You will see lots of chickens at Acorn Farm and we usually have chicks to see too! We sell our hen’s free-range eggs from our shop.
Chicken facts:
- An adult male is a cockerel and an adult female is a hen. A newly hatched chicken is called a chick.
- It takes 21 days for a fertilised hen’s egg to hatch and produce a chick.
- Hens start laying at about 5 months old and can lay 300 eggs per year!
- There are as many chickens on the planet as there are humans!
- It is not necessary to keep a cockerel if you want the hens to produce eggs.
- Hens need 17 hours of light per day to continue laying eggs.
- Hens need to have grit available to aid digestion and to make the shells of their eggs strong.
- Chickens sleep on perches inside their houses. Their feet are specially adapted so that once their toes have gripped the perch, the muscle locks to ensure that they don’t fall off!
- The chicken is the closest living relative of the Tyrannosaurus Rex!
