Chickens

Table of Contents

What are they?...................................................... 1
What do they look like?..............................2
What do they eat?............................................4
Chicken Products…………………..………….…….…...5

What are they?

Chickens are small farm animals.
They are a type of bird. Chickens
are oviparous. Female chickens are
called hens and males are called
roosters. The hen sits on her eggs to
keep them warm.

Did you know…?

It takes 21 days for chicks to

1 hatch.

What do they look like?

Chickens come in many different
colors. A chicken’s body is covered
in feathers, and they have two
wings. Chickens have a comb on
top of their head and two wattles
under their beak.

2

Chickens have two legs. There are
four toes on each foot, three in the
front and one in the back.

Roosters have
colorful feathers.
They are larger
than hens.
Roosters crow
and hens cluck.

3

What do they eat?

Chickens are omnivores. Farmers
feed them grain. Chickens peck
the ground to find other food.
They eat insects, worms, snails,
slugs, grains, seeds, fruits,
vegetables and grass.

Did you know?

The gizzard which is a part of the
stomach that contains tiny stones
to help grind up the food so it can

4 be digested.

Chicken Products

Chickens are raised for their
eggs and meat. A hen will usually
lay 3-5 eggs per week.

Did you know?

Brown eggs are usually larger than

5 white eggs.

Other Chicken Facts

• Chickens can live for up to 15 years.
• Farmers keep chickens in a chicken

coop or an inside barn at night to
protect them from predators.
• Hawks, bobcats, snakes, skunks, owls,
raccoons, foxes and opossums prey on
chickens.
• Most chickens stop laying eggs during
the cold winter months.
• A hen lays about 300 eggs per year.
• A group of chicks is called a brood or
clutch.

6