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Another one that I've been watching recently is chicks knowing to take dust baths with zero interaction with adult chickens. One reason for this behavior is app
by lsaferite 2y ago
Another one that I've been watching recently is chicks knowing to take dust baths with zero interaction with adult chickens. One reason for this behavior is apparently pest control.
- taneq 2y agoI find it interesting when people attribute abstract intentions to this kind of behaviour. The chick's probably not thinking "man I gotta dust myself for mites", it probably just feels good to get dusty. Now, the reason it feels good is probably that dust baths are correlated with fewer parasites and better overall outcomes, but I doubt the chick knows that. Same thing with cats liking scritches under their chin. They're not thinking "ah yes I am scent marking this human", scent glands are probably just itchy.
- lsaferite 2y agoSure, correlation like that is possibly a bit specious. On the topic of chicks and dust baths, it's quite interesting because as soon as they encounter dirt for the first time they all do the same things. If you've never seen it I recommend looking for a video. But it seems like a weird behavior to have in every chick I've hatched. TBH, I love seeing weird inherent behaviors emerge like that.
- ahartman00 2y agoCats can smell those scent markings though. They do also mark their territory in other ways. Our cats really do the rubbing thing during feeding, so i think they are trying to mark their territory, lol.