Chickens are passive mobs found in grass biomes and are the main source of chickens, feathers and eggs.
Spawning
Chickens spawn naturally in the Overworld, in groups of four, and on grass blocks with 2 blocks of free space above at light level 9 or higher.
They do not breed in:
- Desert
- Snow plains
- Ice spikes
- Snowy slopes
- Meadow
- Barren land with many trees
- Jagged mountain peaks
- Frozen peaks
- Rocky mountain top.
In Java Version, chickens are more common in sparse forests.
After the generation of chickens lay eggs individually.
5% of chickens lay eggs into chicks.
In Bedrock Edition, chickens require light levels of 7 or higher to breed and are found in groups of two to four.
Chicken Jockey
Java version
All baby zombie and piglet variants formed from undead have a 5% chance to spawn while riding a chicken, forming a chicken racer. Because a baby zombie spawns from 5% of zombie spawns, the number of spawns of a game cock consists of 0.25% of all zombie spawns in a rooster-free environment; if there are chickens, the chance increases to 0.4875%.
Fighting cocks can appear with equipped items. The zombified piglet versions of the fighting cock always wield a golden sword. Harming or killing chickens does not cause piglets to be zombified.
Drop
Main article: Guide/Raising Chicken
Adult non-gamecocks lay an egg every 5 to 10 minutes.
When an adult chicken is killed, it sheds 0 to 2 feathers. The maximum amount is increased by one for each level of Loot, up to a maximum of 0 to 5 with Loot III. The chicken also drops a raw chicken (a cooked chicken if killed while on fire). The maximum amount is increased by one for each level of Loot, up to a maximum of one to four with Loot III. 1–3 experience orbs are dropped when a rooster is killed by a player or a tamed wolf, or 10 orbs if it is part of a gamecock. When two adult chickens spawn, 1–7 orbs will drop.
Killing a chick gives no items or experience.
Behavior
A chicken roams aimlessly but chases players holding various seeds in a 6 x 4 x 6 cube area, while the chicks follow the adult chicken.
Chickens avoid falling off cliffs and flap their wings in mid-air and fall slowly, so they don’t get hurt when they fall.
When harmed, the chicken runs away for a few seconds.
Chickens often try to jump up to climb stairs instead of climbing stairs as usual.[1]
Wildcats, feral cats[JE only] and foxes chase and attack chickens.
In a full flock, an adult hen will lay an egg (6000-12000 ticks) every 5-10 minutes unless it is a game bird or was part of a game bird. If the player gets close enough to a chicken while it’s laying eggs, a crackling sound will be heard.
Chickens stay underwater for 15 seconds or can swim, clearly flap their wings, and stay above water. When swimming, a chicken needs only one mass of air above its head.
A chicken is 0.6875 blocks. Chicks are 0.34375 blocks tall.
Breeding
Two adult chickens fed wheat seed, beetroot seed, melon seed, pumpkin seed, or torch seed [coming soon: JE 1.20] will produce one chick. They cannot spawn for 5 minutes after that.
It takes 20 minutes for a chick to reach maturity, but each seed can increase growth time by 10%. A chick that is fed seeds once per second will grow in about 48 seconds using 47 seeds.
Chicks are less than half a block and may be reluctant to go through holes smaller than a whole block, but not through spaces half a block high. It is not possible to hit a chick riding a minecart because it is completely inside the minecart’s damage box.
Egg
Chickens are the only Overworld mobs that can spawn without spawning. Adult chickens lay eggs randomly, and there is a 1/8 chance that an egg dropped on the ground by a player or donor will produce a chick. If a chick spawns from a thrown egg, there’s an extra 1⁄32 chance to spawn three more chicks, or 1⁄256 overall. Theoretically, a stack of 16 eggs could spawn 64 chickens if all spawn chances were successful for all eggs.
If the player throws an egg into the cell, chicks can spawn on the far side of the tile.
Chickens are one of the best Mobs that MC Wiki has just updated for Minecraft.