Over 7,000 years ago, people started raising chickens. The first chickens were domesticated in India and China.
Chickens are often associated with farms, but city dwellers can raise them in their backyards. Chickens are kept for their meat and eggs, but they are also terrific pets.
Some hens are tame enough to be held or petted. Chickens consume grass, bugs, fruit, veggies, and table scraps.
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Chicken Facts for Kids
- Chickens can fly very short distances only.
- Chickens cluck after laying eggs.
- They lay about 265 eggs per year.
- They usually live 5-10 years
- There are over 300 breeds of chickens
- Chickens are related to dinosaurs.
What do they eat and drink?
Humans wouldn’t really enjoy a chicken’s diet because wild chickens prefer to eat rodents, insects, and grains.
Domesticated hens eat “chicken feed” designed to help them grow.
It comprises cereals, vegetable/animal proteins, and other nutrients.
A chicken can drink up to 500ml of water every day. Water deprivation is more sensitive in hens than food deficiency.
What do they look like?
Chickens come in a variety of sizes and colors. But, they all have a similar body structure with a small head and a large body.
They have scale-covered legs with sharp claws for walking and holding. Chickens come in all colors — gold, silver, red, blue, and green
Male chickens, commonly known as roosters, are usually more handsome.
They have brighter colors, longer tails, and pointed back and head feathers.
Chicken Behavior
Even though chickens are social creatures, living in close proximity to other chickens can cause stress, aggression, and even illness.
When chickens get too crowded together, they start fighting over territory. This is known as pecking order.
It’s not uncommon for chickens to fight each other because they don’t want to lose out on space.
Free-range chickens stay healthy and happy.
Chicken Predators
Predators are everywhere, with snakes, bobcats, raccoons, hawks, foxes, raccoons, opossums, and owls being just some of the many animals that prey on chickens.
In both rural and urban areas, raccoons and domestic dogs kill more chickens than any other animal.
Chickens are technically dinosaurs
Chickens are the closest living relative of the majestic Tyrannosaurus rex.
Chickens were the only dinosaurs that survived the mass extinction 65 million years ago. Chickens are the Tyrannosaurus rex’s closest surviving relative.
Only chickens survived the cataclysmic extinction 65 million years ago.
But, of all our modern birds, chickens are the most basic and dinosaur-like. You can see a velociraptor in their movements and behaviors.
