5 Things You've Always Wanted to Know About Chickens

One of the aspects of the farm that we're really enjoying, but that people hardly ever ask us about, are the birds. Currently we have the big birds (our laying hens and 2 roosters) and the little birds (chicks and ducklings). Both are quite interesting-at least we think so. In honour of the "big birds" on our farm, who lately are producing 10-15 eggs/day and generating egg income, here's some interesting things you've (no doubt) always wanted to know about chickens.

We keep Rhode Island Red chickens.

1. How round or oval an egg is depends on how quickly the egg was laid. The slower the hen passes the egg through her, the rounder the egg. It is actually the pressure of the muscles contracting as the egg is passed that gives the egg its pointed top and oval shape.

2. A hot chicken will eat far less than a cool one. This is because eating produces internal heat, further elevating her temperature. The less she eats, the cooler she is. The downsize is that her egg production will suffer as she eats less. 

3. It is estimated that there are over 50 billion chickens being raised around the globe at the present time. That's a lot of chickens!

4. Chickens are omnivores. While it is true that they really enjoy a good junebug, beetle or fly, chickens will also happily dine on delectable treats like yesterday's discarded pepper seeds, carrot peels and other compostable kitchen scraps. This makes chickens easy to keep happy when it comes to dietary considerations.

5. The average chicken can live between 5-10 years (if nature is left to take its course). The oldest chicken to ever live died at 16 from heart failure, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

We hope you've enjoyed this entry and that it will inspire you to learn more about the various species of animals we all depend on for food and nutrition. Have a great day!