Important Birds
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A chick hatches after 21 days of growing. Hatching can take hours, so this clip is sped up to show the whole process.
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When it's time to hatch, a baby chicken uses its beak to break open its shell. After resting for a short time, the chick pushes open the top of its egg. Newborn chicks are tired, and their feathers are all wet. After an hour or two, the chick dries off and starts exploring life outside the egg.
Chickens are Earth’s most common birds. There are about seven chickens for every person living in the world! People have raised chickens for thousands of years for their meat and eggs.

Chickens are social animals that live in groups called flocks. Each flock is made up of roosters, hens, and chicks. Roosters are male chickens, while hens are female chickens. Chicks are their babies.

Each chicken started its life by hatching from an egg. Chicks grow and change over time, becoming chickens and having babies of their own. The different stages of life that an animal passes through are called its life cycle. A chicken’s life cycle begins even before it hatches. Let’s learn more about the life cycle of a chicken!