Can chickens fly? Like, assume one was born in the wild… Or just give me some situations. Any info would be appreciated.
They fly better than penguins but not as well as doves. Domestic chickens are descended from Jungle Fowl, and, as is typical for Galliformes (turkeys, pheasants, and the such), chickens are short-distance flyers. Short, as in enough to get them off the ground and into a tree.
Last summer I tried to catch a chicken that escaped from a coop. I had her cornered by a bush that stood about 15 feet tall. As I lunged for her, she really surprised me by taking off OVER the bush. In an encounter with another galliforme, a Guineafowl demonstrated better flying abilities by going through a mistnet (a thin hairnet-like trap designed to catch songbirds) and flying for about 35 feet.
I’m sure turkey hunters can attest to the abilitiy of wild turkeys to make sudden departures.
I don’t know if broilers fly. The ones I’ve seen resembled feathered basketballs and spent a lot of time lying down next to the feed bin.
Well, I can provide some anecdotal evidence until someone with the ‘real stuff’ comes along. At the moment, there are about 20 feral ‘game’ chickens living in my little rural community. They wander freely around the neighborhood and are often in my yard. I’ve seen them fly on several occasions, but only for short distances.
A ‘pet’ chicken I had as a teenager flew up into her favorite tree to roost at night.
And I vaguely remember, from my childhood, helping to clip the wings of our ‘tame’ chickens to keep them from flying out of their pens and escaping.
My guess is that chickens, at least the domesticated version living in the US, can and will fly, but not very skillfully and only for short distances. The ones I’ve seen are certainly not going to migrate anywhere! Maybe the original wild ancestors (from Africa, I think) are better flyers.
Speaking from farm experience…
Yes, chickens can fly. Generally. The ones that have been bred strictly for meat production will get too heavy to fly very well, but they can still usually get a few feet into the air. They will just kind of make big jumps, flapping furiously so as not to plummet to the ground. Generally, about the time they are really starting to attempt flight is the time they get butchered. Amazingly enough, this is also the time they are starting to learn to crow. Crowing and butchering- coincidence? I think not! Imagine a pen of thirty pubescent roosters trying to crow… “Cock a Doo errrrhh kack kack Dooo kack dle Doo grrrackl kack errrrrr…” They don’t last long after that. But I digress.
Bantams (AKA Banties), on the other hand, are a small “wild” chicken that can fly like nobody’s business. They prefer to roost in trees at night, and they are fairly graceful (for a chicken) in flight. Rhode-Island Reds and other egg-laying chickens can usually get a good bit of air when they feel like it, too. Of course, no chicken will fly long distances at a stretch- they are designed to be “ground” birds and even the ones that can fly well will not do so without good reason.
I have even seen a 20+ pound turkey fly. He was standing on the second-story front porch of the house, and when I opened the door he was so startled he jumped off the railing… I thought he was dead meat for sure, but he actually managed to flap and glide to a gentle landing about ten yards from the house.
Drat it, brachy, you posted while I was trying to get my darn computer back on line. My ‘real stuff’ comment looks terribly rude, following your post! Sorry 'bout that - I thought I was the first person to reply.
Looks like we are all in agreement so far, though - chickens ain’t the best flyers in the world.
No problem, coosa. Many times posters have snuck in before me too.
You’re right about their non-migratory nature. Galliformes are very ground-oriented birds, finding food and nesting there. They seem to have opted for for evading predators by being strong runners (and hence having strong, stout legs which are also good for fighting and scratching for food) rather than strong fliers. But they haven’t totally forsaken that precious ability. (But I think they are asian in origin.)
Ok, so in general chickens can fly, just only enough to get over a bush or into a tree?
Fairly accurate summary, I think. I don’t think the red jungle fowl, which, as mentioned, is the wild ancestor of the domestic chicken, can do much better:
http://www.bartleby.com/65/ju/junglefo.html
http://www.cyborganic.com/People/feathersite/Poultry/NDG/BRKRedJF.html
Most of domestic chickens don’t fly very well, as as already been attested. Mostly, it amounts to flapping high enough to find a safer place to roost.
(Domestic) ducks, geese, and guineas fly very well. Wild turkeys fly a little better than domestic chickens, and a lot better than domestic turkeys.