Are chickens near sighted?

[esjro]

I was wondering about this because they are so good at finding little bits of things to eat on the ground, but they never seem to know I am coming until I call to them. Are chickens near-sighted?

(I know near-sightedness is not a behavior or related to egg laying, but none of the other forums seemed appropriate for this topic.)

 

[richje100]

interesting question.
my 4 gather together at the bottom of the run when they hear me walking towards them & then follow me into the shed. probably think im carrying food or something.
but i agree, they are good at picking little bugs of the ground

 

[Chicken Ninja]

I used to think they were too, but something tells me they are not...

We play this game with one of our chickens where we shine the light off a watch onto the fence. Literally they go crazy over it, chasing it (it's quite funny). It's to the point where I can shine it on the opposite end of the fence and they'll come running from over 20 feet away. It is a small light about the size of a nickel, and they can obviously see it quite well.

My chickens also don't respond until you get closer. Something tells me they can see me, but just don't do anything about it.