what is the use of a chicken's wings?

Question

On an evoulutionary point of view what function do the wings of chickens have if they cannot fly?

Answer 1

They're excellent dipped in batter & deep fried.

Answer 2

From an evolutionary point of view they're left over from when the ancestors of chickens could fly. If chickens had been created rather than evolved then there would have been no point giving them wings. Therefore chicken wings provide evidence FOR evolution, not against.

Answer 3

Just because chickens have wings, it doesn't mean they need them. Look at a human's appendix; what does it do? At one point it was useful in the breakdown of chlorophyll from plants when humans were still mainly plant-eaters. The same goes for a chicken's wings; they used them at one point to fly, but have evolved in a way that does not use wings, but keeps them as a part of the chicken's anatomy.

Answer 4

To eat! Wild chickens and turkeys DO fly. Man just isn't there much when they fly. Most domestic chickens and turkeys are in protected areas safe from preditors and have no need to fly. Wings get clipped so they can't escape. They might not survive long in the wild.

Answer 5

You are putting the cart before the horse, and assuming that a chicken's wing has always been "useless".

Many species of birds HAVE BECOME flightless, like those that live on islands, or have become weak fliers through living in dense forest where cover is easy to find. (Chickens originated in forests in the far east). Flight is very energy expensive, so if a bird does not need to do it, it will stop fairly quickly. There is then no advantage in having large wings, so they become vestigial.

Also, they are great on BBQs!! I make a hot wing to die for by marinading them in chilli and garlic.

Answer 6

First of all, chickens can fly, but not as high or as far as wild birds. Chickens are domesticated and have artificially evolved to suit the desires of humans. Every generation of chicken bred for a bigger breast made them heavier and less able to fly. The same for turkeys.

Answer 7

Actually, some chicken can fly...short distances though. But their wings are like an ostrich's wings, they're vestigial structures now. They aren't used.

Answer 8

They are leftovers from earlier species that did fly. Evidently, chickens, in the environment that they usually inhabit, have not had much need for aviation. You have a similar evolutionary leftover: your appendix.

Answer 9

So predators will think they can fly and not bother to chase them.

Answer 10

well sum chickens can fly. so it helps