You may not think chickens are very interesting when compared to some other birds. Especially when chickens can’t even fly and just run around farms; have you ever even seen a wild chicken?
However, I’ve got 20 interesting facts about chickens to open up your eyes to just how interesting they can be!
1. A headless chicken survived for 18 months!
Typically a headless chicken can run the length of a football field before it dies, which doesn’t take very long.
Mike The Headless Chicken, or as some called him Miracle Mike, was intended for dinner and had his head chopped off. However, Mike didn’t accept his fate. Miraculously, he survived without his head and continued to clumsily run around for the next 18 months. Mike toured the country and was able to earn his owner $4,500 per month, which is equivalent to $52,000 in 2020.
Mike died by choking on a kernel of corn in March 1947. Otherwise, he may have lived many more years and died of natural causes.
2. Chickens are smarter than toddlers
If you thought chickens were dumb, you’d be wrong. On the contrary, the average chicken is considered to be smarter than your average human toddler. As soon as a chicken hatches, it can keep track of objects out of sight, has self-control when dealing with rewards, and can even count up to 5. All of this a human baby needs to be taught or takes time to learn.
3. Chickens lay bigger eggs if you play classical music for them
Research suggests that hens prefer classical music, opting to go to hen boxes playing classical music over other music. Taking this a step further, many farmers have taken to playing classical music for their hens and found that since doing so, the eggs are actually bigger than before.
It’s thought that a happier and more relaxed hen will produce bigger eggs, and the hen’s preference is for classical music. Learn how to raise chicken at home with this Hen Keeping Guide.
4. Chickens have better vision than most humans
If you thought your vision was good, think again! Chickens can see better than any human. They can see more colors, and in a wider variety of shades than humans. Their eyes move independently, and they have a 300-degree field of vision, whereas humans have only a 120-degree field of vision.
5. Chicken egg color depends on the color of the chicken’s earlobes!
Have you ever wondered why there are white eggs and brown eggs? Have you ever seen a blue or green egg?
The genetics of a chicken determines the color of the egg, and that color will generally match the chicken’s ear lobes. So if a chicken has white ears, the eggs will be white, if a chicken has red or brown ears, then the eggs will be brown.
In some cases, chickens will have blueish or greenish ears, which will tell you you will have some interestingly colored eggs coming.
6. Chickens lose their feathers when stressed
People say that a stressed-out person will lose their hair or even pull it out. That is actually true for chickens though.
If a chicken remains stressed for too long, it will start to molt and lose its feathers.
7. Chickens outnumber humans
Living in a city, you may not notice it, but chickens outnumber humans by as much as three to one. There are roughly 19 billion chickens running around the planet at any given time.
8. If you’re scared of chickens, you’re Alektorophobic
Do you have an irrational fear of chickens? You may have Alektorophobia, and apparently, it’s very uncommon.
Or You may have been afraid of a local chicken that chases you after school, but that is a rational fear. You don’t want to be attacked!
If you’re Alektorophobic, then you have no real reason to be afraid of chickens but seeing them or even hearing about them causes severe panic.
9. On average, 289 chickens die in the US every second
In the US alone, 25 million chickens die every day to be sold as food. That is 289 chickens every second, or nine billion per year.
10. The world record egg yolk winner had nine yolks in one egg
Have you ever cracked an egg and found a double yolker? Well, the most yolks ever found in a single egg were nine, and that record has lasted since 1971!
LEARN MORE: 20 Interesting Facts About Queen Bees
11. The most eggs laid in a single day was seven!
Usually, a chicken will only lay one egg per day and sometimes less, and an egg will generally take 24-26 hours to form. However, this can be manipulated with lighting, and a chicken may not lay its eggs every day.
A leghorn chicken has the record for most eggs laid in a single day, with seven in one day.
12. Chickens tell the time by looking at the sun
Some people believe that chickens can navigate using the sun, but this is not fully proven. Chickens use the magnetic fields of the earth to help guide and orientate themselves. What chickens do use the sun for is to tell the time of day.
Studies show that when food was placed in different places at different times of day, the chickens were able to find it. It’s thought they used the sun to do this, but using it as a time rather than a navigational aid.
13. Chickens can recognize up to 100 faces
Chickens can recognize their owner and surprisingly up to 100 human faces! They also have a preference for beautiful humans, having a preference for symmetrical faces.
14. A chicken can recognize its name
Just like mans best friend, a chicken will recognize its own name if you give it one and use it often. Of course, it doesn’t mean it will come running, but perhaps if you offer some food and then call, it will come to greet you.
15. Hens talk to their eggs, and they talk back!
Hens take excellent care of their chicks, and that starts as soon as they lay the egg. they will even start talking to their chicks in the shell, and the chicks will chirp back!
This is especially common right before the chick hatches, and it’s communicating and saying it’s ready to come into the world.
16. A chicken’s top running speed is nine mph
A chicken’s top running speed is around nine mph, this may vary depending on the chicken or what may be chasing it.
Compare this to the top speed ever recorded by a human of 23 mph, or the average speed of a regular person, 5-6 mph. You may not be able to outrun an athletic chicken.
17. Only one country doesn’t have live chickens
It may surprise you to know that there are actually two locations in the world that don’t have live chickens. Vatican City is a country that does not have its own live chickens because they are just too small and import everything from Italy.
18. The oldest recorded chicken was 22 years old
Do you know how long chickens live? The average is 5-10 years if they die of natural causes. The oldest chicken ever recorded was 22 years old, her name was Matilda, and she was from Alabama.
Matilda’s owners have no specific reason she managed to live so long, except that she lived indoors and was well cared for. So it may have just been luck.
19. Chickens teach and learn from each other
Chickens are extremely smart animals, they can learn their name, you can teach them tricks, and a mother hen will teach her chicks all of the skills needed to survive the world, including what they should and shouldn’t eat.
20. Chickens are the closest living relative of the T-Rex
Would you be afraid if a chicken chased you? Probably not. However, chickens are the closest living relatives of the fearsome T-Rex. So you better hope they don’t evolve back to that state in the future.
Final Thoughts
I promised you 20 interesting facts about chickens, and I think I delivered. Chickens aren’t the simple and boring creatures you may have thought they were and can even make great pets if you live on a farm.
