Why do chickens have wings but can't fly?
Chickens, the ubiquitous farmyard birds known for their eggs and meat, do indeed have wings. However, unlike their wild bird relatives who soar high in the sky, chickens are largely grounded.
The answer to why chickens have wings but can't fly effectively lies in their evolutionary history and anatomy. Originally, their ancestors were capable of flight, which was a key survival trait allowing them to escape predators and navigate their environment.
Over thousands of years, domestication has significantly altered the chicken's ability to fly. Early human settlers began domesticating and selectively breeding the red junglefowl, a wild bird from Southeast Asia, focusing on traits beneficial for agriculture such as size, meat yield, and docility rather than flight capability.
This selective breeding led to physical changes in the birds, most notably in their wing structure and body mass. Domesticated chickens became heavier and their wings smaller relative to their body size compared to their wild ancestors, making sustained flight difficult.
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