September: National Chicken Month

I didn’t know that there is a National Chicken Month.  Our farm paper had these interesting facts about chickens:
1.  It takes a hen 24-26 hours to lay an egg.
2.  A fertilized egg takes 21 days to hatch.
3.  A rooster takes 18-20 breaths a minute; a hen takes 30-35.
4.  A chicken can have 4 or 5 toes on each foot.
5.  Grocery store chickens are 5-8 weeks old.
6.  Americans consume about 8 billion chickens a year.
7.  The world record laying hen was a White Leghorn – in 1971 she laid 371 eggs in 364 days.
8.  A fresh egg will sink when placed in water.  Fresh laid eggs have very little air in them.  If you drop an egg in water and it floats, it’s not fresh.
9.  Hens live an average of 5 – 7 years, but can live up to 20.
I thought this was interesting and wanted to share with other chicken lovers.  I know I had a hen, name “Martha Stewart” who lived to be like 7.  I also had a rooster, named “Old Timer”, because someone gave him to us and they said he was old.  He lived many more years here. 
These facts only add to the many fine traits I feel chickens already have.

Blessings from Wisconsin.
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