaf out of their book may help when we choose our leaders.
  • When turkeys are in farm sanctuaries, they identify their pet visitors and will run to welcome them.

Sentience of Non-Food Animals,

  • Parrots can solve complex puzzles
  • Chimpanzees that can be generous
  • Mice showing empathy towards their own
  • Monkeys that become furious over the injustice of receiving a lesser food reward for their efforts than their neighbors
  • Several species show optimism and pessimism [2] (starlings, dogs, honeybees)
  • Male lions kill hyenas and don’t eat them sending a signal to other hyenas to show, who is in charge
  • A pack of hyenas can easily chase away lionesses from a carcass to show the power of teamwork

Hyenas Chasing a Lioness - animal cruelty facts, animal sentience, animals are sentient
Hyenas Chasing a Lioness (Kruger Sightings / Image: Wikimedia Commons)

To us, and for many others who adopt a vegan diet, there’s no question about sentience. But for others, we hope the evidence shown by research on animal sentience should help.

Even without the loads of scientific evidence that indicate other animals are sentient and have feelings just as deeply as we do – shouldn’t all creatures be given the benefit of the doubt first? Should we not give animals the rights first, and ask questions later? Should we not cause any damage before we make judgments, just in case?

Research on animal sentience to understand the true range of abilities and experiences of animals may be fascinating from a scientific perspective, but most importantly it should be used in favor of animal rights. With the added awareness of this understanding, it becomes increasingly unethical and illogical to continue to cause animals any harm.

What are Animal Rights?

Animal rights in its simplest form would be the idea that non-human animals are entitled to their own life and freedom, due to their capacity to experience life.

According to Peter Singer, the basic principle of equality requires equal consideration.

Therefore, every creature with a will to live has a right to live free from pain and suffering. After all, life belongs to the creature that carries, lives & experiences it; hence they have every right for it.

Do note that animal rights and animal welfare are two different positions. While animal rights do not consider animals as property and try to abolish commodity status, animal welfare advocates the humane treatment of animals in their use for humans.

Animal Cruelty Facts (The Norm & Reality)

Hens in battery cages, animal cruelty, animal rights, animal sentience
Hens in Battery Cages (image: Secretaria de Agricultura e Abastecimento do Estado de São Paulo Agriculturasp)

Let’s try & keep this brief and get a perspective from many industrial animal farms’ point of view (do note that this may not necessarily be the attitude of all farmers who may do their best to maintain animal welfare, though animal welfare in animal agriculture disregards the premises of animal rights)

  • Chickens, pigs, cows, turkeys, etc. are all sentient beings, but we just have to treat them as commodities to meet the demand and make profits.
  • Piglets get stressed by overcrowded conditions. Let’s castrate them shortly after birth, amputate their tails and clip their teeth so they don’t cause any damage or increase costs to our ‘end products’.
  • Space is expensive. Let’s keep our egg-laying hens in multi-story battery cages – the consumer still pays the same price irrespective of the chickens suffering osteoporosis. Most of the eggs consumed in the US are produced this way, and we’ve got to stay competitive here.
  • Whether a veal calf moves in its pen or raised immobilized in veal crates, who cares?
  • A broiler chicken that dies of heart failure because we pumped it with steroids doesn’t fail to attract a buyer!
  • These male chicks will never lay eggs – grind them in the macerator like useless pieces of garbage.

But dairy cows lead happy lives, frolicking out in the fields with their big-eyed calves like nature intended, right?

Deep down we think you already know the truth. To produce the most milk possible, you need to keep your dairy cows pregnant as much as possible. That inevitably results in calves. The calf will just live 4-5 years if it’s a female. That means it has the potential to produce milk, great!

But taking milk from mom to grow that baby calf into a dairy cow just doesn’t make good business sense now does it? So let’s take it away from mom after a day (come on, we don’t want to be cruel here!) and feed it a replacement milk substitute that will keep it alive long enough until it produces profits – but no longer than that.

The normal lifespan of a cow is around 20 years, but due to the horrendous conditions they are forced to live in; they cease to become ‘profitable’ after about 5 years. Then it’s time to show gratitude for producing profits – the slaughterhouse.

If that calf was born male… well.

Humans seem to be the only adult mammal that likes having milk derived from other mammals even after infancy. This is despite 75% of the world population, apparently being lactose intolerant which is not considered abnormal!

Premature Death Caused By The Factory Farms

Chickens often live to ten years of age. A broiler chicken, on the other hand, is pumped so full of growth hormones, and antibiotics that they grow faster than their heart or skeletal systems can support. They are usually slaughtered at just six weeks of age.

Pigs can live to well over 15 years of age under natural circumstances – yet factory farmed piglets are destined for slaughter as young as 4-6 months.

To avoid harmful behavior in an unnatural environment with crowded confinements and to keep profits over animal’s well-being, farmers routinely make use of the following convenient solutions:

Chick Debeaking - animal cruelty facts, stop animal cruelty, animal rights, animal sentience, animals are sentient, animal exploitation, compassion for animals
Debeaking a chick (by vegnews / http://www.chooseveg.com/eggs.asp)

  • High stocking density
  • Restricted movement
  • Castration
  • Dehorning
  • Tusk trimming
  • Beak-trimming
  • Blinders
  • Branding
  • Ear tagging
  • Nose ringing
  • Tail docking
  • Tongue resection
  • Teeth cutting

The chances are most of you would never be able to inflict any of these procedures yourself – yet every time you buy prettily packaged meat, dairy or egg products from your supermarket, you support that industry.

Industrialized Factory Farming Cruelty on a Global Scale

With these industries, consideration for sentience has ceased to exist and treat animals as commodities, that come off a highly efficient production line. Upwards of 60 billion, yes, billions of lands animals and over a trillion marine animals are killed every year for human consumption.

The human population is about 7.5 billion as of 2017. If those animals considered equivalent to humans in numbers, it is like committing a mass murder that would eradicate the entire human population in a span of, one and a half months (without considering the marine animals).

Besides the violation of animal rights, factory farming is a major cause of environmental pollution as well.

How to Stop Animal Cruelty and What We Can Do About It

To stop animal cruelty, we need to start with what’s on our plate! If going vegan seems overwhelming for the moment, you can always start with incremental steps towards an ultimate vegan lifestyle. We encourage you to read our post about transitioning to a vegan diet, and it’s a lot easier than you may think.

You should also note that following a vegan diet not only saves animals, but it’s healthful according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics[3]. Therefore it makes no sense to consume animals even on health grounds.

Once You’ve Changed Your Diet, You May Consider Avoiding Other Forms of Animal Exploitation:

Caged Zoo Animals - animal cruelty facts, animal rights, animal sentience, animal exploitation, compassion for animals

Circus Baby Elephant Training - animal cruelty facts, stop animal cruelty, animal rights, animal sentience, animals are sentient, animal exploitation, compassion for animals
Circus Baby Elephant Training (by Heather Norwood / http://www.peta.org)

  • Circuses, zoos, aquariums and sea worlds
  • Laboratory testing
  • Recreational and sport fishing
  • Hunting / Poaching
  • The leather, skin, fur, goose down, silk and wool industries
  • Using animals for film and television productions
  • By-catch as a result of fishing
  • Bull, cock, dog fighting, and baiting.
  • Toro de fuego / Toro júbilo (fire bull)
  • Rodeos
  • Using for military and security functions
  • Using for scientific experimentation and cosmetic / household products testing
  • The keeping of pet/leisure animals (if your motive is to help an injured, deprived or abused animal & give life, there is no issue. The issue is supporting commercial pet/leisure animal breeding industry which exploits animals e.g. puppy mills)
  • Use for transportation

Embracing a vegan lifestyle means recognizing above activities as exploitation. If you do care, then not supporting financially or getting involved in such activities are the best ways to show it.

Final Thoughts

Some may have this wishful expression – the animal ‘gave up its life’ for us. But in reality, they didn’t. We took their lives, and we have no excuse for doing so. Discriminating against animals or believing them to be inferior because they belong to a different species is known as speciesism and is as unscientific and unjust as racism or sexism.

Once you’ve changed what’s on your plate, you might find it’s not just your body that starts changing, but the way you think too as you’re driven by compassion for animals. By omitting certain foods, you suddenly start to think about them–”that chicken curry I ate actually used to be a living animal and chances are, that creature suffered terribly in life.”

You’ve made an important connection here. What I buy, what I eat, and how I choose to live my life have a direct impact on other sentient beings with whom I share this planet.

By avoiding animal products you also boldly say to the corporations which make animals suffer, that you will no longer support it!

You’re not giving up animal products – you’re gaining back your health. You’re not giving up burgers and fried chicken – you’re gaining clarity, peace of mind, and freeing yourself from some of the burdens of guilt. You’re not giving up on life – you’re saving lives.

Perhaps, this quote puts it best,

“It is just like man’s vanity and impertinence to call an animal dumb because it is dumb to his dull perceptions.” – Mark Twain

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References:

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4494284/

[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3158593/

[3] http://www.eatrightpro.org/resource/practice/position-and-practice-papers/position-papers/vegetarian-diets