This page answers the twelve most asked questions about hens in one or two sentences each. Every answer stands on its own. For the detail, our full fact sheet on the hen covers each subject in depth.
What kind of animal is a hen?
A hen is a bird, more precisely a domestic bird of the Phasianidae family. Its scientific name is Gallus gallus domesticus. It is a vertebrate, egg-laying, warm-blooded and covered in feathers.
Are hens birds?
Yes, a hen is a bird. It has feathers, a beak, two wings and lays eggs, which are the four defining traits of birds. It flies very poorly, however: its wings are short relative to its weight, allowing flights of only a few metres.
How does a hen move?
A hen moves mainly by walking and running on its two legs. It scratches the ground with its clawed feet to find food. It can flap its wings to clear a low obstacle or reach a perch, but it does not fly any real distance.
How tall is a hen?
An adult hen stands 35 to 50 centimetres tall depending on the breed, weighing 1.5 to 3 kilograms. A rooster is larger, up to 70 centimetres including its comb. Bantam breeds go down to 20 centimetres, while giant breeds such as the Brahma exceed 70.
What is a hen for?
A hen provides three concrete things: its eggs, its meat, and a useful role in the garden. It eats slugs, insects and larvae, and its droppings are a nitrogen fertiliser. It also consumes part of a household's vegetable scraps.
What does a hen give us?
A laying hen gives roughly 250 to 300 eggs a year depending on breed and age. It also supplies meat, feathers, and manure used as fertiliser. Egg production drops noticeably after the second year.
What do hens eat?
A hen is omnivorous. It eats grain, grass, insects, worms, slugs and plant scraps. On a farm, its ration is made up of cereals, plant proteins and a calcium supplement, which is essential to form the eggshell.
Where do hens live?
The domestic hen lives alongside people, in a henhouse with an outdoor run. It needs a perch to sleep off the ground, a dark nest box, and dry footing. Its wild ancestor, the red junglefowl, lives in the forests of South-East Asia.
How long does a hen live?
A hen lives 5 to 10 years, and sometimes longer in a family flock. On a laying farm it is usually retired at around 18 months, when production falls, which is far below its actual lifespan.
How does a hen lay eggs?
A hen lays one egg every one to two days, with no rooster needed. An unfertilised egg will never produce a chick. If a rooster is present, a fertilised egg hatches after 21 days of incubation.
How does a hen sleep?
A hen sleeps up on a perch, motionless, head tucked into its feathers. It settles at dusk and wakes at dawn. Perching is a protective reflex against ground predators, inherited from its wild ancestor.
Why do hens cluck?
Clucking is a language. A hen announces that it has laid an egg, warns of danger, calls its chicks, or marks its place in the group's pecking order. Around thirty distinct vocalisations have been identified in the domestic hen.
Further reading
Our full fact sheet on the hen covers its anatomy, the history of hen keeping, the main breeds and its health. On the plush side, our hen plush collection and our farm animal collection take the subject further.