A female chicken is called a hen or pullets. A male chicken is called a rooster or cock. A baby chicken is called a chick.
Chickens were tamed (or domesticated) from rainforest birds called "red junglefowl." They live together in a flock, often warming (incubating) eggs and raising young as a group. Chickens usually lay one egg per day. In a flock, the stronger birds rule the rest of the flock. This is called the pecking order. Chickens need a place off the ground at night to sleep. This is called roosting. They are often preyed on by foxes or raccoons, so its good to have a roost with a door that closes the chickens in at night. Roosters watch over the flock of hens they live with. If a sudden noise alarms them, they will crow, day or night.
Chickens are birds with wings and covered with feathers. They can fly, but not very well. They use flight to escape fences or predators, but cannot go far. They have a red, fleshy crown called a comb and a red fleshy beard called a wattle.
Chickens are omnivores, eating plant matter and insects.
Chickens give us eggs and meat.
