How chickens breathe will astound you! Not in then out like us - but continuously in one direction!

Chickens are not mammals, and they don't breathe like mammals!
The air doesn't go into their lungs then out again, like us. The air flows through their lungs in one direction in a continuous flow!
It's all because of their air sacs - flimsy, non-muscular sacs like a filmy plastic bag. And because of these air sacs:
- birds can fly
- ducks can float
- you should never hold a chicken on her back or upside down
- you can't do a Heimlich manoevre on a chicken.
And if they pant a lot in hot weather, chickens can lay eggs with thin shells.
If you liked this video, do check out some fo the others in my playlist about how amazing chickens are:
• Amazing facts about ch...
For more fascinating facts, hints and tips about caring for your chickens, and the sheer pleasure of chickens, subscribe to my channel: Chickens in my garden - New Zealand
/ chickensinmygarden
Catch up with me on Facebook / chickensinmygarden

[@koshermal]

Ah, air sacs for constant breathing or droning like bagpipes! Well that certainly explains one of our noisy girls, nicknamed the foghorn.

[@chickensinmygarden]

Exactly like bagpipes! 😀👍

[@seriouslynow22]

I just wanted to thank you. The great thing about this channel is that it is very TRUE science based. I'm not so young anymore. I have only had chickens 19 months. My nature would be to spend a lot of time researching things. I got into chickens for the purpose of having high quality egg protein from chickens who had a great deal of freedom to free range, but having no idea what truly interesting, complicated and vulnerable creatures they can seem to be. My normal nature is such that I would much prefer to be studying papers on chicken physiology online. I don't have time because I am always cleaning poo, building coops, or otherwise providing for my babies. I am embarrassed to say so, but this particular channel has helped educate me about understanding how my babies' bodies work. Thank you. I think you must have been an outstanding teacher somewhere. Thank you!

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you so much, I really appreciate your compliment. I think we must be very similar personalities. I finally first got chickens in 2007 and, like you, I started out with very limited knowledge about them. And the more I learnt, the more fascinating I realised they are, so of course I had to share my discoveries with friends, until it got to the point that they suggested I start a KZbin channel to share chicken facts on there. (Maybe they were just bored with my telling them about chickens! 😀 ) I still love to share, so thank you very much for being someone who enjoys hearing about chickens and learning with me.

[@vickyannpaintingwithoils]

Lighting is great! You look so tan too! This was fantastic information. I had no idea of any of this. We had a massive harsh heat wave this season and I kept finding thin to no shell eggs. I figured it was somehow the heat, and now I know the panting. Thank you. When we purchased our twelve production reds I call a "rescue" the man scooped them up with some sort of tool a few at a time by their legs and threw them into a dog carrier. They went limp on the way down. It was hard to watch, but we got them home. I choose to pick them up and hold them close and set them down feet first in a carrier if we are moving multiple from coop to coop. Your flock looks so beautiful! Have an amazing day!

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you Vicky Ann. This was filmed at about 10 o'clock in the morning and I've noticed before how pretty the light is then. It was September 1 - the first day of Spring according to the calendar - and it was a lovely sunny day, and warm. I didn't need to be wearing that thick jacket but I wanted that colour and that was the only clothing I have in that colour :-) You did well to figure out the connection between heat and thin shells. Lots of people just assume a lack of calcium every time they see a thin shell, but that's not always the case. It must have been awful to watch chickens being handled like that, and even worse for the poor chickens to be experiencing it. So many people treat chickens like non-living beings :-( But I know they will have a happy life now with you, as mine do with me. Best wishes to you all

[@vickyannpaintingwithoils]

@@chickensinmygarden Haha! The jacket looked great! Don't get me wrong, I did double and triple check calcium, but nothing made sense with respect to calcium. It was one egg every day and egg production cut in half so it made sense because of the heat. I just didn't understand why and what the heat does until this. I do so much love your videos. Yes. Happy chickens on both of our lands.

[@kd1841]

Thank you for such a cool video! You continue to cover lesser known chicken facts. Now I know why the shell of my girls eggs have been thinner this summer. Our recently frequent temperature of 103 F (39.4 C) or greater causes them to pant heavily. My daughter pointed out the thinner shells when cracking an egg to cook for breakfast. Out of my 6 ladies only one is laying every other day right now and 3 other are currently molting. They stay in the shade most of the time and I put the sprinkler on and they enjoy walking through the wet dirt or grass. ❤ from North Texas!!

[@chickensinmygarden]

They will appreciate the cool down - they don't handle the heat well, poor things 🙂

[@ScaryFear]

Nicely done. I was in awe of the avian respiratory system when I first learned about it at university. It's actually rather complex being in four steps and though I did a paper on it to this day I still have to brush up on it and study it to know it beyond the basics. Birds are extremely efficient at taking in oxygen and also contaminants in the air which is why I tell people I meet to not smoke around birds. It's bad for humans and worse for poor birds. I'd love to see a video of your chickens walking around being chickens. Maybe post their names and breed. So relaxing to just watch chickens for like 5 minutes.

[@chickensinmygarden]

Good point - I probably should have mentioned that about being sensitive to contaminants, including ammonia in the hen house. I try to include some clips of my chickens in each of my videos, often at the end. And I did "Chick Cam" video about baby chicks just doing their thing. Maybe I need to do one of the adults. Have a great day 🙂

[@ScaryFear]

@@chickensinmygarden Yeah it's the little cute clips at the end that made me think of it. I loved seeing your hens just walking around. I've seen those videos and enjoyed them. I've watched all your videos since I discovered your channel a few months ago. You too have a good night.

[@cautiousdissolute5780]

Fascinating! It made me laugh when i could hear your chickens, while they were off-screen, while you were describing their repository system. Don't know why 😂

[@chickensinmygarden]

Chickens always make me laugh 🙂

[@loa81]

Thank you, Dear Lady! I think I know , then I learn how little I do know! It is so amazing to learn how a chicken breathes! Now I can understand why even a little ammonia from poor coop circulation can have profound consequences for the chicken. Big smile from me to you! 😊

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you. Yes I'm like that too - the more I learn, the more amazing I realise chickens are!

[@LeeHill66]

Great information! Thanks

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you 🙂

[@talilamenipaz4137]

Fascinating explanation! Thanks to your videos, I understand the world of chickens so much better. Beyond the verbal explanation, the graphics and animation in the videos are simply brilliant and illustrate everything very clearly. As usual, I learn a lot from you. Thank you very much for your instructive lessons. ❤

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you so much! Those graphics and animations are one of the reasons it takes me about a month to make each video (it's just me) but I myself do need to visualise things in order to really understand them. And chickens are so very different from us mammals 🙂

[@lisagayhart2482]

Wow! I always learn so much from you. Thank you

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you for watching 🙂

[@sloanehodge6065]

Awesome information.

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you. It was so fascinating I had to share 🙂

[@leanegoya]

Thank you very much for this extremely interesting video! I had no idea how so different the respiratory system of birds and chickens is from our! I love your channel that provides such well scientific based content about our beloved feathery friends 😊🐔🧡

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you. I really appreciate your feedback. And yes, we often don't realise just how incredible our chickens are. Have a great day 🙂

[@michellebarbour5777]

Different respiratory systems but still worth valuing that difference.. Different from me/us but still worthy of respect. Gosh, what a brilliant short film. Maybe everything we all need to learn in a nut (egg?)- shell? Love your gentle intellect. Thank you.

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you so much. Have a great day 🙂

[@carolbrowning7532]

Thank you for the lesson on chicken breathing. Very informative video.❤

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you for watching 🙂

[@shastagreen8866]

Thank you for this wonderful explanation of how birds breathe. I had no idea! Your knowledge and teaching about all manner of chicken life is amazing. I really enjoy all the details. Keep up the great job.

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you so much. I find it all so fascinating that I just get carried away sometimes 🙂

[@seriouslynow22]

I stand in agreement with you! So appreciative of her teaching skills. This channel is a must have subscription.

[@MaisieTheBlindHen]

Great info 💕💕🩷🩷 hope you have a wonderful new week!! ❤️🙏🙏💙🩷❤️🐔🎉🎉☺️☺️☺️🙏🙏🙏💕

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you, and the same to you and your chickens 🙂

[@EnjoyThisMomentDIY]

SO interesting! I loved learning about this. I want to learn all I can about my sweet ladies. Thank you so much!

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you. You much enjoy some of the other videos in my playlist Amazing facts about chickens 🙂

[@olivia00209]

Thank you very much for such a helpful video! And, I admired your beautiful chickens throughout the video🥰😘🐓

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you. Yes they are beautiful aren't they 🙂

[@basavarajmeti7857]

Amazing video and appreciate your knowledge about chicken and their respiratory system, my understanding of chicken changed after listening to you

[@chickensinmygarden]

Chickens really are amazing, aren't they 🙂

[@olson.pamela]

This was fascinating, thank you! The details and the graphics were explained so well! You are the best chicken channel! Except for he lack of predators on your island. You are lucky not to know what I now know. Mink can get in a mouse sized hole and have animal blood lust to kill, not for food, just to kill all your chickens. I was unaware of the ubiquitousness of this animal in every lake, even all lakes in cities. They call Minnesota where I live the land of 10,000 lakes. I am going to make a video warning of this particular animal as I had not seen it mentioned on other channels, when I can do it without breaking down.

[@chickensinmygarden]

Oh my goodness! Does 10,000 lakes mean 10 million mink?! They are murderous little beasts. Some places farm them. Are they farmed in Minnesota?

[@olson.pamela]

Yes they are farmed here. I live within two hundred yards of two lakes. I had never seen a mink or even thought of them. It is possible my big dog had kept them away, but he died three weeks before this happened. I’ve had a tough summer. Seeing your sweet videos lightened my heart a little.

[@olson.pamela]

Dusty my standard poodle died at 14.5 so it was expected, I always told people I got chickens because I knew Dusty wasn’t going to live forever.

[@chickensinmygarden]

Oh that's very sad. RIP Dusty ❤

[@olson.pamela]

Thank you

[@grantrutherford6783]

Fantastic video! Thank you :)

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you for watching 🙂

[@kida12]

So educational! TY!

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you for watching 🙂

[@Pipsqwak]

Thank you for this! So interesting!

[@chickensinmygarden]

Aren't chickens amazing!

[@Pipsqwak]

Yes, they really are! I love my flock and can spend hours just watching them. They all have unique personalities, too.@@chickensinmygarden

[@chickensinmygarden]

They do! I have a couple of sets of "twins" that are the same breed from the same parents hatched at the same time, and even they are quite distinct from each other.

[@MsGaella]

👏👍😲

[@chickensinmygarden]

☺

[@maryschermerhorn3893]

Good to know all of the above. But I do have a question - why do my lovelies have blood spots in their eggs?

[@chickensinmygarden]

Blood spots are simply a spot of blood that gets into the egg, usually when the ovum (immature egg yolk) gets released from the ovary. They can occur more frequently if the hen is stressed, for example by extreme temperatures or even everyday changes in their environment, or her feed is deficient in Vitamin A and Itamin K. But blood spots occur normally between 1% and 5% of eggs laid by healthy hens, and are nothing to worry about. They are slightly more common in eggs from older hens, eggs from free-ranging hens, and eggs with brown shells.

[@martykuhn5894]

New to chickens, I don't have any yet. After seeing this video I am concerned about using the slaughter cone that places birds upside down. Is there another way that is less stress on the bird? Something like an upright slaughter cone? There must be some reasons we don't do it differently than an upside down cone.

[@thedeadgypsy]

They are only in the cone for a few seconds, ideally, but there are other humane slaughter tools like the 'humane, wall mounted, poultry dispatcher'.

[@JoseGonzalez-rd4xs]

Can you do a video on respiratory infection in chickens?

[@chickensinmygarden]

That's not a subject that I know much about and it's rather complicated. Here is a brief summary poultry.extension.org/articles/poultry-health/diseases-of-the-poultry-respiratory-system/ But I would suggest the services of a vet that specialises in birds.

[@JoseGonzalez-rd4xs]

@@chickensinmygarden thanks for all that you do share.

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you for watching 🙂

[@karenhancock542]

Thank you for this very interesting and enlightening video! I had no idea! You say that chickens that are panting a lot can lay eggs with thin shells. I'm wondering if the heat and smoke-filled air we've had in Eugene, Oregon over the recent weeks could have caused my chickens to stop laying altogether? The weather has cooled off in the last couple of weeks, but my only two chickens who are of laying age (less than a year old) still are not laying any eggs. What could be wrong?

[@chickensinmygarden]

Yes definitely heat stress can cause chickens to go off the lay completely. Some breeds are more prone to it while other breeds are more heat tolerant but no chickens cope well with heat. They might come back into lay once it cools down a bit, or they might just go into a moult in the Fall and stop laying anyway 😒

[@karenhancock542]

I was afraid of that. Thanks so much for the quick response! @@chickensinmygarden

[@chickensinmygarden]

You're welcome. I always like to chat about chickens 🙂

[@mutawakkilbadawi999]

How to install splash color on chicken from scratch

[@chickensinmygarden]

Splash is a double dose of blue. If you mate two blue chickens a quarter of the offspring will be splash.

[@chickensinmygarden]

There are also two other colours that look a bit like splash but are a completely different genetic background - Exchequer and Erminette. This link has some information about those. www.backyardchickens.com/forums/exhibition-genetics-breeding-to-the-sop.16188/ Plus, of course, there are Mottled chickens.

[@mutawakkilbadawi999]

@@chickensinmygarden Thank you very much for the response and valuable information