Chickens

The chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) is a subspecies of birds of the genus Gallus, family Phasianidae. The chicken is a domesticated bird and still lives in the wild in India today.
The male hen is called a rooster. He is larger than the female, has a multicoloured feathers, a red crest and chin and strong spurs on his feet. Some roosters can be aggressive.
In 2013, there were about 52 billion chickens worldwide, making it the most common bird in the world.
Did you know that...?
• The minimum weight of a hatching egg is 53 g.
• a chicken can lay 227 eggs a year
• hens can hear their chicks clucking in the egg, and gentle, gentle beak taps will encourage them to hatch
• a fertilized egg starts to develop into a chick when the temperature reaches 30°C
• there are more than 150 species of chicken, in different colors, patterns and sizes
• the global chicken population is about 24 billion (more than humans)
• were domesticated 8000 years ago
• hens have more bones in their necks than giraffes
• is the closest relative of the dinosaur Tyrannosaurus rex
• chickens use more than 30 different types of sounds to tell the difference between threats