Why can't chickens fly?

Question

What I want to know are the top ten reasons why chickens can not fly. See, I need reasons that are "WOW" facts, not random reasons like, "They just can't

Answer 1

Most chickens CAN fly. It's just the very, very, heavy ones like Cochins and Jersey Giants that can't. However, they can't do a sort of migratory flight, but they can fly up into the trees quite happily.

Answer 2

The really big fat chickens we eat can't fly because thier too fat. However, smaller breeds can fly to some extent, like up into a tree, or across a small stretch of ground, or over a fence.

Answer 3

I think this quote from Wikipedia sums it up:

"Domestic chickens are not capable of long distance flight, although they are generally capable of flying for short distances such as over fences. Chickens will sometimes fly to explore their surroundings, but usually only to flee perceived danger. Because of flight risk, chickens raised in open-air pens generally have one of their wings clipped by the breeder — the tips of the longest feathers on one of the wings are cut, resulting in unbalanced flight which the bird cannot sustain for more than a few meters (more on wing clipping)."

Basically, because they're domesticated birds they have lost the ability to fly properly after centuries of selective breeding - their 'design' makes flight impossible. Also, their wings are often clipped just to make sure they really can't get away! Birds whose wings are clipped can still get off the ground, but not for more than a few metres.

Chalice

Answer 4

Commercial Cornish-Rock broiler chickens - they produce most of the chicken meat available in grocery stores - cannot fly because their wings are unable to support the tremendous weight of their bodies. Over the years, they've been selectively bred for unnaturally bulky frames and unusually large breast muscles. (Interestingly, young birds can grow so rapidly that they occasionally "outgrow" their legs - which snap under the weight of the birds.)

Lighter breeds are able to flap for short distances (like up onto a tree branch), but chickens are poor flyers because their wings are not designed for flight.

Answer 5

i have seen them jump high enough to get over a fence but never flying. my aunt and uncle raised chickens before they had children. and their chicken hut was fenced in. they were able to get over the fence and wander off.

Answer 6

because they are fat!! have u ever held a chicken? they dont have the wing strength to hold their bodies up for a long period of time...they can get off the ground just not get far...

Answer 7

because their stupid and don't know how to use their wings. and their to fat. and if chickens could fly we wouldn't have enough to eat.