A las gallinas por perdidas

A las gallinas por perdidas
 

Hello

I know Spanish very little.
There's this piece of dialogue from "Gallo con muchos huevos".
"Oye Tlacua... como que las ando dando.
Qué cosa?
A las gallinas por perdidas."

These two characters are hungry and previously they missed some chickens.
Apparently, they are chasing them.
Does it mean simply "The chickens we lost before"?
But the form is a bit strange for me.
Any idea about this?

Gracias!

Dar algo por perdido = To give something up for lost

dando las gallinas por perdidas = giving the chickens up for lost

There may be another nuance at play here, however, but I can't tell without more context.

Thank you very much, Rusty.

Besides the right exact meaning of "dar algo por perdido" already given by Rusty,

"ando dando a las gallinas por perdidas"

has the nuance of describing it as an ongoing, yet incipient, process, kind of losing hope: "I am beginning to realize the chickens are lost for good" or something like that -if that's correct English-

Sin más contexto, estoy de acuerdo con lo que ya se ha afirmado… Un matiz interesante es que “las ando dando…” de una impresión de “dar”, es decir de “giving” sin el “up”.
That is, there is a little comic effect, in that it sounds like “las ando dando”… literally would be like, “I am giving them”… (it could be like, “I am beating them”, I am the one winning here…) But then, when the other character ask “what about it?” (“what or who are you beating?”), then he finish the sentence, changing the “winning” attitude to a “loser” one, “[giving] up the chickens for lost”. Of course, like any joke, or jokingly statement, the moment you have to explain it in detail, loses all the humor…, but I can say that when I read it in Spanish, I get a nice smile as an obvious reaction.
It is not the same as another play on words, but it creates a similar effect. Like the following example:
-- ¿Este es conde?
-- Sí, este esconde la calidad y el dinero.

“Translated” (impossible to reproduce the play)
-- Is this guy a count [earl]?
-- Yes, this guy hides quality and money.

Esconde = Verb form for “esconder”, to hide, which sounds the same as “es conde” [he is an earl].

I know this is another phrase entirely different, but in my view, in Spanish could effect a similar response to a native…

Apart from what has already been correctly explained, I'll add the Mexican "label" to this:

In Mexican slang, "andar + -ando/-iendo", depending on the context, may mean "to go around doing something", "to be doing something" and/or "to have the intention of doing something". It seems to be the latter here.

:warning: Vulgar slang alert.
These Huevocartoon stories always play with a double meaning of expressions: "Darlas" in Mexico has a meaning by itself; that is why the sentence can be presented in two parts. "Las" there replaces "nalgas", and the expression means to "surrender" oneself for sexual intercourse.
This expression is used for both men an women, but the intended comical effect is stronger when it's applied to a homosexual male, which seems to be the case of this character.
So the first character seems to be making a sexual offer to the second, and when it's not accepted, he changes the meaning of his sentence.
(I think that's the contrary idea Pablo explained, although it's funny how the joke works anyway.)

Really interesting !

Ah! Thank you Angélica!

That makes a lot of sense!!

I saw that piece of "laísmo", but, as said, está unas cuantas vueltas de rosca pasado de lo que se pregunta ;)