Chicken

For other uses, see Chicken (disambiguation).

Chicken

Adult

Chick

Adult

Chick

Adult

Chick

Health points	4HP
Behavior	Passive
Mob type	Animal
Hitbox size	Adult in Java Edition: Height: 0.7 blocks Width: 0.4 blocks Adult in Bedrock Edition: Height: 0.8 blocks Width: 0.6 blocks Baby: Height: 0.4 blocks Width: 0.3 blocks
Speed	0.25
Spawn	Overworld – Grass blocks with at least two blocks of space above in most biomes. - Anywhere a zombie (or variants) can spawn, as a jockey.‌[Java Edition only] A 1⁄8 chance from a thrown egg. This also means they can be unintentionally shot from dispensers in Trial Chambers. The Nether – Anywhere a zombified piglin can spawn, as a jockey.‌[Java Edition only]
Usable items	Wheat Seeds Beetroot Seeds Melon Seeds Pumpkin Seeds Torchflower Seeds Pitcher Pod Lead Name Tag Golden Dandelion (baby only)

A chicken is a passive mob found in most grassy biomes, and the main source of raw chicken, feathers, and eggs. They have three variants based on the temperature of the biome they spawn in.

Spawning

Chickens spawn naturally in the Overworld in most grassy biomes except snowy plains, meadows, cherry groves, mangrove swamps, and pale gardens.

Each chicken has a 5% chance of spawning as a baby.

In Java Edition, chickens spawn in groups of 4 on grass blocks in any light level. Individual chickens rarely may spawn after world generation.

In Bedrock Edition, chickens spawn in groups of 2-4 on grass blocks in a light level of 7 and more. Individuals regularly spawn after world generation.

In Java Edition, chickens are more common in sparse jungles.

In Java Edition, chickens may be found in the Nether when a baby zombified piglin spawns as a chicken jockey. This can also happen with every other baby variant of the zombie. Leader zombies and reinforcements can cause a chicken jockey to spawn in the End.

Chicken spawns in:

Category: Creature	Java Edition			Bedrock Edition
Spawn area	Spawn weight	Spawn chance	Group size	Spawn weight	Group size
Sparse Jungle	20⁄58	34.48%	4	10	2–4
Old Growth Birch Forest	10⁄40	25%	4	10	2–4
Birch Forest	10⁄40	25%	4	10	2–4
Dark Forest	10⁄40	25%	4	10	2–4
Flower Forest	10⁄44	22.73%	4	10	2–4
Windswept Gravelly Hills	10⁄45	22.22%	4	10	2–4
Windswept Forest	10⁄45	22.22%	4	10	2–4
Windswept Hills	10⁄45	22.22%	4	10	2–4
Forest	10⁄45	22.22%	4	10	2–4
Eroded Badlands	10⁄46	21.74%	4	10	2–4
Sunflower Plains	10⁄46	21.74%	4	10	2–4
Plains	10⁄46	21.74%	4	10	2–4
Badlands	10⁄46	21.74%	4	10	2–4
Jungle	20⁄93	21.51%	4	10	2–4
Wooded Badlands	10⁄48	20.83%	4	10	2–4
Swamp	10⁄50	20%	4	10	2–4
Dappled Forest	10⁄52	19.23%	4	10	2–4
Savanna	10⁄52	19.23%	4	10	4
Windswept Savanna	10⁄52	19.23%	4	10	2–4
Taiga	10⁄60	16.67%	4	10	2–4
Old Growth Spruce Taiga	10⁄60	16.67%	4	10	2–4
Old Growth Pine Taiga	10⁄60	16.67%	4	10	2–4
Snowy Taiga	10⁄60	16.67%	4	10	2–4
Savanna Plateau	10⁄68	14.71%	4	10	2–4
Bamboo Jungle	20⁄172	11.63%	4	10	2–4

Variants

"Chicken variant" redirects here. For the definition of chicken variants in data packs, see Mob variant definitions § Chicken.

Chickens have 3 variants: temperate, cold, and warm. The variant is determined by the biome the chicken spawns in.

Natural spawning
Temperate		Warm		Cold
Plains Sunflower Plains Forest Flower Forest Birch Forest Old Growth Birch Forest Dark Forest Swamp Unused:‌[BE only] Wooded Hills Birch Forest Hills Tall Birch Hills Dark Forest Hills Swamp Hills		Savanna Savanna Plateau Windswept Savanna Jungle Sparse Jungle Bamboo Jungle Badlands Eroded Badlands Wooded Badlands Unused:‌[BE only] Shattered Savanna Plateau Jungle Hills Modified Jungle Modified Jungle Edge Bamboo Jungle Hills Badlands Plateau Modified Badlands Plateau Modified Wooded Badlands Plateau		Taiga Snowy Taiga Old Growth Pine Taiga Old Growth Spruce Taiga Windswept Hills Windswept Gravelly Hills Windswept Forest Dappled Forest Unused:‌[BE only] Taiga Hills Taiga Mountains Giant Tree Taiga Hills Giant Spruce Taiga Hills Gravelly Mountains+ Mountain Edge
Other[variants 1]
Warm			Cold
Warm Ocean Lukewarm Ocean Deep Lukewarm Ocean Mangrove Swamp Desert Nether Wastes Crimson Forest Warped Forest Soul Sand Valley Basalt Deltas Deep Warm Ocean‌[BE only] Desert Hills‌[BE only] Desert Lakes‌[BE only]			Snowy Plains Ice Spikes Frozen Peaks Jagged Peaks Stony Peaks Snowy Slopes Frozen Ocean Deep Frozen Ocean Cold Ocean Deep Cold Ocean Grove Deep Dark Frozen River Snowy Beach The End End Highlands‌[JE only] End Midlands‌[JE only] Small End Islands‌[JE only] End Barrens‌[JE only] Snowy Mountains‌[BE only] Legacy Frozen Ocean‌[BE only]

Sound variants

"Chicken sound variant" redirects here. For the definition of chicken sound variants in data packs, see Mob variant definitions § Chicken sounds.

Chickens have 2 sound variants: Classic and Picky.

A sound variant is chosen randomly upon the mob spawning, and is not related to the mob's temperature variant. These sound variants have no effect on the mob's behavior.

For the sounds of each sound variant, see § Sounds.

Chicken jockey

Java Edition

All baby zombie variants and baby zombified piglins have a 5% chance to check for an existing chicken within a 10×6×10 box centered on the baby's spawn location and spawn riding one of those chickens if there are any. If it fails that 5% chance, there is an additional 5% chance of the baby zombie spawning mounted on a new adult chicken. If a jockey spawns riding a new chicken, the variant of the chicken depends on the biome it spawns in.

Because a baby zombie occurs from 5% of zombie spawns, the chicken jockey spawns consist of 0.2375% of all zombie spawns in a chicken-free environment; if chickens are present, the chance increases to 0.4875%. A chicken jockey can also be spawned by using the following command:

/summon minecraft:chicken ~ ~ ~ {IsChickenJockey:1b,Passengers:[{id:"minecraft:zombie",IsBaby:1b}]}

Chicken jockeys may spawn with items equipped. Baby zombified piglin versions of the chicken jockey wield a golden sword or golden spear. Harming or killing the chicken does not cause the zombified piglin to attack.

Bedrock Edition

Baby zombie jockeys do not spawn riding chickens, but check for nearby adult chickens to mount prior to attacking a player, wandering trader, adult villager, snow golem, or iron golem.

Drops

Adult chickens that were not part of chicken jockeys lay an egg every five to ten minutes.

Breeding

1–7XP experience orbs upon a successful breeding.

On death

Java Edition:

Item		Quantity / Chance / Average
		Default			Looting I			Looting II			Looting III
	Raw Chicken[A]	1	100.00%	1.00	1–2	100.00%	1.50	1–3	100.00%	2.00	1–4	100.00%	2.50
	Cooked Chicken[B]	1	100.00%	1.00	1–2	100.00%	1.50	1–3	100.00%	2.00	1–4	100.00%	2.50
	Feather	0–2	66.67%	1.00	0–3	83.33%	1.50	0–4	91.67%	2.00	0–5	94.44%	2.50

Item		Quantity / Chance / Average
		Default			Looting I			Looting II			Looting III
	Raw Chicken[A]	1	1	1	1–2	1	3⁄2	1–3	1	2	1–4	1	5⁄2
	Cooked Chicken[B]	1	1	1	1–2	1	3⁄2	1–3	1	2	1–4	1	5⁄2
	Feather	0–2	2⁄3	1	0–3	5⁄6	3⁄2	0–4	11⁄12	2	0–5	17⁄18	5⁄2

Item		Amount	Probability
			Default	Looting I	Looting II	Looting III
	Raw Chicken[A]	1	1 (100.00%)	1⁄2 (50.00%)	1⁄4 (25.00%)	1⁄6 (16.67%)
		2	0	1⁄2 (50.00%)	1⁄2 (50.00%)	1⁄3 (33.33%)
		3	0	0	1⁄4 (25.00%)	1⁄3 (33.33%)
		4	0	0	0	1⁄6 (16.67%)
		Average	1 (1.00)	3⁄2 (1.50)	2 (2.00)	5⁄2 (2.50)
	Cooked Chicken[B]	1	1 (100.00%)	1⁄2 (50.00%)	1⁄4 (25.00%)	1⁄6 (16.67%)
		2	0	1⁄2 (50.00%)	1⁄2 (50.00%)	1⁄3 (33.33%)
		3	0	0	1⁄4 (25.00%)	1⁄3 (33.33%)
		4	0	0	0	1⁄6 (16.67%)
		Average	1 (1.00)	3⁄2 (1.50)	2 (2.00)	5⁄2 (2.50)
	Feather	0	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄6 (16.67%)	1⁄12 (8.33%)	1⁄18 (5.56%)
		1	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄4 (25.00%)	1⁄6 (16.67%)
		2	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄3 (33.33%)	5⁄18 (27.78%)
		3	0	1⁄6 (16.67%)	1⁄4 (25.00%)	5⁄18 (27.78%)
		4	0	0	1⁄12 (8.33%)	1⁄6 (16.67%)
		5	0	0	0	1⁄18 (5.56%)
		Average	1 (1.00)	3⁄2 (1.50)	2 (2.00)	5⁄2 (2.50)

Killed		1
Item		Expected Drops
		Default	Looting I	Looting II	Looting III
	Raw Chicken[A]	1.00	1.50	2.00	2.50
	Cooked Chicken[B]	1.00	1.50	2.00	2.50
	Feather	1.00	1.50	2.00	2.50

Bedrock Edition:

Item		Quantity / Chance / Average
		Default			Looting I			Looting II			Looting III
	Raw Chicken[A]	1	100.00%	1.00	1–2	100.00%	1.50	1–3	100.00%	2.00	1–4	100.00%	2.50
	Cooked Chicken[B]	1	100.00%	1.00	1–2	100.00%	1.50	1–3	100.00%	2.00	1–4	100.00%	2.50
	Feather	0–2	66.67%	1.00	0–3	66.67%	1.33	0–4	66.67%	1.67	0–5	66.67%	2.00

Item		Quantity / Chance / Average
		Default			Looting I			Looting II			Looting III
	Raw Chicken[A]	1	1	1	1–2	1	3⁄2	1–3	1	2	1–4	1	5⁄2
	Cooked Chicken[B]	1	1	1	1–2	1	3⁄2	1–3	1	2	1–4	1	5⁄2
	Feather	0–2	2⁄3	1	0–3	2⁄3	4⁄3	0–4	2⁄3	5⁄3	0–5	2⁄3	2

Item		Amount	Probability
			Default	Looting I	Looting II	Looting III
	Raw Chicken[A]	1	1 (100.00%)	1⁄2 (50.00%)	1⁄4 (25.00%)	1⁄6 (16.67%)
		2	0	1⁄2 (50.00%)	1⁄2 (50.00%)	1⁄3 (33.33%)
		3	0	0	1⁄4 (25.00%)	1⁄3 (33.33%)
		4	0	0	0	1⁄6 (16.67%)
		Average	1 (1.00)	3⁄2 (1.50)	2 (2.00)	5⁄2 (2.50)
	Cooked Chicken[B]	1	1 (100.00%)	1⁄2 (50.00%)	1⁄4 (25.00%)	1⁄6 (16.67%)
		2	0	1⁄2 (50.00%)	1⁄2 (50.00%)	1⁄3 (33.33%)
		3	0	0	1⁄4 (25.00%)	1⁄3 (33.33%)
		4	0	0	0	1⁄6 (16.67%)
		Average	1 (1.00)	3⁄2 (1.50)	2 (2.00)	5⁄2 (2.50)
	Feather	0	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄3 (33.33%)
		1	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄6 (16.67%)	1⁄12 (8.33%)	1⁄18 (5.56%)
		2	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄3 (33.33%)	1⁄4 (25.00%)	1⁄6 (16.67%)
		3	0	1⁄6 (16.67%)	1⁄4 (25.00%)	2⁄9 (22.22%)
		4	0	0	1⁄12 (8.33%)	1⁄6 (16.67%)
		5	0	0	0	1⁄18 (5.56%)
		Average	1 (1.00)	4⁄3 (1.33)	5⁄3 (1.67)	2 (2.00)

Killed		1
Item		Expected Drops
		Default	Looting I	Looting II	Looting III
	Raw Chicken[A]	1.00	1.50	2.00	2.50
	Cooked Chicken[B]	1.00	1.50	2.00	2.50
	Feather	1.00	1.33	1.67	2.00

1–3XP experience orbs are dropped when a chicken is killed by a player or tamed wolf or 10XP if it was part of a chicken jockey‌^{[JE only]}.

Killing a chick yields no items or experience.

Killing a zombie riding a chicken will result in the music disc "Lava Chicken" dropping.

Behavior

A chicken normally wanders aimlessly when idle. Sometimes they remain in a small area, even if it's just a 1 block space. They follow players holding various seeds within a 6×4×6 cubic area. Chicks follow adult chickens.

Chickens avoid falling off cliffs (>3.5 blocks). They flap their wings when they are in midair and fall slowly, thus chickens are immune to fall damage.

Chickens can be attached to leads.

When harmed, chickens flee around for a few seconds.

Unlike other mobs, chickens attempt to jump up to climb stairs instead of climbing them normally.^[1]

Ocelots and foxes pursue and attack chickens. While chickens do flee when attacked, they otherwise make no attempt to avoid foxes.

While in a loaded chunk, an adult chicken lays an egg every five to ten minutes (6000–12000 ticks), unless it is, or was, a part of a chicken jockey. If the player is close enough to a chicken when it lays an egg, a pop sound is heard.

Chickens can stay underwater for 15 seconds or can swim, visibly flapping their wings and staying on the water surface. While swimming, a chicken needs only one block of air above its head.

Breeding

Chickens follow players holding wheat seeds, beetroot seeds, melon seeds, pumpkin seeds, torchflower seeds, or pitcher pods but stop following when separated from the player by at least 10 blocks‌^{[Java Edition only]} / 16 blocks‌^{[Bedrock Edition only]}. Additionally, chicks follow adults.

A player can breed chickens by using seeds. After breeding, a chick spawns and 1–7 experience is generated. The parents cannot be bred again for 5 minutes. The variant of the offspring is inherited from one of the parents and does not depend on the biome they are bred in.

Chicks take 24000 ticks (20 minutes) to grow up, but the growth time can be accelerated using seeds. Each use takes 10% off the remaining time to grow up. A chick fed a seed once per second grows up in approximately 48 seconds using 47 seeds.

Chicks are smaller than a half-block and can unwillingly pass through openings smaller than a full block, but do not walk through half-block-tall spaces. A chick riding a minecart cannot be hit because it is completely inside the minecart's hitbox.

Eggs

Chickens are the only Overworld mob that can repopulate without breeding. Adult chickens lay eggs every 5-10 minutes and an egg thrown at the ground by a player or a dispenser has a ¹⁄₈ chance of spawning a chick. If a chick spawns from a thrown egg, there is a further ¹⁄₃₂ chance to spawn three extra chicks, or ¹⁄₂₅₆ overall. It is theoretically possible for a stack of 16 eggs to yield 64 chickens if all spawn chances succeed for all eggs.

Different variants of chickens lay different types of eggs:

• Temperate chickens lay regular eggs
• Warm chickens lay brown eggs
• Cold chickens lay blue eggs

If the player throws an egg at a glass pane, the chick can spawn on the far side of the pane.

Sounds

Adult

Generic

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

Classic

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

Picky

Java Edition:

Chick

Java Edition:

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Name	Identifier	Entity tags	Translation key
Chicken	chicken	dismounts_underwater fall_damage_immune followable_friendly_mobs	entity.minecraft.chicken

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Identifier	Numeric ID	Family	Translation key
Chicken	chicken	10	chicken mob	entity.chicken.name

Entity data

Chickens have entity data associated with them that contain various properties.

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

See Bedrock Edition level format/Entity format.

Chicken variants

Java Edition:

Chicken variants can be configured using JSON files within a data pack in the path data/<namespace>/chicken_variant.

Achievements

Icon		Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS)
PS4	Other
		It Spreads	Kill a mob next to a catalyst	Kill any mob that drops experience near a sculk catalyst, with the sole exception of the ender dragon. Mobs that drop no experience are ignored for this achievement.	10	Bronze

Achievements that apply to all mobs:

Icon		Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS)
PS4	Other
		Overkill	Deal nine hearts of damage in a single hit.	Damage can be dealt to any mob, even those that do not have nine hearts of health overall.	30	Bronze
		Over-Overkill	Deal 50 hearts of damage in a single hit using the Mace	Damage can be dealt to any mob, even those that do not have 50 hearts of health overall.	20	Silver
		Mob Kabob	Hit five mobs in the same Charge attack using the Spear	Armor stands and players also count for this achievement as they are technically mobs.	10	Bronze

Advancements

Icon	Advancement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)
	It Spreads	Kill a mob near a Sculk Catalyst	Kill any mob that drops experience near a sculk catalyst, with the sole exception of the ender dragon. Mobs that drop no experience are ignored for this advancement.
	The Parrots and the Bats	Breed two animals together	Breed a pair of any of these 27 animals: Armadillo Axolotl Bee Camel Cat Chicken Cow Donkey Fox Frog Goat Hoglin Horse Llama Mooshroom Mule Nautilus Ocelot Panda Pig Rabbit Sheep Sniffer Strider Trader Llama Turtle Wolf A mule must be the result of breeding a horse and a donkey for this advancement as they are not breedable together. Other breedable mobs are ignored for this advancement.
	Two by Two	Breed all the animals!	Breed a pair of each of these 26 animals: Armadillo Axolotl Bee Camel Cat Chicken Cow Donkey Fox Frog Goat Hoglin Horse Llama Mooshroom Mule Nautilus Ocelot Panda Pig Rabbit Sheep Sniffer Strider Turtle Wolf A trader llama does not count as a llama, and a mule must be the result of breeding a horse and a donkey for this advancement as they are not breedable together. Other breedable mobs can be bred, but are ignored for this advancement.

Advancements that apply to all mobs:

Icon	Advancement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)
	Adventure	Adventure, exploration and combat	Kill any mob, or be killed by any living entity.
	A Throwaway Joke	Throw a Trident at something. Note: Throwing away your only weapon is not a good idea.	Hit a mob with a thrown trident.
	Take Aim	Shoot something with an Arrow	Using a bow or a crossbow, shoot a mob with an arrow, tipped arrow, or spectral arrow.
	Mob Kabob	Hit five mobs in the same Charge attack using the Spear	Armor Stand and Mannequin also count for this advancement.
	Arbalistic	Kill five unique mobs with one crossbow shot	Armor Stand and Mannequin also count for this advancement. This is a hidden advancement, meaning that it can be viewed by the player only after completing it, regardless of if its child advancement(s), if any, have been completed.
	Over-Overkill	Deal 50 hearts of damage in a single hit using the Mace	Damage can be dealt to any mob, even those that do not have 50 hearts of health overall.

Videos

History

Java Edition

Java Edition Alpha
v1.0.14							Added chickens.
							Chickens fall more slowly than other mobs and have a flapping animation, but still take fall damage on landing.
v1.0.17							Chickens are now immune to fall damage.
							Chickens in Survival multiplayer now drop leather if killed by fire or cactus.
?							Chickens no longer drop leather.
Java Edition Beta
1.0							Eggs are now throwable, with a chance to spawn a chicken on impact.
1.8			Pre-release				Chickens now drop raw chicken, and if killed on fire it drops cooked chicken.
							Chickens now run away when attacked.
Java Edition
1.0.0			Beta 1.9 Prerelease 2				Chickens can now be bred using wheat.
			Beta 1.9 Prerelease 3				Added baby chickens.
			RC1				Thrown eggs can now hatch baby chickens.
1.2.1			12w04a				Ocelots now attack chickens.
			12w07a				Chickens now have new AI to avoid hazards.
1.4.2			12w36a				Chickens now use wheat seeds, melon seeds, pumpkin seeds and Nether wart instead of wheat to breed.
			12w38a				Added new step sounds for chickens.
1.6.1			13w16a				Added leads, which can be used to leash chickens.
1.7.4			13w49a				Added chicken jockeys — baby zombies spawned riding adult chickens.
							Chickens can now spawn in the Nether, as zombie pigmen also have a jockey variation.
1.8			14w02a				Baby chicken growth can now be accelerated using seeds.
			14w33c				Baby chickens can now swim.
			14w34d				Chickens can no longer be bred using melon seeds, pumpkin seeds or Nether wart.
1.9			15w31a				Chickens can now be led and bred using melon seeds, pumpkin seeds, and beetroot seeds, in addition to regular seeds.
			15w43a				Chickens can now drop several raw/cooked chicken, if killed with a Looting-enchanted weapon.
1.10			16w20a				Chickens no longer spawn in ice plains.
1.11			16w32a				A texture has been added under the chicken's head, which changes the texture from to .[2]
1.14			18w43a				The texture of chickens has been changed.
			19w07a				Added foxes, which pursue and kill chickens.
1.15			19w37a				5% of chickens now spawn as babies.
1.19.4 Experiment Update 1.20			pre1				Chickens can now be fed using torchflower seeds.[3]
1.20			15w31a				Chickens can now be fed using pitcher pods.
1.21.5			25w02a				Chickens can now spawn in wooded badlands. Technically, they are also allowed to spawn in badlands and eroded badlands, but cannot spawn there naturally as these biomes do not generate grass blocks.
			25w06a				Added cold and warm chickens.
							The original chicken variant is now considered temperate.
26.1			snap2				The model and textures of baby chickens have been changed.
							The bounding box was tweaked to align with the new model.
			snap5				Added golden dandelions, which can be used to prevent chicks from growing up.
							The sounds of baby chickens has been changed.
			snap7				Added a "picky" sound variant for adult chickens.
			snap8				Changed the picky death sound from to .
26.2			pre1				Updated hurt and death sounds for the "picky" sound variant. (From death hurt to death hurt)

Bedrock Edition

Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.3.0							Added chickens.
							Baby chickens have also been added, but they do not yet spawn naturally.
v0.6.0							Baby chickens now spawn naturally.
v0.7.0							Adult chickens now lay eggs every 5–10 minutes.
v0.8.0			build 1				Baby chickens can now be spawned by throwing eggs.
							Chickens now follow players holding wheat seeds, but cannot be fed yet.
			build 4				Chickens can be fed wheat seeds, pumpkin seeds, melon seeds, or beetroot seeds to enter love mode and breed.
v0.9.0			build 1				Chickens now spawn in small groups.
v0.9.2							The health of chickens has been reduced from 8HP to 4HP.
v0.10.0			build 4				Chickens no longer have a black texture on their chin due to the texture being missing, which changes the appearance from to .
v0.11.0			build 1				Added chicken jockeys — baby zombies or baby zombie pigmen spawn riding chickens.
v0.12.1			build 1				Added ocelots, which attack chickens.
							Chickens can now drop several raw/cooked chicken, if killed with a Looting-enchanted weapon.
v0.14.0			build 1				Baby zombie jockeys no longer spawn riding chickens, but check for nearby adult chickens to mount prior to attacking a player, villager, snow golem, or iron golem.
v0.15.0			build 1				Baby husks can now mount adult chickens.
Bedrock Edition
1.10.0			beta 1.10.0.3				The texture of chickens has been changed.
1.13.0			beta 1.13.0.1				Added foxes, which attack chickens.
1.18.30			Preview 1.18.20.28				Chickens no longer spawn in snowy taigas.
			Release				Reverted the chicken spawning change made in Preview 1.18.20.28.
1.21.70 Experiment Drop 1 2025			Preview 1.21.70.22				Added cold and warm chickens.
1.21.70			Preview 1.21.70.23				All features behind the "Drop 1 2025" experimental toggle are fully implemented.
26.0 Experiment Drop 1 of 2026			Preview 26.0.27				The model and textures of baby chickens have been changed.
							Tweaked the bounding box of both adult and baby chickens to align with Java Edition and the new model.
26.10			Preview 26.10.20				Added new baby sounds for chickens
							All features behind the "Drop 1 of 2026" experimental toggle are fully implemented.
			Preview 26.10.21				Added golden dandelions, which can be used to prevent chicks from growing up.
			Preview 26.10.24				Added a "picky" sound variant for adult chickens.
26.40			Preview 26.40.20				Updated hurt and death sounds for the "picky" sound variant. (From death hurt to death hurt)

Legacy Console Edition

Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360	Xbox One	PS3	PS4	PS Vita	Wii U	Switch
TU1	CU1	1.00	1.00	1.00	Patch 1	1.0.1	Added chickens.
TU5							Chickens now run away when attacked.
TU7							Added baby chickens.
							Chickens can now be bred using seeds or Nether wart.
TU14		1.04					Using a chicken spawn egg, baby chickens can now be spawned by using on a chicken.
TU31	CU19	1.22	1.22	1.22	Patch 3		Added chicken jockeys — baby zombies spawned riding adult chickens.
							Chickens can now spawn in the Nether, as zombie pigmen also have a jockey variation.
							Baby chicken growth can now be accelerated using seeds.
							Chickens can no longer be bred using melon seeds, pumpkin seeds or Nether wart.
TU43	CU33	1.36	1.36	1.36	Patch 13		Chickens can now be led and bred using melon seeds, pumpkin seeds, and beetroot seeds, in addition to regular seeds.
?	CU44	?	?	?	?	1.0.4	A texture has been added under the chicken's head, which changes the appearance from to .​

New Nintendo 3DS Edition

New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0							Added chickens.

Data history

Issues

Issues relating to "Chicken" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Trivia

• When a chicken is killed off a ledge, the corpse also falls more slowly than normal and the wings continue flapping.
• Chicks can "hide" within hoppers due to their small size, which protects them from dangers like lava on top of the hopper.
• A few weeks before the end of Java Edition Beta, Notch tweeted that he had changed the chickens to ducks,^[4] causing a turmoil on Twitter. A few days later, Jeb, still receiving feedback on the idea, stated that it was just a joke.^[5] Later on, Mojang rejected the idea of adding ducks to Minecraft.^[6] However, ducks were added into Minecraft Dungeons.
  • The changelog for Pocket Edition v0.3.0 alpha referred to chickens as ducks.^[7]
  • Notch later referred to chickens in a blog post as "chicken/duck/whatevers".^[8]
  • During Minecraft: Story Mode, Petra at one point questions whether chickens are ducks.
  • In Minecraft: The Island, Guy refers to chickens as "chick-ducks."
  • In A Minecraft Movie, chickens are designed with webbed feet closer to a duck.
  • In the first chapter of Overworld Adventures, Sofia Dankis remarks she crafted a Nether portal near a lake "in case [her] chickens one day wanted to see what the life of a duck was."^[9]
• In the game code, the wattles of the chicken are called "red_thing".

Publicity

• In the game Choplifter HD, players can find a hidden island in the mission "Operation Charlie Takedown," where several chickens appear.
• A picture of a chicken appears on a stringboard during The Game Awards 2024, during a conversation between Geoff Keighley and Muppets star Gonzo.
• Chickens are a frequently used minifigure in Lego Minecraft. A common fixture of sets are giant builds of mobs, chickens included.^[10][11]
  • For the BigFigs wave a scale figure of a chicken was also produced.^[12]
• Since the name of the Tiny Takeover game drop was revealed, a temperate chick can be found in front of the creeper face in a Minecraft social media profile picture. This has been changed back to just a creeper face after a few weeks.

Gallery

Renders

• 
  Animation of a temperate chicken floating, flying, or sitting

Textures

• 
  Chicken texture file
• 
  Programmer Art
• 
  Cold Chicken texture file
• 
  Warm Chicken texture file
• 
  Chick texture file
• 
  Cold Chick texture file
• 
  Warm Chick texture file

Screenshots

• 
  A chicken looking at the player
• 
  A dying chicken and its item drops when killed
• 
  A chicken next to an egg
• 
  A chicken riding a minecart
• 
  A chicken compared to a tiny slime
• 
  A chicken on fire
• 
  A chicken swimming
• 
  A group of chickens following a player
• 
  A chicken being attacked by an ocelot
• 
  A chicken flapping its wings while falling from a high place
• 
  All the chicken variants and their respective chicks

References

External links

• "A Working Chicken Coop" by Kate Gray – Minecraft.net, August 2, 2022.
• "Mob Menagerie: Chicken" by Duncan Geere – Minecraft.net, December 13, 2024.