Ten Things Most City Dwellers Do Not Know About Chickens

1.Chickens are omnivores. They eat a variety of things from grains, corn, fruits and vegetable to yogurt, fish, bugs and even chicken! Meat is one of their favorite foods.

2.Chickens lay eggs naturally when they get 14 hours of light. They do NOT need a rooster or any type of hormones to lay. There is NO hormones in laying feed – it is unnecessary and illegal.

3.Chickens kept by commercial farmers usually have their beaks cut off so they can not hurt each other badly when they are crammed in to tight quarters together . Cutting their beaks causes them pain and can make it difficult for them to eat.

4.To get eggs during the winter, artificial lighting is used so the hens get 14 hours of light daily.

5.The colour of egg a chicken lays is based on the colour of their ear lobe. Generally red chicken lay brown eggs and white chickens lay white eggs, and there are chickens that lay pink eggs, blue eggs etc.

6.Due to their healthier life style and proper diet, chickens that have access to the outside, lay eggs that have more health benefits than hens stuck in a barn all day eating nothing, but laying feed do. Chickens that are allowed outside lay eggs with a orange yolk instead of a yellow yolk. Eggs from hens that are allowed to range outside during the day contain more vitamin A and E, more beta carotene, and more omega-3 fatty acids than eggs from caged hens do. They also contain less cholesterol and saturated fat

7.There is no difference between white eggs and brown eggs

8.When allowed to free range around a farm all day, chickens will return to the coop each night.

9.Chickens like to sleep on a perch

10.Chickens can easily be taught to come when called