--- title: Scientists Breed Chickens Resistant to Climate Change description: Scientists at the University of Delaware are breeding chickens with fewer neck feathers to be more suited to the changing climate. canonical: https://time.com/89485/these-scientists-want-to-breed-animals-that-can-survive-climate-change/ author: Kyle Chayka article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-06T17:21:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:09:27.116Z og:title: Scientists want to breed animals to survive climate change og:description: Researchers are looking into heat-resistant chickens og:url: https://time.com/89485/these-scientists-want-to-breed-animals-that-can-survive-climate-change/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Scientists want to breed animals to survive climate change twitter:description: Researchers are looking into heat-resistant chickens twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # These Scientists Want to Breed Animals That Can Survive Climate Change by [Kyle Chayka](https://time.com/author/kyle-chayka/) ## Kyle Chayka May 6, 2014 5:21 PM UTC by [Kyle Chayka](https://time.com/author/kyle-chayka/) ## Kyle Chayka May 6, 2014 5:21 PM UTC Scientists at the University of Delaware are working to breed more [heat-resistant chickens](http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-climate-chickens-20140504-story.html#page=1) to better survive climate change, specifically at the [African naked-neck chicken.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naked%5FNeck) The bird’s lack of neck feathers helps keep it cool — a model for what it might take for an animal to thrive in higher temperatures. Theoretically, incorporating some of the characteristics of the African chicken in U.S. breeds could create a more adaptable bird—and more food in the long run. “We have to start now to anticipate what changes we have to make in order to feed 9 billion people,” Carl Schmidt, one of the researchers, told the [_Los Angeles Times_](http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-climate-chickens-20140504-story.html#page=1). According to Schmidt, the hardier chickens could begin to be mass-produced within 15 years. As America warms up, they’ll certainly be useful, but the new animals are also relevant in the short-term for small-scale farming in Africa. The experiment is one of the first attempts to kickstart evolution’s reaction to the climate catastrophe we find ourselves in. Too bad humans aren’t changing quite as quickly. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/89485/these-scientists-want-to-breed-animals-that-can-survive-climate-change/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/89485/these-scientists-want-to-breed-animals-that-can-survive-climate-change/"},"headline":"These Scientists Want to Breed Animals That Can Survive Climate Change","datePublished":"2014-05-06T17:21:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:09:27.116Z","description":"New breeds won't fry as quickly, researchers hope.","url":"https://time.com/89485/these-scientists-want-to-breed-animals-that-can-survive-climate-change/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Environment","animals","climate change","Farming","Evolution","Science topic","Chickens"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kyle Chayka","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kyle-chayka/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/89485/these-scientists-want-to-breed-animals-that-can-survive-climate-change/","name":"These Scientists Want to Breed Animals That Can Survive Climate Change"}}]}] ```