Chicken Jockey: Understanding the Minecraft Character & Meme

Ever since the release of A Minecraft Movie, the chicken jockey meme has been one of the most chaotic memes for movie theaters. Viewers have been launching popcorn at the mere sight of the chicken jockey dropping into the ring. But why? What exactly is a chicken jockey, and what started this trend? In this article, we answer those questions, explain how movie theaters responded, and more. Read on to learn about the craziest meme of this year!

Chicken Jockey Meaning

Chicken jockey is a character in Minecraft, but it became a trend when Steve (Jack Black) shouted “Chicken jockey!” in the trailer for A Minecraft Movie. When the movie was released, moviegoers made it a trend to cheer while throwing popcorn and drinks whenever Steve said “chicken jockey” during the film.

Section 1 of 6:

What is a chicken jockey?

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A chicken jockey is a Minecraft entity that’s a mix of a chicken and a baby zombie. In Minecraft, the chicken jockey is a rare mob that features a baby zombie, baby zombie villager, baby husk, baby drowned, or a baby zombified piglin riding a chicken. The chicken jockey is a hostile mob that is fast and strong. It gets its speed and strength from a baby zombie, which is harder to hit when it rides a chicken.^{[1]
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- The chicken jockey was featured in A Minecraft Movie during the scene where Jason Momoa’s character has to fight a mob in the ring.

Section 2 of 6:

What is the chicken jockey trend?

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Viewers throw popcorn during the chicken jockey scene in the Minecraft film. A Minecraft Movie had plenty of lines that were memed online, including chicken jockey. The chicken jockey line was so popular that it started a trend where viewers cheer and throw their popcorn, drinks, and snacks across the theater when Jack Black’s character scream “chicken jockey” after a chicken jockey drops down to fight Jason Mamoa’s character.^{[2]
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- Plenty of clips from the Minecraft movie were released online via trailers and promotion, which helped build crazy hype for the film and set up the chicken jockey trend.

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How Movie Theaters Responded to the Chicken Jockey Trend

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After videos of people throwing their food and drinks went viral online, many theaters had their employees head into the screening before it started and tell viewers that if they threw popcorn, snacks, or drinks, they’d be kicked out. One theater even brought in Jack Black himself, who said, “Please no throwing popped corn, and also no lapis lazuli…and absolutely no chicken jockeys!”^{[3]
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Other theaters kicked out rowdy moviegoers. Some theaters that dealt with rowdy teenagers throwing their food and drinks took action by kicking them out. For example, the Valley Cinema in Wasilla, Alaska had to eject a group of about 15 moviegoers after they were caught throwing their food and drinks, calling the police to escort them out.
- One employee at the Valley Cinema was reportedly body-slammed during an altercation with rowdy teens at one showing of A Minecraft Movie.^{[4]
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To prevent the problem before it became an even bigger issue, some theaters required all viewers of A Minecraft Movie who were under 18 to be accompanied by their parents or guardians. For example, the Township Theater in New Jersey posted on Facebook to let viewers know that minors seeing the film “MUST be accompanied by a parent or responsible adult” because of “completely unacceptable behavior, including vandalism.”^{[5]
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Section 4 of 6:

History of the Chicken Jockey in Minecraft

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Chicken jockeys were first introduced in Minecraft in 2013. Chicken jockeys were first added to Minecraft Java Edition in the 1.7.4 update, which was released on December 10, 2013. They were later added to Minecraft Bedrock Edition (which is the version sold on PlayStation, Xbox, and mobile) with the 0.11.0 update, which was released on June 4, 2015.^{[6]
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- Chicken jockeys were first teased via image uploads to Imgur (a popular image hosting website) on November 29, 2013. These images also circulated on Reddit.
- They were confirmed by technical director Dinnerbone (real name Nathan Adams) on November 30, 2013, when he tweeted a link to the image that had been circulating on Imgur and Reddit.

Section 5 of 6:

How the Chicken Jockey Operates in Minecraft

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Spawning Every baby zombie, baby zombie villager, baby zombified piglin, baby husk, and baby drowned that spawns has a 5% chance to check for a chicken in a 10x6x10 box area near their spawn point and ride it. There’s an additional 5% chance that they spawn in already riding a chicken if it fails to mount one in the area. In chicken-free areas, there’s a 0.25% chance that the riding mob will spawn and become a chicken jockey.^{[7]
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- If chickens are present, that chance becomes 0.4875%.
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Behavior With the unique combination that is the chicken jockey, it’s no surprise that their behavior is unique, too. For starters, chicken jockeys fall slowly and don’t take fall damage, just like regular chickens. The baby zombie can also pick up and equip items. Although a chicken jockey can run through 1 block high gaps, the baby zombie will suffocate while the chicken remains just fine. The chicken jockey can also despawn just like other mobs.^{[8]
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- The chicken will also remain passive after you’ve killed the baby zombie, just like a regular chicken. Unlike a regular chicken, though, they can’t lay eggs (unless you spawn it using commands without the IsChickenJockey tag).
- Chickens that used to be part of a chicken jockey can still be bred with other chickens.
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Drops Chicken jockeys drop the same items that chickens and zombies (or zombie villagers, husk, drowned, or zombified piglins) do, but it depends on which one you kill first. If you kill the chicken first, it will drop raw chicken and a feather. If you kill the baby zombie (or riding mob) first, it will drop rotten flesh. Both mobs will drop a bit of XP, as well, which can be used towards enchantments.^{[9]
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- You may want to kill the baby zombie first, as it’ll be easier to collect the loot once you kill the chicken.
- If you kill the chicken first, the baby zombie will still chase you, making it difficult to pick up your loot.
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Advancements There’s only one advancement that you can earn that’s related to the chicken jockey, and that’s the It Spreads advancement. To get this advancement, you must kill a mob near a Sculk Catalyst. So, if you’re down in a cave and notice a chicken jockey, lure it to an Ancient City down below, then kill it near a Sculk Catalyst.^{[10]
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- Hostile mobs can’t spawn in Ancient Cities, so you’ll need to find a way to get the chicken jockey down there to get this advancement.
- Ancient Cities are rare and very deep below ground, so you may need to do some digging for this advancement.
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Data Values When you’re spawning a chicken jockey using commands, the data value to input is simply ChickenJockey. The individual mobs still maintain their regular data values even if the other mob is killed. So, the chicken is still chicken and the baby zombie, baby husk, baby drowned, baby zombie villager, and baby zombified piglin are still zombie, husk, drowned, zombie_villager, zombified_piglin, respectively.^{[11]
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- To make the mob a baby, you just have to add {IsBaby: 1} to the end of your command.

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Fun Facts About the Chicken Jockey

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There are tons of hidden gems involving the chicken jockey. Did you know there’s a variation of the chicken jockey that is the rarest mob in the game? What about the fact that there’s a way to turn a regular chicken jockey into one being ridden by a fully-grown villager? No? Well, there are plenty of other exciting fun facts about the chicken jockey that you may not know about. Check out the following fun facts to find out more:
- In Java Edition, there’s a 1 in 2.91082×1022 chance that a chicken jockey will spawn with a baby zombie that has fully enchanted diamond armor and an enchanted diamond sword equipped, making it the rarest mob in the game.
- Name tags keep the chickens from despawning after you kill the zombie.
- Withers attack the chicken in chicken jockeys.
- In Java Edition, if a baby zombie villager is cured while they’re riding a chicken, the villager will keep riding the chicken. It can even grow into an adult villager while still riding the chicken.
- A zombified piglin that’s riding a chicken won’t become hostile if the chicken is killed or attacked.
- Zombified piglin chicken jockeys can spawn from portals in the overworld.
- Regular chicken jockeys can spawn in the Nether if a zombified piglin calls a regular zombie for reinforcements.
- Splash potions of healing heal the chicken but damage the zombie. Splash potions of harming heal the zombie but harm the chicken.
- If you name a chicken jockey “Dinnerbone,” the baby zombie will turn upside down while still in a seated position.^{[12]
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