Humans have categorized animals for centuries as being warm-blooded or cold-blooded. However, some animals fall into a murky region. Chickens possess many traits with reptiles, so you may ask, are chickens cold-blooded animals in the fowl family?
You can compare chickens to other animals regarding egg production, like lizards, snakes, and turtles. However, compared to reptiles, chickens regulate their body temperature according to the external environment.
Chickens are members of the avian family and can maintain their own body temperature; they are also warm-blooded animals. In our guide, you can learn more about how our chickens warm-blooded and how chickens maintain body temperature and deal with extreme weather swings.
By the end, you’ll know more about how all homeothermic animals in the fowl family can adjust inner core temperatures depending on the environmental temperature. (Learn How To Make A Baby Chick Stop Chirping)
Cold-Blooded Vs. Warm-Blooded Animals
Warm-blooded and cold-blooded animals differ in numerous ways. Depending on whatever group individuals fall into, their bodies react to the environment differently.
1. Temperature and Environment
Warm-blooded creatures, like chickens, can regulate their internal body temperature regardless of the weather. Warm-blooded animals adapt to environmental conditions unless extreme cold or hot weather conditions exist.
Snakes and lizards have cold blood and can’t control their internal body temperature. Thus, it takes external forces or environmental changes to maintain constant body temperatures. For example, the sun provides warmth for many, and such animals as pets often have heat lamps to increase these animals’ body temperatures.
Such cold-blooded animals in the wild find their core temperature will fall to 35 °F if they face cold temperatures outside, and thus, the need to find temperature dips to that level unless they locate an area with a warmer ambient temperature to raise their internal temperatures, and get the blood circulation going.
Such animals face the same in extremely high temperatures and are way out of their comfort zone. A cold-blooded animal cannot heat or cool itself and can’t maintain its body temperature.
This is why you find snakes in homes in low temperatures, and they hide in the shade when it’s too hot.
2. Body Function and Energy
Regular food is necessary for the survival of warm-blooded animals, as they get energy from the food they eat. Warm-blooded animals cannot function properly and maintain an adequate internal temperature to maintain body heat without a sufficient food supply.
A warm-blooded animal’s body will not function properly if it is unable to control its body’s internal temperature. Also, Warm-blooded animals perish from a lack of food quickly.
Warm-blooded animals may survive in a variety of climates if they eat well. They will be out searching for food sources even in cold weather.
Because they get their energy from sources other than food, cold-blooded animals can go for extended periods without eating much. The environment provides these animals with the energy required to survive.
It is usual to see lizards and turtles relaxing in the sunlight because they rely on the sun’s energy and warmer temperatures to move and function, as they cannot regulate thermal homeostasis.
However, in colder temperatures, they have less energy and can’t travel as quickly. Because their bodies cannot withstand the lack of energy, reptiles are rarely seen in cold climates where they are dormant as they need more heat to get the blood vessels and blood flow moving to reach the optimal temperature. (Read Can Chickens Eat Shrimp)
Do Chickens Thermoregulate?
The respiratory system is used as chickens thermoregulate their body temperatures. They have complex respiratory systems that carry out a range of functions, including removing excess heat from a chicken’s body.
You’ll find amazing animals, chickens, and warm-blooded members of the fowl family, all homeothermic animals that maintain their own body temperature. To avoid overheating, chickens’ bodies naturally produce heat that must be evacuated.
When exposed to hot weather, their internal systems will also heat up. However, homeothermic animals, like chickens, will remove this extra heat through their skin and respiratory system to counteract this natural occurrence.
Hot chickens may hold their wings out and away from their bodies to remove excess heat. Healthy chickens breathe faster to cool their bodies quickly, and their respiratory system helps chickens regulate the inner core temperature.
In other extreme weather at the other end of the temperature range, the body fat, and layers, when fluffing the chickens’ feathers, enable them to regulate their body temperature in cold weather.
Can Chickens Be Too Hot or Cold?
Chickens are warm-blooded animals that thermoregulate their normal body temperature. Chickens can maintain a constant body temperature yet face extreme heat or cold temperatures, which are lethal. Past a certain point, chickens can’t control their body temperatures in severely hot or cold conditions.
Young chickens struggle to keep a consistent body temperature and are especially vulnerable to high temperatures. During severe weather, it’s crucial to give your chickens shelter. They can regulate their body temperature when necessary and prevent becoming excessively hot or cold.
Along with several characteristics for keeping cool or warm, there are ones you may not be aware of for this warm-blooded animal. Chickens and baby chicks don’t have any sweat glands, and because of this, they can’t cool their own body heat through heat transpiration or panting to help maintain a steady temperature.
How Do Chickens Regulate Body Temperature?
You’ll find chickens warm-blooded, so chickens must actively regulate their internal body temperature and body heat to 40–42°C/105–107°F. This implies that your chickens will alter their behavior to control their body temperature when it is too cold or too hot.
Of course, chickens can still use their surroundings for help, but they exhibit a few unique behaviors.
How Chickens Cool Themselves Down
Chickens adjust their body temperatures by exhaling extra heat through their respiratory system, like many other bird species and warm-blooded animals.
Your chicken may extend its wings and legs and breathe quickly in and out. Although it may appear frightening, your chickens can do this. It’s a symptom of your chickens being too heated and facing heat stress, and do this to lose heat according to the temps and relative humidity. Of course, chickens will also try to find shade, so make sure sufficient is available during the heat.
How Do Chickens Heat Themselves?
Chickens will aggressively seek warmth if it becomes too cold. Typically, they do this inside of their coop. Chickens puff up their feathers to create an insulation bubble that prevents the cold air passing through their feathers from touching their bodies, besides just going to a warmer location to warm themselves up or sunbathe.
To lessen the impact of the cold air on their skin, you might even notice your chickens tucking one of their legs up under their feathers! Last but not least, and possibly the most understandable way chickens warm themselves up, is through eating.
Adding more protein will help keep your chickens warm in the cold. They may even be seen picking up feathers from the ground to eat to help avoid heat loss in cold weather conditions.
Pros and Cons of Warm-Blooded or Cold-Blooded Animals?
Chickens are warm-blooded and produce more heat when the temperature is outside; suddenly, thanks to the faster metabolism of the chicken, cold-blooded animals lack this trait. Because chickens are warm-blooded, they also have more stamina than cold-blooded animals of the same size and build because of their high metabolism, quickly replenishing energy.
Warm-blooded prey is better adapted to outrun their cold-blooded animals because of the energy generation. Warm-blooded animals can control their body temperatures by using internal enzymes. This is so that enzymes can flourish at ideal temperatures. (Read Can Chickens Have Mango)
Warm-blooded creatures might become lethargic or even die when their bodies are overcooled since they rely on enzymes to regulate a constant body temperature. Warm-blooded animals have trouble adjusting to cooler temperatures on an empty stomach because food allows them to regulate their own body heat.
Because they depend on the sun to maintain their internal temperatures, cold-blooded animals are better suited to warmer and tropical climates. So instead of keeping their young internally as mammals do, most of them keep their young in well-guarded eggs.
That it requires a lot of energy to regulate the temperature in cold-blooded animals is a significant drawback. The animals must spend a lot of time outside to get the solar energy necessary for metabolism.
