The Hens

What are hens?

Domesticated hens are descended from Red Jungle Fowl. They were first domesticated 7,400 years ago in Asia. The earliest definite domestic hen bones from 5,400 years ago have been found in the Hebei Province of China but Jungle Fowl were used 4000 years ago by humans in India. (All information and picture from Wikipedia).

Do the hens fly?

Only a little more than pigs do! They only fly to reach roosting areas at sunset or to other higher areas to be safe from ground predators or to escape danger.

What do they eat?

Chickens are omnivores. In the wild, they often scratch at the soil to search for seeds, insects and even animals as large as lizards, small snakes or young mice. Our hens' main diet is made up of laying hen pellets, to which they have access all day long. See our 'Treats for Hens' page for more information about what they can eat for treats.

It takes over 24 hours to create one egg. During the night, as the hen is sleeping, she is still building that egg. She gets the materials for making that egg from digesting food. If she is hungry, she can’t make the egg.

How long do they live for?

The world’s oldest hen was 16 years old. (She died of heart failure.) Chickens may live for 5 to 10 years, depending on the breed.

Where did the School hens come from?

We received 6 hens in Spring 2017 from Alastair Fraser of Flowerburn in the Black Isle.

He has bred hens for egg-laying for years and delivers across the Highlands, usually in the spring and the autumn, supplying pullets when they are nearly ready to lay their first eggs.

The ones we have are a special hybrid, bred for laying eggs - Hy-line Browns. Each hen has the potential to lay 320 eggs by 74 weeks of age.