If you ask someone why chickens do not fly, you will probably hear a lot of different assumptions. The most common - due to excess weight. Chickens love to eat, because their curvaceous form is not so easy for them to lift into the air. Another popular opinion - they lost their ability as unnecessary. Where and why to fly, if they feed well at home, in the coop in the winter it’s warm and comfortable, so why strain again? So who is right, and why do hens not fly? Let's find the answer together.
Chicken commotion
We will go on a short excursion to the nearest picturesque village and ask the same question to a local resident, since he probably knows how much. But then a real surprise awaits us! After all, domestic hens, it turns out, fly. and how! Not far, true, but still. And the dapper handsome cockerels strive to sneak out into the neighboring yard in order to get hold of delicious, and even bump into other people's chickens. For which there are often bits of neighbor cocks. Rural residents are well aware that adult birds need to trim feathers on their wings so that they do not fly away, because it can be quite difficult to find a chicken that has gone AWOL. There you go! Therefore, the question of why the chickens do not fly, the answer will be somewhat peculiar.
Domestic birds
In fact, domestic birds fly everything, but not over long distances. Therefore, questions like “why cann’t chickens fly?” not quite right. They know how to fly, another thing is how they do it. Egg chickens, for example, have a smaller body mass, because they can easily fly several meters and even fly up to tree branches. Males for such "walks" have a greater predisposition, although they are large, but more lean, they have large and strong wings. These easily lift them into the air, but a cockerel can fly no more than 5-10 meters. This is enough to jump over the fence or sit on the roof in the mornings, notifying the famous Ku-ka-re-ku! Of a new day.
Representatives of meat breeds are heavier, sometimes their appearance alone is enough to understand why chickens do not fly. The main emphasis is made on crossing breeds with a large body weight, such quickly grow, feed them, as they say, for slaughter. Such birds rarely use wings, and even they simply cannot lift an abnormally large weight into the air. This can also explain why the chicken does not fly, and she has wings.
Non-migratory bird
Birds that fly away for winter to warm places have a streamlined body and wide, strong wings with a specific plumage. These allow you to soar high into the sky and maneuver on air currents, overcoming vast distances. The poultry muscles are well developed and trained in the birds, and the wingspan far exceeds the size of the bird itself. Compare the wingspan of the chicken and the goose, the difference is obvious. Therefore, the chicken, if desired, can fly up into the air, but it’s too far to fly far.
Chicken genus
Why don't chickens fly like migratory birds? With this, everything is simple, by no means laziness and not even the hand of a person is guilty of this. Chickens belong to the order of chicken, it has a huge number of species, partridges, pheasants and many others also belong here. Among them there are well flying birds, and those who prefer hiking. Such birds have a sharp and strong beak that can pick up even the smallest seeds and bugs, as well as powerful strong legs that can find food even under a layer of snow. Chickens are absolutely omnivorous, they peck grains, and they pick berries and bugs, and they don’t disdain even small animals. Therefore, it is easy to find food for such a bird, it just does not need to go on a long journey. Chicken use wings for short flights in search of food or fleeing predators. By the way, hens are excellent sprinters thanks to all the same strong paws. Have you ever tried to catch a hen?
So we answered the question of why chickens do not fly. It turns out that these domestic birds are quite capable of covering short distances, but they really can’t do it on the wing. Chickens are not the only birds on Earth who have refused flights and preferred a “terrestrial” existence. Each adapts to the conditions of its habitat, so penguins, for example, use their wings as fins, and ostriches, although they are birds, do not know how to fly.