Fun Facts about Chickens some fun facts about my lovely feathered friends that rule my garden, eat my bugs, squawk at me and feed me.
~There are more chickens in the world than any other bird species. In fact, more than 50 billion chickens are reared annually as a source of food, for both their meat and their eggs.
~Chickens are one of the most common domesticated animals in the world.
~Chickens are gregarious birds and live together as a flock with a distinct hierarchy or “pecking order.” They would naturally spend their day foraging for food, scratching the ground looking for insects and seeds.
~The chicken is the closest living relative to the great Tyrannosaurus-Rex.
~Chickens were first domesticated from a wild form called red jungle fowl, a bird that still runs wild in most of southeast Asia. (The guy in the top picture is a red jungle rooster or known as a phoenix)
~No one is positive who domesticated the chicken first, but based on archaeological evidence it was the Chinese in 5400 BC
~Baby chickens are chicks. Female chickens are pullets until they’re old enough to lay eggs and become hens. Male chickens are called roosters, cocks or cockerels, depending on the country you’re in.
~Scientists think that the rooster’s wattle–the dangly bit beneath his beak–helps him to gain a hen’s attention when he is strutting his stuff.
~Chickens can get frost bite on their wattles, combs and feet.
~Chickens perform complex communication where calls have specific meanings. They perform over 30 types of vocalisation that we are aware of with meanings varying from calling youngsters, alarm calls, and alerting others to the whereabouts of food.
~A female chicken will mate with many different males but if she decides, after the deed is done, that she doesn’t want a particular rooster’s offspring and can eject his sperm. This occurs most often when the male is lower in the pecking order.
~Chickens are omnivores. They will eat seeds and insects but also larger prey like small mice, lizards and snakes.
~Chickens are able to remember and recognise over 100 individuals; they can also recognise humans. They form complex social hierarchies, also known as “pecking orders,” and every chicken knows his or her place on the social ladder.
~Chickens comprehend cause-and-effect relationships and understand that objects still exist even after they are hidden from view.
~Like other birds and mammals, chickens experience REM sleep, which is associated with dreaming.
~Hens have 340 taste buds and chickens can’t taste sweetness in foods however they can detect salt, and most choose to avoid it.
~There are chickens everywhere in the world except for Antarctica.
~The record for the most yolks in an egg is nine.
~A double-yolked egg occurs when two egg yolks are released into a hen’s oviduct too close together and end up encased within the same shell.
~Because commercially sold eggs in the United States are weighed and candled before being sold you will probably never see a double yolk unless you buy from backyard chicken farmers.
Thanks for checking out my facts and a few of the ladies and gents from my backyard flock. I hope you enjoyed yourself.
xo, Amy
Is it weird that I could stare at chicken pictures all day? They are so beautiful and interesting! I had no idea chickens ate larger species like mice and snakes. Crazy!
Elaina, Totally not weird, I am the one taking pictures of them all day :). I can’t get enough of them, they make the garden a much more wonderful place. When they do come across a protein source, like snake or mouse they go crazy the hen who catches has to run like the wind because all the other hens will try to rob her of her prize. Best, Amy
Wonderful article. I would love to have chickens, but alas home owners association rules do not allow.
Jonni,
Thank you, maybe as chickens become more popular your home owners association will allow them?? Best, Amy
What a fun list! My first tiny flock is just starting to lay eggs and we are loving our chicken adventure!
Elizabeth, The are so much fun, I raised 10 of my girls from day old chicks and they are still sweet and friendly always keeping me company in the garden. xo Amy