seen from Türkiye
seen from United States
seen from Russia
seen from China
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Saudi Arabia
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from Türkiye
seen from Italy
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Kenya
seen from Russia
seen from India
seen from China
seen from Spain
Have you seen a Chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus)?
I have seen one in nature
I have seen one in captivity
I don’t know if I’ve seen one in person
I’ve only seen photos, never seen in person
I’ve never heard of this animal
I’ve seen a dead one/a taxidermy
Range: every continent except Antarctica
Note: the “in nature” option for this poll refers to feral populations
Lesser mouse-deer Tragulus kanchil
With red junglefowl Gallus gallus
Observed by gussoni, CC BY-NC
No paparazzi, please
Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.
A female Red Junglefowl (Callus callus) with a chick under her wings watching the watching photographers warily on a Neoscortechinia sumatrensis tree in the botanic gardens.
The Original Chicken
Photo credit: Eleanor Chua.
A female Red Junglefowl (Gallus gallus) checking for aerial threats before venturing out to open ground with her five chicks in the Gardens by the Bay.
This junglefowl is believed to be the wild ancestor of domesticated chickens.
ALL FUN FACTS I KNOW ABOUT THE GALLUS GALLUS SPECIES (WILL UPDATE IF I REMEMBER OR LEARN ANOTHER ONE)
(Some might apply to birds in general, but idrk).
Their average body temperature is 40º celsius.
Hens, if something happens with one of their only ovary, will start developing more rooster-like attributes, like the comb, the tail or the crow. However, they will still lay eggs.
In fact, a so-said rooster (which was probably an AHAB), during the Middle Ages, was put to a trial for lying an egg, which was considered witchcraft, and it resulted in both the rooster and the egg being thrown into the fire. (Something like this, I don't really remember).
Their bones are hollow. This might make you think they're fragile, but actually no. I seem to remember that they're actually denser than human bones.
They were developed like this so they could fly, because the hollow bones are more light, however, ever since they got domesticized, they lost the ability to do so, since they're bred to be overweight.
The species originated in Asia, where we can find the Red Jungle Fowl (Gallus Gallus), the wild rooster, ancestor of all the other species of chickens. They were domesticized like, what, 8000 years ago? As old as wine, my brotha.
However, the wild roosters are endangered, and it's possible that in a future only the domestic version of this animal will be still alive. (This saddens me in ways you can't imagine).
The population of (domestic) chickens is three times the population of humans. So, if suddenly chickens decided to rebel against us (hope they do, I'd support them), each human would have to fight at least THREE chickens. And, as someone with experience, you don't wanna do that, homie.
They can't taste spicy things. You see, they can't taste any type of capsaicin, which is the thing that makes things spicy, so they're perfectly able to eat, idk, jalapeños and stuff. They're not flavorless, of course, but it just doesn't make their mouth sting. I think they do get stomachaches or something from it, tho... Idrr.
They're tetrachromats. What does that mean? That they see four colors, unlike humans who see three: red, green and blue (RGB), but chickens see one extra color which is purple/violet. They can see the UV lights. And how do they see them? Well, it's as if we humans put some purple filter in our eyes. More or less like that.
The yolk of the eggs are not the fetus of the chicken itself, it's what the fetus gets fed on, and that's probably why it's so healthy and full of vitamins.
They have a pecking order. Yes, a hierarchy, to say so. I'm lazy so I'll let Google explain it: it's a ranking or hierarchy created amongst every flock that determines which birds do what and when. Top ranking chickens eat first, drink first, nest first, get first dips on treats and roosting spots, and let other flock members know if they step out of line.
You see how chickens have very strong claws? Yeah, they fucking climbed trees, that's why.
Chickens are omnivors. Many of us might thing that they just eat insects and natural food, but... they really eat anything. One of my grandma's roosters once ate a snake.
They're really smart: they can remember like 100 faces!
Ever heard that they're "descendants of dinosaurs"? Like... yes but no. It's not that they're descendants, it's that they ARE. They belong to the family Theropoda, the same that dinosaurs like the T-Rex or the velociraptor belonged to. This species is especially characterized by hollow bones and having three fingers/claws on their limbs. If you take away birds from Dinosauria, then you'd also have to take the WHOLE family of Theropods from it, including the T-Rex, the face of dinosaurs, since they're closer to chickens than to other dinosaurs of their same era.
They have their own language. Yeah, each sound might have a meaning. Though, their vocabulary is not as quite wide as ours: 30 different sounds, more or less, and all these could indicate mating calls, stress signals, warnings of danger, how they are feeling, and food discovery.
They can dream. :)
Their feathers are waterproof thanks to an oil gland on their back that spreads and that makes them like that.
Therefore, they must get clean on dirt.
THEY PURR!! YES, JUST LIKE CATS DO!! ISN'T THAT ADORABLE?!
They have feelings.
And if you ever make them feel bad, I'm coming for your ass. Because, yes, chickens are sadly very abused in factories. And so are all the other animals, denied of everything that just... comes naturally to them, their feelings. They're sensitive creatures, and treated like shit. They deserve to live in nice farms that treat them correctly (not in the wild, please. They're already domesticized and not made for the wild anymore. if we want wild chickens, we should try to preserve the ones that are still alive, but I assure you, none of the domestic chickens would make it all alone).
... And now my eyes are sweaty,
Seeing Red
A Red Junglefowl (Gallus gallus) foraging alone on the grounds of the Gardens by the Bay. Photo credit: Eleanor Chua.
This was taken with the camera held low on level with the jungle fowl. Viewers would naturally find themselves drawn into the world of the fowl this way.
Domestic hen - Gallus gallus, domestica, England, 2025
