Do Chickens Have Ears?

Have you ever seen a flock of birds flying away after a loud blast of sound in the area? Many animal lovers find this avian behavior fascinating, as most birds don’t appear to have ears. But, it is clear from studies that the sense of hearing in birds is quite strong, and the ability to evade danger on the basis of sound seems to be particularly pronounced in chickens.

Chickens seem to be the most underrated birds. Many people simply assume that these birds function upon the sense of sight as they don’t appear to have ears.

So, do chickens have ears? Yes, chickens do have ears, and they make excellent use of their sense of hearing to avoid danger. While these ears don’t have protruding cartilage and look more like holes in their heads with a hanging ear lobe, they are fully equipped to detect sound.

So, without further ado, let’s take a deeper look into the simple lives of chickens to discover more about how well chickens are equipped to use their hearing senses and whether their ear structure or hearing abilities affect their egg laying skills.

Where Is A Chicken’s Ear Located?

Nature is a superb engineer. Everywhere you look, and you’ll find something to marvel at if you look closely. You see, chickens do have ears, but you won’t be able to tell right off the bat just by looking at them.

The actual holes of a chicken’s ears are well-hidden behind the feathers on the side of their head. This is nature’s unique way of protecting the ear without impairing their perception of sound. 

If you take a closer look by moving the thick tuft of feathers by the side of their heads, you’ll see that chickens have ears much like humans. There isn’t an outer ear flap, but they have an outer, middle, and inner ear. And, in some chickens, the dangling earlobe is quite obvious.

• Outer Ear – Its function is to collect the sound waves and send them to the middle ear.
• Middle Ear – The middle ear is separated from the outer ear by a thin membrane called the eardrum. The sound waves make the eardrums vibrate. The middle ear picks up these vibrations and transfers them to the inner ear. Unlike humans, birds have a single bone and cartilage structure known as the columella. 
• Inner Ear – The columella transmits the sound vibrations to the cochlea. You would call this the hearing part of the ear, and it has thousands of sensory cells connected to the central hearing system by the auditory nerve. The sensory cells in the cochlea are called hair cells. The auditory nerve takes the sounds to the brain that translates the information. 

How Well Can Chickens Hear?

You can’t say that Nature has equipped chickens with many defense mechanisms to escape their predators. And, you have to understand that the humble chicken has many predators. But one of the most refined capabilities that a chicken possesses is its ability to hear.

It is their sense of sound that alerts them of approaching danger. Chicken embryos begin hearing on day 12 of incubation. It is through auditory clues that the mother can teach her chick that they learn to identify different foods.

Also, chickens can perceive sounds more quickly than humans. Chickens can tell the source of the sound by assessing the lag time between the sound’s arrival at either side of their head much faster than humans. 

In short, if the right ear picks up the sound faster, the sound must be coming in from the right, and if the left ear hears the sound first, then the source of sound is on the left. Now, it may not sound like such an incredible feat to you, but to a chicken, it can be the difference between life and death.

The most incredible aspect of sound sense in chickens is that they are able to regenerate any damaged hair cells in the cochlea, which means that they have 100% perception of sound throughout their lives. Meanwhile, humans, with our super skills and superintelligence, have yet to discover a way to beat deafness.

Do Chickens Lay The Same Color Eggs As Their Ear Lobes?

This probably sounds like a very odd question if you haven’t heard this rumor before, but it would be quite strange and fascinating if it were true. In general, the rule holds that chickens with red lobes have brown or reddish-colored eggs and chickens with white earlobes have white eggs. 

But, there is no conclusive evidence from any research to support the link between earlobe color and eggshell color. Therefore, you’ll see many purebred chickens, such as Silkies, that have blue earlobes but lay white eggs and chickens like the Americans, Araucanas, and Easter Eggers that all lay blue eggs but don’t all have blue lobes.

So, it’s safe to say that the earlobe and eggshell sharing color gene is nothing more than a myth. And, if you really want to adopt chickens that lay green or blue eggs, don’t make buying decisions on the basis of earlobe color. 

Related Questions

Suppose you’re looking to educate yourself about the anatomy of chickens or pondering over the decision to adopt a few chickens yourself; it’s a good move to do some research into the matter.

Now, pet parents of chickens tend to fret over their feathered babies as much as any pet parent, so you can read on to find answers to some commonly asked questions. 

Why Are Chicken Eggs Different Colors?

According to Michigan State University, the egg color of a chicken is determined by the genetics of the hen. The breed of the hen will decide the color of the eggs. Hence, a Leghorn chicken will lay white eggs, and an Ameraucana will produce blue eggs. 

However, all eggs start white. Those eggs that have a different color have pigments deposited on them as the egg travels through the hen’s oviduct, kind of like a natural printer. The journey of the egg through the hen’s oviduct takes around 26 hours. And, the shell takes approximately 20 to be complete.

So, when an egg travels through an Americana’s oviduct, it’s originally white. American birds have a pigment, enocyanin, deposited on their eggs as it travels through the oviduct that makes the eggshell turn blue.  

Chickens that lay brown eggs deposit the pigment protoporphyrin on their eggs. And, in the case of an Olive Egger, a brown pigment overlays a blue eggshell, turning the color of the egg green. 

Are Chickens Smart?

Humans tend to underrate the chicken quite often. But, you’ll be surprised to know that recent studies prove that chickens are intelligent creatures. Chickens can recognize over a hundred different faces, not just the ones of their fellow creatures but human faces as well.

Chickens have the strange ability to anticipate future events by observing their environment. They can look at a darkening sky to predict rain and head for their coops and even calculate an object’s trajectory. Ironically, chickens are anything but “bird-brained.”

Unlike a two or three-year-old, chickens know that a recently hidden object still exists. You see, chickens understand object permanence at the young age of two days. At the same time, humans don’t grasp the concept until they are three or four years old.

And, chickens love to play and collect shiny things, which indicates that they are social creatures. They even have some amount of self-awareness, as chickens can tell their position in the pecking order and can practice self-control if they expect that holding out will produce better rewards. 

Do Chickens Bond With Humans?

There aren’t any specific studies that reveal that chickens can bond with their humans. Yet, there is empirical evidence that chickens can recognize faces not just of other chickens but humans too. A study revealed that chickens could differentiate between a hundred human faces. And they are often found to follow their humans around like dogs.

Many chicken parents are sure that their chicken feels affection for them and enjoys their company. It may not be possible to gauge your chicken’s affections towards you, but attention and care are what every animal deserves, and you will witness your chicken responding to your love with a modicum of appreciation. 

Do Chicks Have Ears?

Yes, baby chicks have ears. As mentioned earlier, chicken embryos start to hear on day twelve of incubation. And, they learn to identify food from auditory lessons given from mommy hen.

The baby chicks have ears that are far more evident than chickens. You see, chickens have thick feathers growing over their ears that protect the ears from dust, bugs, or other elements. Baby chick ears may be clear for the eye to see, but the middle or inner ear is never exposed. 

Up Next: Why Do Chickens Have Wings? – Everything You Need To Know