Do Chickens Have Ears?

Let me ask you this, do chickens have ears? Don’t rush. Think thoroughly then give me the answer. If your answer is anything but yes, take your time with us to find out in this article.

Do chickens have ears?

Yes, they do. Chicken ears are on the side of their face. They’re generally concealed under their feathers, though, which is why you don’t really see them. If you want to have a look, just brush back the feathers on the side of their head, and you’ll see the hole, that’s their ear canal.

They have an outer ear, middle ear and inner ear like our humans do, and the earlobes can be easily seen. The colour of the lobe varies with the chicken breed, varying from white to almost black.

The composition of their ears is quite alike to our own, only that it is on the inside of their head while our ears are protruding. The chicken ears are located on the sides of their head, somewhat lower than their eyes.

Chickens middle ear has a single bone and cartilage structure called the columella, while in mammals, there are 3 bones. The columella transmits the vibrations to the inner ear. The inner ear function is to analyse the vibration. Columella transmits impulses to the cochlea in the inner ear, where special nerve ends absorb and deliver the information to the auditory nerve, where the sound information is decrypted.

How good is chicken hearing?

Usually, on day 12 of incubation, the chicken embryo would be able to hear. Chickens in general are able to detect sounds better than humans do.

They can identify the source of the sound by measuring the latency time between the arrival of the sound on either side of the ears. This lag time makes it easier for them to find the source of a sequence of short sounds than a single continuous sound.

Many people will suffer a sort of hearing loss in their lives, but the chickens won’t. Their hearing was so vital to them that they adapted to be able to restore their hearing cells. In short, without their good ears, they would not be able to sense predators approaching and would not be able to escape in time.

Read More: Can Chickens Swim or Float?

Do chicken earlobes really determine the eggs’ colour?

Yes, it is quite surprising that they do. Chicken earlobes not only vary depending on the chicken breed, from white to almost black but also determine the eggs’ colour. If your chicken has white earlobes then they will lay white eggs, and if earlobes are red then they will lay brown eggs. There are some exceptions but very minor.

The same gene that decides the colour of the earlobe also tends to determine the colour of the egg. The colour is determined by the existence of porphyrins that exist after haemoglobin is broken down. The whole process is controlled by genetics, which ensures that the colour of the eggs is under genetic influence.

It has been found that the eggs all start white and then the chicken pigment gives their shells their various colours. This also means all chicken eggs are the same, they just look different, that they’ve got the same nutrition, whether they’re white, brown or blue.

Can chickens recognize their name?

Yeah, chickens are most likely capable of knowing their name, if they’re treated and told their name over and over at a young age, they would eventually understand their name. It takes time and practice, of course, a chicken will respond to the call of their name if they are old enough.

Most of the time, baby chicks would just freak out if you want to get close to them. Still, some chicks would respond to the care call when they are at 3 weeks old. This usually occurs when one or two of the smarter chicks find out the link between our treat call and their name.

A chicken is quite similar to a puppy, they know who usually feeds them and gives them treats. If you feed your chickens and offer them a lot of treats, they’re going to get to know your voice because they relate it with treats.

When your chicken knows your voice, they will also begin to listen to their names, follow you around, and come any time you call them.

50+ Chicken Bedding Sets: Perfect Gift ideas for Chicken Lovers

Should you provide music for laying hens?

You probably shouldn’t. Especially classical music.  Some researches in 2005 have shown that playing classical music in a laying house may have a detrimental effect on the level of anxiety.

Many of the responses about the reaction of the flocks have to do with playing cassette tapes. More research is required to explore the impact of various styles of music, different intensities and the use of CDs rather than cassettes.

So, while there is no persuasive benefit of music to your laying hens, you shouldn’t provide them with any form of it.

Conclusion

So, chickens do have ears. In fact, they have very good hearing compare to us. At first glance, many of us might get it wrong, but just like many other things, the look can be deceiving. If you own a chicken and don’t know about this, you might want to get to them and take a closer look. Just remember, be gentle.