The Kuwaiti Field Chickens

The Kuwaiti Field Chickens ranks 6th in the list of Curious Examples of Animals in Warfare. You might think that something called a “Poultry Chemical Confirmation Device” would be something fancy and high-tech, but you would be wrong. It actually was a chicken in a cage, strapped to the roof of a military Humvee. During the Gulf War, American troops employed the hens to identify deadly gases or chemical agents. Even though the soldiers were armed with superior detection systems, the pollution created by burst oil rigs often resulted in false findings.

As a result, the hens provided a low-tech but effective alternative. They had a very weak respiratory system, so if they died, it signaled to the troops that it was time to put on their gas masks, much like the ancient canaries in the coal mines. This strategy was dubbed by the US Army Operation Kuwaiti Field Chicken, or KFC, since the poultry were otherwise destined for the dinner table.