2LearnKept species
Chicken
Gallus gallus
The chicken is a domesticated bird descended mainly from the red junglefowl of South and Southeast Asia. It is kept worldwide for eggs and meat and is the most numerous farm animal on earth. Breeds range from small bantams to heavy, calm dual-purpose birds suited to a backyard flock.
About
Domesticated bird (specifically a red junglefowl) kept by humans primarily as a food source.
- Family
- Phasianidae
Keeping
How it is kept
Kept for
- Eggs
- Meat
- Mature weight
- 1.5–4.5 kg
- Lifespan
- 5–10 years
- Incubation
- 21 days
- Temperament
- Generally docile and curious; roosters can be territorial
- Forage
- Omnivores that need a complete layer or grower feed as the base of the diet. They also scratch for insects, seeds and greens when they have range.
- Housing
- A dry, draught-free and predator-proof coop with perches, nest boxes and good ventilation. Add a fenced or covered run, as foxes and other predators take birds by day as well as by night.
- Good to know
- Hens lay without a rooster; you only need one for fertile eggs. Laying slows in winter, during the yearly moult and with age. Check regularly for mites and lice, especially in the perches and nest boxes.
Photos, videos and notes
From keepers
Known as
Names around the world
- en
- chicken, domestic chicken, hen
Full detailsevery field on the record, to copy
- Name
- Chicken
- Slug
- chicken
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Family
- Phasianidae
- Genus
- Gallus
- Species
- gallus
- Wikidata QID
- Q780
- Container suitable
- No
- Indoor suitable
- No
- OSSI pledged
- No
- Hazard level
- 1
- Data completeness
- 48
Generated sections & citations
summarywikidata