The chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the red junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird. Humans keep chickens primarily as a source of food, consuming both their meat and their eggs.
Fast Facts about Chickens
1. Chickens are raised mostly for their eggs and meat, but chickens also make good pets. Some chickens are very tame and will allow you to hold or pet them. Chickens eat almost anything – grass, bugs, fruit, vegetables and table scraps. They also eat larger prey like small mice and lizards!
3. Chickens aren’t completely flightless—they can get airborne enough to make it over a fence or into a tree.
6. Like other birds and mammals, chickens experience REM sleep, which is associated with dreaming.
7. Chickens have very sophisticated social behaviour with a dominance hierarchy where higher individuals dominate subordinate individuals.
8. Chickens are believed to be the closest living relative of the extinct dinosaur species, Tyrannosaurus rex (Tyrant lizard King).
9. Chickens lay different colours of eggs depending on breed. Blue eggshell colour comes from biliverdin; brown eggshell colour comes from protoporphyrins. Pink eggs are the result of small quantities of a rosy brown pigment, while green eggs have both blue and brown pigments.
10. The average lifespan of a chicken is generally no more than seven to eight years.
