Chickens are domesticated birds and you can find them in almost all parts of the world! Learn some very interesting information about these animals:
- There are more chickens in the world than any other bird, even people!
- There are over 150 breeds of chickens of different colors and sizes.
- The heart of chickens beats 280-315 times per minute.
- People breed chickens primarily as a source of food; for their meat and their eggs.
- Chickens lay eggs of different colors, from white, brown to pink, etc., depending on the breed. The color of the first egg of a hen is the color that will lay to all her life. It takes a hen 24-26 hours to lay an egg.
- Chickens will lay eggs throughout their life, with the number being reduced every year from the first year.
- The male hen is called a rooster or cock, he does not have a penis but has a sperm bladder in a slit in the lower part of his body where during reproduction he tries to pour the semen into a corresponding slit that a hen has on her back.
- The male can be differentiated from the female through the richest feather, characterized by long tails and brightly colored wings on the neck and back, the fleshy crest on their head (called comb), the hanging flaps of skin either side under their beaks (called wattles) and the very loud voice (called crowing).
- Sometimes a hen will stop lay eggs to focus on hatching her eggs. During that time in the nest will turn the eggs on a regular basis keeping them at a constant temperature.
- At the end of the incubation period, which is about 21 days, the eggs (if fertilized) will be hatched and the hen will take care of the small ones.
- Cocks make a loud sound usually very early in the morning (crowing), but also at any time of the day.
- Chickens are social birds and live together as a flock. Chickens have a community approach to incubating eggs and raising the small ones. Chickens in a flock will dominate others, creating a hierarchical order, with dominant chickens having priority for access to food and nest.
- Chickens are very social animals. They will fight to protect their family and will mourn when a member dies.
- The life of a chicken varies between 5-7 years, although there cases of living much longer.