18 Chicken facts you didn't know

A few years back I accumulated this list of interesting chicken trivia for my very first website. I'm rather fond of this list so I thought I would add it to the blog here for you all to read! This is a collection of random chicken facts that most people don't know. It includes everything from flying chickens to headless chickens.

Of course many chicken keepers will read the list and find that they do in fact, know some of these. However, I've been raising chickens for 4 years now and many of these came as a surprise to me! 

Here is the original list:

Amazing chicken facts

1) There are more chickens in the world than people. In fact, globally chickens outnumber people 3 to 1.

2) History indicates that fowl were domesticated as far back as 3200 B.C.

3) Chickens absorb vitamin-D through their combs from sunshine.

4) Shell color is determined by the breed of hen and has no effect on its quality, nutrients or flavor.

5) The longest recorded flight of a chicken is 13 seconds.

6) Hens take about 24-26 hours to produce one egg. Thirty minutes later they start the process all over again.

7) A fresh egg will sink in water, a stale one will float.

8) There are nearly 200 breeds and varieties of chickens worldwide.

9) The average hen will lay 227 eggs a year.

10) An egg shell has as many as 17,000 pores over its surface. 

11) Alektorophobia is the fear of chickens.

12) The U.S. produces about 75 billion eggs a year. That is about 10% of the world supply.

13) Roosters can't crow if they can't fully extend their neck. Check out this post for other rooster facts.

14) Chickens that lay brown eggs have red earlobes. There is a genetic link between the two.

15) The largest chicken on record, weighed 23 pounds, 3 ounces. 

16) Some hens take 'breaks' from egg laying every 3-5 days, others rest every 10 days. 

17) A hard-cooked egg will peel more easily if it has been stored for one or two weeks before it is cooked.

18) It takes 4 lbs of feed to make a dozen eggs.

Famous chicken facts:

Mike the headless chicken lived for 18 months after being decapitated. 

Matilda won the title of the world's oldest living chicken in the Guinness Book Of world record in 2004. She lived to be 16 years old. Here's the post I wrote on How long chickens live.

Kentucky was a chicken that hatched from an egg that had been incubated in space aboard the space shuttle discovery! He lived out his life at the Louisville zoo.

Like I mentioned, this list was created a few years back. Since then I have written posts about several of these points so as of today (in 2017) I added in the links in case you want to check those out too!

Related reading: 45 Of the funniest chicken jokes you'll read!

~L

Want information on raising chickens sent right to your email weekly? Click right here to join my list and get new posts sent directly to you the day they're published ... plus, you'll also get the free download '25 Ways to save money raising chickens'.