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Most species don't seem enthusiastic when their eggs are taken, yet on farms with domesticated hens, they seem more passive when their eggs are harvested. Why does this occur?

Newmathquestions2
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    You might ask a similar question about cows and milk. I suspect that at least part of the answer is that chickens that showed the most resistance to having eggs taken became roast chicken or (if they were old and tough) chicken soup. Thus over thousands of generations, the "protect your eggs at all costs" was selected against, and chickens were domesticated. – jamesqf Nov 06 '20 at 16:46
  • That is certainly one possibility, but I do not know of anything that strongly supports it. – – Newmathquestions2 Nov 06 '20 at 20:31
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    Preferential breeding so you don't get attacked every morning at the hen house supports it. If you've ever worked on a farm or raised chickens you'll know that some breeds are more aggressive than others, but those "heirloom" breeds are typically found only on small family farms where the hens have a lot more room. Factory farming has provided incentive to breed any kind of violence or aggression out of their layers, because you can have thousands (or more) chickens living together, especially if they're "free range" with no barriers, and you would want them to be as docile as possible. – MattDMo Nov 06 '20 at 23:21
  • Okay, that makes more sense. How long did this process take exactly for hens to become docile through selective breeding? – Newmathquestions2 Nov 07 '20 at 21:07
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    @jamesqf - I had a saying on my farm: if it draws blood, it's dinner. Exactly as you stated. Young=meat, old=broth. Selective pressure in action. The chickens and roosters who were aggressive didn't get to breed for long. – anongoodnurse Sep 12 '21 at 15:23

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