The chicken is a passive mob found in grass biomes and the main source of raw chicken, feathers, and eggs. A chicken, like most animals, can be attached to a lead.
Spawning[]
Chickens spawn naturally in the Overworld in groups of four above grass blocks with two blocks of free space above it at a light level of nine or more. Chickens do not spawn in deserts, snowy plains, ice spikes, snowy slopes, meadows, wooded badlands, jagged peaks, frozen peaks and stony peaks. In Java Edition, chickens are more common in sparse jungles. Chickens spawn individually after the world generation and 5% of chickens spawn as baby chickens. In Bedrock Edition, chickens require a light level of 7 or more to spawn and spawn in groups of two to four during the world generation.
Chicken jockey[]
All baby zombie variants and baby zombified piglins have a 5% chance to spawn riding a chicken, forming a chicken jockey. Because a baby zombie occurs from 5% of zombie spawns, the chicken jockey spawns consist of 0.25% 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 always wield a golden sword. Harming or killing the chicken does not cause the zombified piglin to attack. Chickens spawn in the Nether in this way.
In Bedrock Edition, baby zombie jockeys do not spawn riding chickens, but check for nearby adult chickens to mount prior to attacking the player, a wandering trader, an adult villager, a snow golem or an iron golem.
Drops[]
Adult chickens that were not part of chicken jockeys lay an egg every five to ten minutes.
When an adult chicken is killed, it drops from zero to two feathers. The maximum is increased by one per level of Looting, for a maximum of zero to five with Looting III. The chicken also drops a raw chicken or one cooked chicken (if it is killed while on fire). The maximum is increased by one per level of Looting, for a maximum of one to four with Looting III. From one to three experience orbs are dropped when the chicken is killed by the player or a tamed wolf or ten experience orbs if it was part of a chicken jockey. When two adult chickens breed, from one to seven experience orbs are dropped. Killing a baby chicken yields no items or experience.
Behavior[]
A chicken wanders aimlessly but go after players holding various seeds within a six by four by six cubic area, while a baby chicken follows adult chickens. Chickens uniquely attempt to jump up to climb stairs instead of climbing them normally.[1]
Chickens avoid falling off cliffs and flap their wings when they are in mid air and fall slowly, thus they are immune to fall damage. When harmed, chickens flee around for a two seconds. Ocelots and foxes pursue and attack chickens.
While in a loaded chunk, an adult chicken lays an egg every five to ten minutes (from 6000 to 12000 in-game 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, an indicative sound is heard.
Chickens 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.
A chicken is 11 pixels or 0.6875 blocks tall. A baby chicken is 5.5 pixels tall or 0.34375 blocks tall.
Breeding[]
If two adult chickens are fed wheat seeds, beetroot seeds, melon seeds, pumpkin seeds, torchflower seeds or a pitcher pod, a baby chicken spawns. The adult chickens cannot breed for five minutes afterward.
Some chickens going after a player holding wheat seeds.
A baby chicken with its parents.
Baby chickens take 20 minutes to grow up, but the growth time can be accelerated by 10% each time it is fed seeds. A baby chicken fed a seed once per second will grow up in approximately 48 seconds using 47 seeds. A baby chicken fed a seed once per ticks will grow up in approximately three seconds using 56 seeds. Baby chickens 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 baby chicken riding a minecart cannot be hit because it is completely inside the minecart's hitbox.
Eggs[]
Chickens are an Overworld mob that can repopulate without breeding. Adult chickens lay eggs at random and an egg thrown at the ground by a player or a dispenser has a 1⁄8 chance of spawning a baby chicken. If a baby chicken spawns from a thrown egg, there is a further 1⁄32 chance to spawn three extra baby chickens or 1⁄256 overall. It is theoretically possible (though extremely unlikely, at less than 1⁄3.4e38) for a stack of 16 eggs to yield 64 chickens if all spawn chances succeed for all eggs.
If the player throws an egg at a glass pane, the baby chicken can spawn on the far side of the pane.
As chickens can produce each other with eggs, they're perhaps the only passive mob you can farm with just a single individual, if you're willing to wait patiently and constantly throw eggs.
Sounds[]
Java Edition:
Chickens use the Friendly Creatures sound category for entity-dependent sound events.
| Sound | Subtitles | Source | Description | Resource location | Translation key | Volume | Pitch | Attenuation distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken clucks | Friendly Creatures | Randomly | entity | subtitles | 1.0 | 0.8-1.2 (Baby: 1.3-1.7) | 16 | |
| Chicken dies | Friendly Creatures | When a chicken dies | entity | subtitles | 1.0 | 0.8-1.2 (Baby: 1.3-1.7) | 16 | |
| Chicken hurts | Friendly Creatures | When a chicken is damaged | entity | subtitles | 1.0 | 0.8-1.2 (Baby: 1.3-1.7) | 16 | |
| Chicken plops | Friendly Creatures | When a chicken lays an egg | entity | subtitles | 1.0 | 0.8-1.2 | 16 | |
| Footsteps | Friendly Creatures | While a chicken is walking | entity | subtitles | 0.15 | 1.0 | 16 |
| Sound | Source | Description | Resource location | Volume | Pitch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friendly Creatures | Randomly | mob | 1.0 | 0.8-1.2 (Baby: 1.3-1.7) | |
| Friendly Creatures | When a chicken dies | mob | 1.0 | 0.8-1.2 (Baby: 1.3-1.7) | |
| Friendly Creatures | When a chicken is damaged | mob | 1.0 | 0.8-1.2 (Baby: 1.3-1.7) | |
| Friendly Creatures | When a chicken lays an egg | mob | 1.0 | 0.8-1.2 | |
| Friendly Creatures | While a chicken is walking | mob | 0.25 | 1.0 |
Data values[]
ID[]
| Name | Identifier | Translation key |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken | chicken | entity.minecraft.chicken |
| Name | Identifier | Numeric ID | Translation key |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | chicken | 10 | entity.chicken.name |
Entity data[]
Chickens have entity data associated with them that contain various properties.
- Entity data
- Additional fields for mobs that can breed
- Tags common to all entities
- Tags common to all mobs
- EggLayTime: Number of ticks until the chicken lays its egg. Laying occurs at 0 and this timer gets reset to a new random value between 6000 and 12000.
- IsChickenJockey: 1 or 0 (true/false) - Whether or not the chicken is a jockey for a baby zombie. If true, the chicken can naturally despawn, drops 10 experience upon death instead of 1-3 and cannot lay eggs. Baby zombies can still control a ridden chicken even if this is set false.
Advancements[]
| Icon | Advancement | In-game description | Parent | Actual requirements (if different) | Resource location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | It Spreads | Kill a mob near a Sculk Catalyst | Monster Hunter | Kill one of these 70 mobs near a sculk catalyst:
| adventure/kill_mob_near_sculk_catalyst
|
 | The Parrots and the Bats | Breed two animals together | Husbandry | Breed a pair of any of these 25 mobs:
| husbandry/breed_an_animal
|
| Two by Two | Breed all the animals! | The Parrots and the Bats | Breed a pair of each of these 25 mobs:
| husbandry/bred_all_animals
|
History[]
| Java Edition Alpha | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| v1.0.14 |  Chickens were added.
| ||||
| 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. | ||||
| 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. Before this, chickens dropped only feathers upon death. | |||
| 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. | ||||
| 1.7.4 | 13w49a | Added chicken jockeys — baby zombies spawned riding chickens. | |||
| 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 the wheat 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 snowy plains. | |||
| 1.11 | 16w32a | The entity ID has been changed from Chicken to chicken.
| |||
A texture has been added under the chicken's head, which changes the texture from  to  .[2] | |||||
| 1.14 | 18w43a |   The textures of chickens and baby chickens have been changed. | |||
| 19w07a | Added foxes, which pursue and kill chickens. | ||||
| 1.15 | 19w37a | 5% of chickens now spawn as babies. | |||
| 1.20 (Experimental) | 1.19.4 Pre-release 1 | Chickens can now be fed using torchflower seeds.[3] | |||
| Upcoming Java Edition | |||||
| 1.21.5 | 25w02a | Chickens now spawn on wooded badlands. | |||
| 25w06a | Added warm and cold variants. | ||||
| The pre-existing variant before this update is now temperate. | |||||
| 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 | Chickens now lay eggs and have a 1 in 8 chance to spawn a baby chicken and a 1 in 254 chance for an egg to hatch 4 chickens. | ||||
| v0.8.0 | build 1 | Baby chickens can now be spawned by throwing eggs. | |||
| Chickens can now breed. | |||||
| Chickens now follow the player if the player holds wheat seeds. | |||||
| v0.9.0 | build 1 | Chickens now spawn in small groups. | |||
| v0.10.0 | build 4 | Chickens no longer have a black texture on their chin due to the texture being missing, which changes the texture from  to . | |||
| v0.11.0 | build 1 | Added chicken jockeys — baby zombies 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 weapons. | |||||
| 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 or golem. | |||
| v0.15.0 | build 1 | Baby husks can now mount adult chickens. | |||
| Bedrock Edition | |||||
| 1.10.0 | beta 1.10.0.3 | The textures of chickens and baby chickens have been changed. | |||
| 1.13.0 | beta 1.13.0.1 | Added foxes, which attack chickens. | |||
| 1.18.30 | beta 1.18.20.27 | Chickens no longer spawn in snowy taigas. | |||
| Release | Reverted the chicken spawning change made in beta 1.18.20.27. | ||||
| Upcoming Bedrock Edition | |||||
| 1.21.70 | beta 1.21.70.22 | Added warm and cold variants under "Drop 1 2025" Experimental Toggle. | |||
| The pre-existing variant before this update is now temperate. | |||||
| Legacy Console Edition | |||||
| TU1 | CU1 | 1.0 | Patch 1 | 1.0.1 | Added chickens. |
| TU5 | Chickens now run away when attacked. | ||||
| TU7 | Added baby chickens.
| ||||
| Chicken can now be bred using seeds. | |||||
| TU14 | 1.04 | Using a chicken spawn egg, baby chickens can now be spawned by using  on an adult chicken. | |||
| TU31 | CU19 | 1.22 | Patch 3 | Baby chicken growth can now be accelerated using seeds. | |
| New Nintendo 3DS Edition | |||||
| 0.1.0 | Added chickens. | ||||
Trivia[]
- When a chicken is killed off a ledge, the corpse also falls more slowly than normal and the wings continue flapping.
- Chickens are able to "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 changed the chickens to ducks,[4] causing a turmoil on Twitter. A few days later, Jeb, still getting feedback on the idea, stated that it was just a joke.[5]
- The changelog for Pocket Edition v0.3.0 alpha referred to chickens as ducks.[6]
- Notch later referred to chickens in a blog post as "the chicken/duck/whatevers".
Gallery[]
-
A chicken. -
A dying chicken and its item drops when killed.
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A chicken farm containing over 100 chickens.
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A chicken farm.
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Around 240 adult chickens in a circle.
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A chicken next to an egg.
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A chicken next to a burning baby zombie.
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A chicken looking at the player.
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A chicken riding a minecart.
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A chicken compared to a tiny slime.
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A chicken on fire.
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A chicken swimming.
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A group of chickens following a player.
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A chicken being attacked by an ocelot.
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A chicken flapping its wings while falling from a high place.
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A chicken compared to a lamb (baby sheep).
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A pen full of chickens.
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An automatic chicken farm.
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A bunch of chickens on an island.
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A large amount of chickens.
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Animation of a chicken floating, flying, or sitting.
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Animation of a baby chicken floating, flying, or sitting.
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The Diamond Chicken, a joke variant featured in Java Edition 2.0
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The Secret Chicken, featured in the Trails & Tales Event.
Textures[]
Cosmetics[]
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Chicken Body, sold as part of the Community Celebration event.
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Chicken Hat, also sold as part of the Community Celebration event.
-
Chicken Jockey Costume by Dots Aglow
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Chicken Legs by Razzleberries
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Chicken in a Suit, a skin featured in the Battle & Beasts skin pack.
-
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Chicken & Zombie by Panascais
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-
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Other media[]
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An artwork of a chicken by Mojang.
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Ditto.
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A chicken in promotional artwork for the Horse Update.
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A Chicken in promotional artwork for the first Caves & Cliffs update.
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Benedict, also known as the Eversource, a chicken featured in Minecraft Story Mode.
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A Fancy Chicken, a unique variation of a chicken featured in Minecraft Earth.
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A chicken as it appears in Minecraft Legends.
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Lego Minecraft Chicken.
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Flower Chicken, an official T-Shirt design.
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Jolly Mobs Chicken, an official T-Shirt design.
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Wavy Chicken, an official T-Shirt design.
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Acid Duck, an official T-Shirt design.
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Evolution of the Chicken, a design featured on an official water bottle.
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Blue Chicken Family, an official tote bag.
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![A chicken startling Sunny and Efe.[7]](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/minecraft_gamepedia/images/c/cb/Chicken_Spook.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20230717011008)
Issues[]
Issues relating to "Chicken" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.
References[]
- ↑ MC-95818
- ↑ MC-2153
- ↑ MC-260035 — resolved as "Fixed".
- ↑ "Also, the chicken is now a duck." – @notch (Markus Persson) on X, October 28, 2011
- ↑ "@NationalStupid1 It was a joke" – @jeb_ (Jens Bergensten) on X, November 2, 2011
- ↑ http://www.mojang.com/2012/04/minecraft-pocket-edition-now-with-crafting/
- ↑ https://youtu.be/GXr5glhGkzE