I watched this documentary on the DC PBS station the other night and, well, it was pretty quirky but interesting and with the best chicken photography I've ever seen on TV. LOL
It's a series of stories about chickens, ranging from a lady who treats her pet chicken like a poodle to a headless chicken that lived in the 1940s and a wonderful story at the end about a mama chicken.
Might want to keep an eye out for it or maybe check your local video store.
It also has shots of the coolest chickenmobile car you've ever seen. I want that car. LOL
http://www.shoppbs.org/sm-pbs-the-natural-history-of-the-chicken-dvd--pi-1428832.html
Natural History of the Chicken on PBS
I'm sure it's a great video for us chicken lovers, but I have one question.....
Did any of our tax dollars go towards the making of this (PBS) chicken history video???? Hmmmm......
I have no idea. Sometimes PBS underwrites independent producers and sometimes they just pay for the rights to air the finished product. And whether that money came from tax dollars or donations or some of each I couldn't tell you.
PBS sells videos of things they buy from other sources such as the Masterpiece Theater productions, so the fact that it's a "PBS video" doesn't mean they paid for it to be produced.
Anyway, wasn't trying to start a political fight about spending of tax dollars, just let everyone know about this in case they would like to see it. It's not exactly a chicken history despite the name either. LOL
Oh I know that you weren't looking for a political debate.... Neither am I. LOL I just thought it would be like our government to fund something like the "history of the chicken" movie. :-D ...would that be considered "pork" that taste like chicken? hahaha!! lol
Actually I would have preferred a little more history of chickens and a little less headless chicken story. LOL But the stories were great. I loved the lady who saved her chicken with mouth to beak CPR and the lady with the pet chicken and the mama chicken story at the end. The shots of the pet chicken lady driving around with the chicken sitting in his car seat and the chicken watching opera on tv are adorable. Oh, and the guy who does a dead on impression of rooster talk.
Anyway, it's more humorous, quirky and touching than history.
Hart, was that pet chicken's favorite food a Big Mac?
It was a McDonald's burger but it looked like just a regular burger to me. He didn't seem to be pecking with it with gusto either. LOL
That lady was crazy! She said chickens are very smart! What a joke! Good entertainment, though! I'd rather my tax dollars pay for that than some of the crap i see on network television! Here in the DFW area public television is fund by pledges and grants.
How DOES a headless chicken live????
...I'm not going to buy the video, so you won't ruin it for me. ;) lol
Skip this if you're squeamish.
Some farmer in the 1940s was slaughtering chickens to eat and one of them lived. He was chopping off their heads. My guess is that what he did was cut off the chicken's face and enough of its brain was left for it to live.
They fed and watered it through the hole in its neck and sent it out to sideshows hoping to make their fortune. The chicken died while on tour. I thought the whole story, including the photos of the poor chicken, was kind of disgusting.
Ewww, just eww : P
Oh, and Glenda, I only put in the link for the video for info. You certainly don't have to buy it. I'm sure your local PBS station will show it sometime. Just keep an eye out.
I didn't care for the headless chicken section but every other segment was very good. I think anyone who likes chickens would enjoy it.
When I was a child, my father wouldn't let me have a dog. My brother had one and Dad had several hunting dogs, but I guess he figured girls didn't need dogs. I was obsessed with Lassie and Rin-Tin-Tin. I dreamed of having a dog to teach tricks and to go places with me. One year when I was in probably third grade, the local Giantway gave away chickens before Easter. Mom got groceries and for some now unfathomable reason, let me get a chick.
I brought it home and it took up residence in my top dresser drawer with a heating pad. I don't exactly remember what my father said about the situation, but it wasn't nice.
The chicken outgrew my drawer. It moved into a large box in my closet. It outgrew the box and eventually moved outside. It never really accepted the fact that it was not a house chicken and spent the rest of its life calculating ways to get back into the house. He frequently succeeded.
It didn't take long to realize that the chicken came when I called it. I figured if it could do that, I could teach it tricks. I did. It played dead. It played hide and seek (but could never stay quiet while I was looking for it and would pop up and crow as soon as I got near). He would ride on the front of my bicycle and "sing" on cue. He rolled over like a puppy and slept on my windowsill at night.
He was also an excellent watchdog and frequently attacked people who he didn't think belonged in his yard, (an activity that I'm sure led my father to reconsider the dog question).
I had that chicken for 5 years and he was a faithful companion.
The moral of the story: Chickens ain't as dumb as you think!
What a great story! Thanks so much for sharing it. And I agree. I've been really surprised at how fast my chickens learn things. I think they're pretty darned smart, especially for something with a brain that can't be as big as a walnut.
jyl, that was an awesome chicken!! You could have had your own "chicken show"!! Had he lived long enough you could have taken him on David Letterman's show for "Stupid Pet Tricks"!! LOL ....C'mon, your Dad HAD to be impressed! Even if he couldn't bring himself to say so. That was one impressive chicken! ....Is there any wild chance you have an old picture of your talented chicken?? I'd love to see it! ...How cool! .....I can picture you riding your bike down the road with your singing chicken on the handlebars! ...Priceless.
hart - That poor, poor chicken. |-( ....Thought they could make money off of a face-less chicken. What sickos.
Thanks for letting us know about the video though. I'll keep my eye out for it on TV. :)
Oh I am in agreement, I would much rather see Chicken stories and other wonderful world of animal stories , than the other stuff we have on the air!
PBS is wonderful , I have laughed cried and just sat in amazement at some of the Specials! I dont think all has to be "Educational" , just family oriented and interesting! Im actually happy to see that Chicken People had something interesting to watch! That means we are rated right up there with the Dog and Cat people, as well as the Wild and wonderful African Safari animals!!! Now aint that a Hoot! We Have Arrived!!
AMEN! Preach it Eufaula!! ;)
Yeah! Animal Planet are you listening? Better get your act together. We're tired of sharks and snakes and tributes to the late Steve Irwin.
for those of you interested! I am watching the Hallmark channel, the program on the Penquin migration and hatching process is on! Very interesting and heart warming!
Yeah hart! That's right! ....What? Chickens aren't animals??? It's about time Animal Planet features the only animal that wakes folks up every morning, helped our Founding Fathers feed their families, contributes to the rising of cakes, and made it possible to order something "sunny side up"!! Where would America be without the humble chicken???? ...The chicken gets no respect.
~; >
I think we should all write to Animal Planet and demand equal treatment for poultry.
AIn't That tha Truth! Where would we have been without the worlds first Alarm Clock? The best Sunday Dinners! Feather Pillows! Comforters! OOPs! Oh Well They were pets first before they Stuffed our Beds and Pillows! LOL!!
but its the Truth , Poultry of all kinds have always been the #1 farm Animal , because it was easy to raise,prolific and took very little to give so much in return!
Chicken Lovers Unite!!! LOL : )
I'm 26 years old and have raised chickens for 20 of those years. I've also had lots of other livestock, poultry, and others animals. I love having chickens but they are not smart. JYL, congratulations on training your chicken, but was your chicken house-broke? Did it fetch things? Did it follow simple commands?
No offense, but chickens are not anywhere close to the intellectual level of a dog, horse, donkey, pig, skunk, racoon, cow or even a goat!
I do agree, however, that the chicken is very unappreciated and that they are a staple of American life. Let's enjoy these useful and interesting birds, but let's not kid ourselves into thinking they are smart.
Yes, the chicken was atually housebroken and pecked at the door to go out (most of the time) and he did do the tricks on command. I wouldn't say ANY animal is intellectual, but some are smarter than others.
....I'm willing to bet that chickens, and other animals for that matter, are not unlike people. Some people, and some chickens, are smarter than others. ;)