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As a prey species, chickens are hardwired to efficiently scan their environment to detect any predators that might be looking for an easy lunch and to avoid eating anything themselves that may cause it to be their last lunch. In this section, we will cover their four basic senses and how they help chickens survive.
Chickens definitely view the world differently than we do. Having their eyes located on the side of the head means they can see 300° around them – basically everything that is not sitting right behind their neck.
The eye ring surrounding the eye works just like our eyelids closing when they are asleep and working to protect the eye when they are awake. Chickens also have a third eyelid (also called a nictitating membrane) that they can pull across the eye when they need extra protection like when they’re taking a dust bath. This flap is attached to the front corner of the eye sitting under the eye ring and above the eye ball and slides towards the back to cover the eye.
Chickens have the same red, blue, and green cones on their retina that allow them to see colours as well as having an additional cone that lets them see ultraviolet (UV) light which comes in extra handy for finding food when they are foraging. Their eyes are very sensitive to picking up movements and changes in light. This is why they tend not to like being in coops flickering lights or fluorescent lights – just too much stimulation! Chickens do not have very good night vision so prefer finding a comfortable roosting spot before dark and staying there until sunrise.
Having a sense of taste is important for helping chickens avoid foods that could be bad for them. The taste buds in chickens are located all around the inner surface of the mouth rather than being located mainly on the tongue like ours. They have about 300 total taste buds compared to the 10,000 that we have. Chickens are able to detect umami, bitter, salty, sour, and fatty tastes quite well, but seem to struggle with being able to detect sweet tastes.
Chickens have two nostrils that sit on the top side of their beak and a surprisingly good sense of smell that helps them find food and sense different predators approaching. They tend not to like the strong smells from citrus and herbs although these foods are not toxic to chickens.
Rather than having a big external ear like us that funnels sounds into our middle ear, chickens have an ear opening that sits under a flap of feathers and skin just behind their eyeballs and an ear lobe that hangs down from that
In general, chickens that have red ear lobes tend to lay brown coloured eggs while chickens with white ear lobes tend to lay white eggs although there are some exceptions. Chickens can hear sounds in a much lower frequency range than us meaning they are very good at picking up on thunderstorms, earthquakes, and other severe weather. While we tend to lose our hearing as we age, chickens can repair damaged hearing cells so they can quickly detect and respond to threats throughout their entire life.
