How many bones are in a chicken skeleton?

A chicken has 120 bones. A chicken's spinal column alone is made up of 39 separate bones. These bones are divided into five groups: the cervical vertebrae, the thoracic vertebrae, the lumbar vertebrae, the sacral vertebrae and the coccygeal vertebrae.

Although chickens do not fly well, they still have many of the bone traits common to birds of flight. These traits include: pneumatic bones that connect the respiratory system with the hollow insides of longer bones, smaller heads, fusing of some vertebrae sections to provide rigidity in flight, and large sternums that provide ample surface area for the connection of the muscles needed for flight.