r/interestingasfuck 29d ago

/r/all Chick with genetic defect

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u/_who-the-fuck-knows_ 28d ago

This is kinda how evolution works. Random mutations in genes. The good mutations carry on through breeding.

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u/Aridross 28d ago

Bearing in mind that when you’re talking about evolution, “survives long enough to breed” is the only criterion for “good” that matters.

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u/Kellei2983 28d ago

you still need to be able to attract/get mate, survival on its own is not enough

I'm looking at you, pandas

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u/Bud_Roller 28d ago

And not every mutation gets passed on to offspring. Evolutionary mutation is far more subtle than suddenly sprouting a new set of limbs.

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u/Positive-Wonder3329 28d ago

Truee but we ain’t talking about a six legged panda bear here. Pandas are so lackadaisical imagine how perfect the world was when they actually evolved. Probably so quiet and beautiful

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u/Jackal000 28d ago

Pandas are the only type of animals that get actually laid on accident. Clumsy fuck.

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u/[deleted] 28d ago

My sister can prove your statement to be otherwise.

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u/WickdWitchoftheBitch 28d ago

Gigant pandas do mate, they just don't like to be watched when doing it.

Red pandas (the one true panda) also have no issues on the copulation front.

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u/Azraellie 28d ago

Pandas are fine in the wild, their whole thing is captivity breeding and habitat destruction.

It is the precise reason that you cannot them at all, or breed them without being surrounded by bamboo in Minecraft c:

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u/XanderZulark 28d ago

Pandas would be fine if we hadn’t destroyed their habitat.

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u/Forward-Ad8880 27d ago

Pigeons literally do not care what the partner looks like as long as they have recognisable pigeon features. Scientists have tested this by making horrible pigeon monstrosities and showing pictures to normal pigeons. They literally only cared about the fact that still pictures can't do the dance.

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u/real_belgian_fries 28d ago

I feel targeted

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u/RacktheMan 28d ago

Even more so, evolution is not about an individual breeding, it is about mutations surviving population wide and being an established part of the gene pool. Evolution acts on populations, not individuals in this sense.

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u/Cultist_O 28d ago
  • Survives long enough to breed
  • Survives long enough to breed and actually finds/earns a mate
  • Survives long enough to breed and selects/earns/finds a good mate
  • Survives long enough to breed and selects/earns/finds multiple mates, &/or over several seasons
  • The above + produces many/strong young
  • The above + they set their young up for success
  • etc

There are even advantages to helping closely related individuals like siblings

So it's not quite that simple

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u/Iamno0n3 28d ago

I'd be interested to see if this one would be able to breed, if yes we need them to get bigger and able to be ridden. We shall have Griffins!

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u/Cultist_O 28d ago

Griffons have 6 limbs, which would ba a much crazier mutation

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u/fireship4 28d ago

Perhaps, remembering to take into account the extended environment that develops alongside the genetic code, in which can be stored knowledge.

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u/Wunjoric 28d ago

Not exactly for example if its a particularly strong bull it can breed for more seasons thus have more offspring and i don’t really know how birds breed but if this chick can grow in to a vicious rooster with extra grip for love making we might even see return of the dinosaurs without the park bullshit.

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u/LeNomReal 28d ago

crunch what were you saying?

wipes mouth

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u/Ralgharrr 28d ago

Not every unusual trait is necessarily the result of a new mutation. A four-legged chicken could result from a recessive allele that has been preserved in the population, only expressing itself when inherited from both parents. However, many cases of extra limbs in animals are due to developmental anomalies rather than strictly genetic causes.

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u/allisango14 28d ago

Ive seen these before!! Some cases are double yolk twins fusing too!! (I haven't had the privilege of encountering one... but still a pretty cool thing!)

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u/cipheron 28d ago

Not just that, it shows how other genes can get repurposed in the process. It didn't have to re-evolve front legs: they're clearly reusing the genetic code for the back legs to create front legs.

So, often it'll be one small mutation that has an outsized effect because it repurposes other genetic machinery to do something complex.

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u/henkheijmen 28d ago

Yeah or in this case more likely an anomaly where some cells were displaced at a very early part of development. This is more likely a form of conjoined twinning than it is a genetic change.

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u/Ozymandius62 28d ago

Welcome to Costco, I love you.

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u/EpilepticMushrooms 28d ago

I wonder if that chick grew up to have wings. Maybe I'm morbidly curious, but I want to see this chick bred. Hope they don't have too much health issues.

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u/Overbaron 28d ago

There is no ”good” in evolution

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u/Sea-Information-8323 28d ago

This is literally how evolution works, if it is making the chick better at surviving, it will breed and there will be more chicks with this genetic mutation.

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u/berlinHet 28d ago

I mean this chick has four drumsticks. I could see a farmer wanting this.

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u/Merkbro_Merkington 28d ago

4 legs with wings on its shoulders? That’s a god damn Griffin, reproduce like a million of those!

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u/Insanebrain247 28d ago

Someone get this chick a dick! Wait...

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u/peterklapkut 28d ago

Not fully random. Evolution is somewhat triggered by changes in the habitat.

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u/_Pin_6938 28d ago

Yo.... Yo this is actually crazy. No way.

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u/Nosnibor1020 28d ago

I say we breed this regardless. I want a chickendog

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u/OmegaX____ 28d ago

Eventually, we'll get mini dinosaurs.

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u/BeBesMom 28d ago

Also how inbreeding works.

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u/N0t_S0Sl1mShadi 28d ago

Hmm… I’m thinking not necessarily the good jeans, but the ones that survive

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u/vic_lupu 28d ago

Not obligatory good mutations check this funny video from Sam o nella

At 3:25 he’s mentioning Babirusa

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u/FashionableGoat 28d ago

And why the bad ones didn't get to carry on?

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u/SuperGameTheory 27d ago

It would be kind of funny if birds evolved wings to get away from prey, evolved to become flightless because of a lack of prey, then evolved arms again because the flightless thing wasn't panning out. I await the inevitable re-evolution of wings so we can go full circle with this story.

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u/Madamschie 28d ago

this is not a mutation tho... it's two chicks, one just unfortunately grew into the other. Like a conjoined twin.

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u/_who-the-fuck-knows_ 28d ago

Polymelia is not conjoined twins.

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u/RagingWaterStyle 28d ago edited 28d ago

Nah it's the opposite really. As long as the mutation doesn't cause your death then it'll survive, even if it's just a gene that does nothing useful. It may even be useful before reproduction but detrimental afterwards and still may be passed down to the next generation through the breeding process

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u/No_Corner3272 28d ago

It doesn't have to cause your death, just make you less successful at reproducing. Even a small reduction in success will be bred out over time.