The Element Encyclopedia

by Theresa Cheung
To see chickens in your dream can symbolize cowardice and stupidity, or chatter and gossip. Listen closely to what people may be saying about you or what you are saying about others. Alternatively, chickens can also show that there is potential for growth but this may only come about with the support of others. A group of chickens can also suggest that something you have done in waking life is about to rebound on you: as in chickens come home to roost.

The cock suggests male sexual characteristics and so the need to be more assertive. It is also the symbol of the new day and of keeping watch. Less positively, it might suggest that you are being overbearing and trying to rule the roost. The hen suggests being totally immersed in the concerns of motherhood.

If a hen crows in your dream, this is taken to represent maternal domination. A group of hens may symbolize gossip and calamity. It may also suggest being ‘hen-pecked’ or that you feel being picked on, like chicken feed. Chicks represent babies or very young children in your life, or your feelings about your own childhood. They can also point to vulnerability. Are you counting your chickens before they have hatched?

The Language of Dreams

by Patrica Telesco
(see Animals) Fear and timidity (e.g., being “chicken”).

Running aimlessly around: Lacking personal direction, racing from worries or doing so much that everything loses focus (e.g., “like a chicken with its head cut off’).

An omen or message. Among the Romans, chickens were used to foretell the outcome of battles by observing their movements and clucking.

Health matters (stemming from the idea that chicken soup is a panacea of sorts).

In a roost: Good planning and foresight; preparing for an arrival, sometimes that of a child.

Appearing on a doorstep: A portent that foretells the arrival of guests.

Islamic Dream Interpretation

by Ibn Seerin
(Bird, Fowl) A chicken in a dream represents the woman of the house, while the rooster in a dream represents the man of the house.

A chicken in a dream also represents a woman who takes care of orphans and raises charities for their sake, or it could represent a blond woman, or a servant. Owning a chicken in a dream means dispelling difficulties, or it could be a show of happiness. Hunting a chicken in a dream means receiving lawful and easy profits. Slaughtering a chicken in a dream means deflowering a virgin servant.

If one sees a chicken or a female peacock hooting inside his house or garden in a dream, it means a calamity which is met with a belligerent character. Seeing one’s house filled with a large number of chickens in a dream means wealth or presiding over people, or it could mean dispelling one’s fear and establishing one’s rank.

(Also see Peacock)