How long do chickens live?

The chickens (G. gallus domesticus) have been part of our history for thousands of years, as they were born as a domestic subspecies of the G. Gallus in the 3rd millennium BC in Southeast Asia. Today, the chickens are the bird with the largest number of specimens on the planet; approximately 23.7 billion of population.

Its life expectancy in the wild ranges from 5 to 10 years; in captivity, between 2 and 3 years because its meat is highly consumed.

Chickens lifespan

The life expectancy of chickens is determined by the breeding and environmental conditions where it develops, as well as by their breed. For this reason, the life expectancy of chickens is not the same in the wild as in captivity, and, in the latter case, it is determined by the breeder's intentions.

How long do chickens live in the wild?

In the wild, the chickens can reach a life expectancy of up to 15 years. Although, normally, the average life span of these birds ranges from 5 to 10 years in the wild.

How long do chickens live in captivity?

In captivity, the life expectancy of chicken ranges from 1 to 3 years of age. Although some laying hens can reach up to 6 years of age, they die earlier, either from diseases, parasites or the breeder himself.

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Where do chickens live?

Chickens are the bird with the largest population in the world, so its population is spread across the five major continents.

Although hens can be found in forests in North America and Asia, most specimens of this species live in farm pens, where they are raised for consumption of their meat or eggs.

What do chickens eat?

The chickens are omnivorous birds, so your diet can be as broad as the imagination of his breeder. They usually feed on small insects, earthworms, worms, small rodents and seeds. In addition, they can also consume fruits, vegetables, legumes, cereals and even the crushed shell of their own eggs.

Be careful: In case the hen is a laying hen, the consumption of food with excess starch should be moderate, as this could interfere with the egg production of these hens.

Interesting facts about chickens

There are more chickens than human beings in the world

Currently, there are 7,594 million human beings in the world, while the chicken population exceeds 23,000 million.

The domestication of chickens began 7,400 years ago

It is not known exactly what was the exact moment in which chickens originated as a species. However, it is believed that its domestication process began around 7,400 years ago and ended between the 9th century and the 8th century B.C.

Chickens are very fast

Being land birds and unable to take flight, the chickens developed the ability to run at high speeds, reaching up to 8,7 mph (14 kilometers per hour).

Chickens are descendants of Tyrannosaurus Rex

A study, led by Chris Organ of Harvard University, revealed that the hen is on the same evolutionary tree as the great predator 65 million years ago: Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Chickens can lay eggs of different colors

Contrary to what you may believe, chickens do not lay white or light brown eggs only, but some of them are capable of laying blue, green and even dark brown eggs.