# Red Junglefowl dopers: Is this a joke? How do wild chickens survive? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 2, 2011, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-junglefowl-dopers-is-this-a-joke-how-do-wild-chickens-survive/601646 "2011-11-02T16:43:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Wikipedia_Cites)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-junglefowl-dopers-is-this-a-joke-how-do-wild-chickens-survive/601646/1 "2011-11-02T16:43:59Z")
Recently in a PETA smacking thread someone mentioned that chickens are domesticated versions of a Vietnamese flightless bird. Sure nuff they are just domesticated Red Junglefowl, from Southern Asia. The birds use a calling/crowing system to alert others of predators, in a presumably group security arrangement courtesy of evolution. Which raises the question, how do flightless birds survive on the mainland? I can understand surviving on an isolated Island, like the Dodo did, but this is ASIA, a gigantic continent filled with (more so in the past but long enough to have done damage back in the day) tigers and mean things. I mean, yes the Roosters have claws and warning calls, but still, they are _chickens_, the symbol of weakness. I would not want to be a chicken, wild or not, or any flightless bird living in the jungles of Southeast Asia. So how have our too-good-for-chick-fil-a Junglefowl friends still survived, \* without wings?\* ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-junglefowl-dopers-is-this-a-joke-how-do-wild-chickens-survive/601646/2 "2011-11-02T16:46:12Z")
Chickens are not flightless birds. They are ground birds. They can fly, just not very well. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-junglefowl-dopers-is-this-a-joke-how-do-wild-chickens-survive/601646/3 "2011-11-02T17:07:42Z")
I take it the OP has never spent a summer on the proverbial grandparent’s farm and, therefore, has never been tasked with catching a chicken. Anyone who’s attempted to do so knows they can be damn hard to catch. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-junglefowl-dopers-is-this-a-joke-how-do-wild-chickens-survive/601646/4 "2011-11-02T17:12:15Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Chickens are not flightless birds. They are ground birds. They can fly, just not very well. [Quite](http://www.mexicowoods.com/page0/files/mf04.jpg). They can’t fly _far_, but getting up in a tree is no problem. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-junglefowl-dopers-is-this-a-joke-how-do-wild-chickens-survive/601646/5 "2011-11-02T17:12:29Z")
> [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](#): > > So how have our too-good-for-chick-fil-a Junglefowl friends still survived, \* without wings?\* Even if your relationship with chickens has only ever been culinary, you can’t be under the impression that they _don’t have wings_. ---
**Author:** ![misling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ab097/32.png) [@misling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misling)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-junglefowl-dopers-is-this-a-joke-how-do-wild-chickens-survive/601646/6 "2011-11-02T17:17:11Z")
I’m no expert on chickens, but I would venture a guess that they survive in the same manner as all the other ground birds, IE Ptarmigan, grouse, pheasant… ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-junglefowl-dopers-is-this-a-joke-how-do-wild-chickens-survive/601646/7 "2011-11-02T17:19:22Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Even if your relationship with chickens has only ever been culinary, you can’t be under the impression that they _don’t have wings_. Though some people may be unaware that the breast meat of a chicken is the muscle group that power the wings. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-junglefowl-dopers-is-this-a-joke-how-do-wild-chickens-survive/601646/8 "2011-11-02T17:22:32Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Even if your relationship with chickens has only ever been culinary, you can’t be under the impression that they _don’t have wings_. No, those wings they serve at KFC are from Buffaloes. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-junglefowl-dopers-is-this-a-joke-how-do-wild-chickens-survive/601646/9 "2011-11-02T17:25:14Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > No, those wings they serve at KFC are from Buffaloes. And based on the size, clearly vestigial. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-junglefowl-dopers-is-this-a-joke-how-do-wild-chickens-survive/601646/10 "2011-11-02T17:36:29Z")
Chickens don’t survive in the wild here in California. They are not adapted as well as the related species they’d be competing with, quail etc. They are as the OP points out a jungle creature. I’ve seen wild chickens in Hawaii where the climate is more like home. There are plenty of predators in Hawaii by the way, all arriving much the same way as the chicken, by boat. The domestic chicken is considerably larger than the original bird, which is more bantam sized. Barnyard/mongrel type bantam chickens (as opposed to fancy birds bred for various effects) fly dang well. They can fly over a low roof if pressed, and roost high in trees. Turkeys and ducks, which are in their domesticated versions are also incapable of much if any flight, also have no problem flying in the wild. ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-junglefowl-dopers-is-this-a-joke-how-do-wild-chickens-survive/601646/11 "2011-11-02T17:57:19Z")
On my Mom’s farm there are still chickens roaming around that escaped from the coop sometime in the late 80’s. My grandparents decided to let them free roam, and they have survived okay since. Obviously they have had chicks, and there are predators out there, so it can’t be impossible. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-junglefowl-dopers-is-this-a-joke-how-do-wild-chickens-survive/601646/12 "2011-11-02T18:51:35Z")
> [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](#): > > Which raises the question, how do flightless birds survive on the mainland? By being [straight-up](http://www.cracked.com/funny-4480-the-cassowary/) [murder](http://www.cracked.com/article_19483_5-birds-with-abilities-that-put-superheroes-to-shame_p2.html) [machines](http://www.cracked.com/funny-5992-the-5-worst-ways-animals-can-kill-your-ass/), is how. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Surb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Surb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Surb)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-junglefowl-dopers-is-this-a-joke-how-do-wild-chickens-survive/601646/13 "2011-11-02T20:36:50Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Chickens don’t survive in the wild here in California. They are not adapted as well as the related species they’d be competing with, quail etc. They are as the OP points out a jungle creature. I’ve seen wild chickens in Hawaii where the climate is more like home. There are plenty of predators in Hawaii by the way, all arriving much the same way as the chicken, by boat. The domestic chicken is considerably larger than the original bird, which is more bantam sized. Barnyard/mongrel type bantam chickens (as opposed to fancy birds bred for various effects) fly dang well. They can fly over a low roof if pressed, and roost high in trees. > > Turkeys and ducks, which are in their domesticated versions are also incapable of much if any flight, also have no problem flying in the wild. There are two chickens living in the parking lot of a hotel in Cerritos. I would call that living in the wild. They had been there for several years when I saw them. ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-junglefowl-dopers-is-this-a-joke-how-do-wild-chickens-survive/601646/14 "2011-11-02T20:56:39Z")
> [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](#): > > So how have our too-good-for-chick-fil-a Junglefowl friends still survived, \* without wings?\* See, those Buffalo wings are not really from buffaloes. Tris PS: Like most wild things, they survived by not dying quite fast enough to become extinct. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-junglefowl-dopers-is-this-a-joke-how-do-wild-chickens-survive/601646/15 "2011-11-02T22:36:07Z")
> [@Triskadecamus](#): > > See, those Buffalo wings are not really from buffaloes. That’s right: they should really be called bison wings. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-junglefowl-dopers-is-this-a-joke-how-do-wild-chickens-survive/601646/16 "2011-11-02T23:47:05Z")
> [@The\_Surb](#): > > There are two chickens living in the parking lot of a hotel in Cerritos. I would call that living in the wild. > > They had been there for several years when I saw them. Parking lots of hotels are not the wild, in my opinion. Cockroaches don’t survive in the wild in California either, and yet. ---
**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-junglefowl-dopers-is-this-a-joke-how-do-wild-chickens-survive/601646/17 "2011-11-03T00:31:38Z")
jungle fowl are very good at squeezing through thorny thickets to prevent predators from catching them. they like to roost on thorny trees (i wonder if they know this.) and if you think chickens are weak, you haven’t been around roosters long enough. a lot of small kids are attacked by dominant roosters and their beaks and claws could cause deep lacerations. a swipe from its wings can be as strong as an adult slap. angry roosters and even hens can chase away dog-sized predators. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Surb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Surb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Surb)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-junglefowl-dopers-is-this-a-joke-how-do-wild-chickens-survive/601646/18 "2011-11-03T06:42:16Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Parking lots of hotels are not the wild, in my opinion. Cockroaches don’t survive in the wild in California either, and yet. Sure it is, it’s a _concrete_ jungle (this time I’ll add a smiley, just in case) :). ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-junglefowl-dopers-is-this-a-joke-how-do-wild-chickens-survive/601646/19 "2011-11-03T18:05:06Z")
> [@mac\_bolan00](#): > > jungle fowl are very good at squeezing through thorny thickets to prevent predators from catching them. they like to roost on thorny trees (i wonder if they know this.) and if you think chickens are weak, you haven’t been around roosters long enough. a lot of small kids are attacked by dominant roosters and their beaks and claws could cause deep lacerations. a swipe from its wings can be as strong as an adult slap. angry roosters and even hens can chase away dog-sized predators. When I was about 5 or 6 years old I got flogged by one of my grandparent’s roosters. Big, white, Foghorn Leghorn type rooster. Getting ‘flogged’ means the rooster jumps up and kicks the shit out of you with the spurs on his feet. Cut me up quite a bit and scared the crap out of me. This was followed a few hours later with a fried chicken dinner. Yes, they were hillbillies, why do you ask? ---
**Author:** ![No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Wikipedia_Cites)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-junglefowl-dopers-is-this-a-joke-how-do-wild-chickens-survive/601646/20 "2011-11-03T19:20:42Z")
> [@mac\_bolan00](#): > > jungle fowl are very good at squeezing through thorny thickets to prevent predators from catching them. they like to roost on thorny trees (i wonder if they know this.) and if you think chickens are weak, you haven’t been around roosters long enough. a lot of small kids are attacked by dominant roosters and their beaks and claws could cause deep lacerations. a swipe from its wings can be as strong as an adult slap. angry roosters and even hens can chase away dog-sized predators. Ok, they are stronger than I first thought, I grant you, but still, forget snoopy, you would think that a brood of tigers (or whatever) would snack on roosters without breaking much of a sweat, to the point of severely limiting them. I mean a rabbit can run away but there is no way a chicken can outrun a real predator, or scare them away with rooster claws. I know man has hunted tigers badly in Asia but still, by natural history standards that is recent. I’m surprised these things have survived large cats, much less Colonel Sanders. Can somebody teach the Vietnamese about Chik-fil-A? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-junglefowl-dopers-is-this-a-joke-how-do-wild-chickens-survive/601646.md?page=2)