Chickens



Chickens have been a part of the Muppet world for a long time, quite possibly because Jim Henson thought chickens were hilarious creatures.

The first group of Muppet chickens was created in 1972 for the Tales From Muppetland special The Muppet Musicians of Bremen. They were precursors to the chickens from The Muppet Show, except they had slightly different eyes. T.R. the Rooster, one of the main characters, would later appear on The Muppet Show as well.

The Bremen chickens were used during the first and second seasons of The Muppet Show. In one episode, guest starring Rich Little, a bunch of real chickens were featured, auditioning for Gonzo's dancing chicken act. It was in this episode that Gonzo developed his obsession with chickens.

During the third season, some new chickens were built with more defined eyes. One of the chickens got the name Camilla and became Gonzo's girlfriend (although to this day, even Gonzo doesn't know which chicken it is; chickens look too much alike).

A black rooster was added to the Muppet Show cast during the second season, and a little chick during the third season. In one of the first episodes, guest starring Harvey Korman, a chicken suit was made for the guest star; it would later be used occasionally whenever a huge full-body chicken character was needed.

The white Muppet chickens made a few rare appearances on Sesame Street; sometime during the 1980's, a group of brown chickens were added to the Sesame cast, as well as a brown/black rooster.

Other notable Muppet chickens are the Giant Man-Eating Chicken from John Denver and the Muppets: A Rocky Mountain Holiday, and the Humongous Chicken from Elmo In Grouchland.

The Muppet chickens usually communicate with squawks, although they are known to speak at times.

The chickens are built without eye mechanism. Instead, the Muppet builders found an alternative by giving some chickens one wide open eye and one 'relaxed' eye with eyelid; this way, the chicken could change emotions by quickly turning its head. This is why some of the chickens on The Muppet Show's earlier episodes have two different eyes.