Take the Chicken Challenge!

We've recently hosted several general farm and "Be a Chicken Farmer" tours at the Prairie Crossing Learning Farm, and it's been fun to introduce area children to our chickens.  I wanted to share some interesting chicken facts that we've shared with our farm visitors in this True/False Chicken Challenge!  The answers are located at the bottom of the blog post.  Don't peek! 

1. Chickens have to be rounded up to come inside at night.
2. Roosters are needed for hens to lay eggs.
3. You can tell what color a hen's eggs will be by looking at her ear lobes.
4. Roosters only crow at sunrise.
5. Chickens sleep in their nests.

How did you do?  Are you feeling cluckingly confident, or chicken challenged?  And now, here are the answers (drum roll, please):

1.  Chickens do not need to be rounded up at night -- they instinctively know to get inside when it gets dark so they will be protected from predators.  We merely secure the door, thankfully.

2.  Although they probably wouldn't believe us, the roosters are NOT necessary for the hens to lay eggs.  Hens lay eggs regardless of whether there are roosters to mate with and fertilize their eggs.  Eggs are collected 1-2 times each day and refrigerated, which stops an embryo from forming IF a rooster shared a special moment with that particular hen.

3.  Strange, but generally true.  The Learning Farm chickens have red ear lobes, which indicates that they lay brown eggs.  Chickens with white ear lobes lay white or lightly colored eggs.  Chickens with pierced ear lobes do not hang around our flock and are clearly rebelling against something ... but would still lay eggs I imagine.

4. Roosters crow any time they feel like crowing!  They can be really loud, which is one reason why cities that allow backyard chickens do not normally allow roosters, only hens.

5. Chickens do not sleep in their nests, but instead perch on roosts.  The roosts look like wide ladders full of cooing chickens snuggled together on the rungs at night.

If you would like to chicken-challenge your children, sign them up for Farm Camp at the Learning Farm this summer! We have several camps specifically focused on chickens, but all camps include some chicken experiences.  Spaces are limited, so register at www.prairiecrossing.com/farm/learning.php today!  Information about farm tours is located on the website too.