Just like any hobby or fancy, chicken-keeping comes with its very own terminology that you should learn. After all, you want to be able to accurately talk about your flock and their health without embarrassing yourself!.
There are a lot of different names for chickens because they are different sizes, shapes, and genders. It can be hard to figure out what to call a female chicken before you start keeping them in your backyard. This guide will break down the different names for female chickens and help you understand the small differences between them.
Hen – The Most Common Term for an Adult Female Chicken
“Hen” is the most common name for an adult female chicken. A female chicken stops being called a pullet when she reaches sexual maturity and starts laying eggs, which usually happens around 5 to 6 months of age.
Some key facts about hens
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They are mature female chickens that lay eggs. A hen will lay eggs almost daily once she reaches maturity.
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Hens go through hormonal cycles that affect egg production. This includes occasionally going “broody” and wanting to sit on a nest to hatch eggs.
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Hens usually live between 5 and 10 years, and for the first two to three years, they lay eggs. After that, egg production declines.
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The size and number of eggs they lay separate backyard chicken breeds into “heavy breed” and “light breed” hens. Light hens lay white eggs and heavy hens lay brown eggs. Heavy hens are bigger and heavier.
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Common hen breeds include Plymouth Rock, Rhode Island Red, Australorp, Leghorn, Orpington, and Sussex.
Pullet – A Young Female Chicken
A pullet is an adolescent female chicken under 1 year old that has not yet begun to lay eggs. They are to hens what teenage girls are to women.
Some key facts about pullets:
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Pullets typically begin laying eggs at 16-22 weeks of age. Their first eggs will be small.
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You can expect pullets to start laying any time from 16-26 weeks depending on genetics and season (they mature faster in spring/summer).
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Pullets gradually lay larger and more frequent eggs as they finish maturing into hens.
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Chicks are usually sold straight run (unsexed) so you won’t know how many will be pullets. A flock will naturally form a pecking order as the pullets mature.
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Common pullet breeds include Plymouth Rock, Rhode Island Red, Wyandotte, Orpington, Australorp, and Leghorn.
Biddy – An Older Regional Term for Hens
“Biddy” is a lesser-used regional term for a mature female chicken. It may come from imitating the sound people make to call chickens (“biddy biddy biddy!”). Biddy is mostly used in the Southern and Midwestern United States.
Some key facts about biddies:
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Originally “biddy” referred to older hens while younger hens were called “chicks”. The meaning has since broadened.
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Biddy can now refer to female chickens of any age, though still usually mature hens rather than pullets.
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You may see “biddy” misspelled as “bitty”, but the correct spelling is “biddy”.
Chick – The Universal Baby Chicken Term
A “chick” is the most generic term used to describe baby chickens of either sex. Here are some key facts:
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Chicks are typically 0-10 weeks old. At 8-10 weeks they will start to grow wing and tail feathers.
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Baby chicks are impossible to sex visually until 4-6 weeks old when subtle feather differences emerge.
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Female and male chicks cannot be differentiated by calling sounds. Only DNA sexing can determine sex at hatching.
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Common colors of chicks include yellow, black, white, buff, red, speckled, and barred colors. Leghorn chicks are white while Rhode Island Red chicks are reddish brown.
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Chicks hatch with fluffy down and gradually grow feathers, eventually molting into adult plumage at 4-6 months old.
The Complete List of Terms for Female Chickens
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Hen – A mature female chicken that lays eggs
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Pullet – An adolescent female chicken under 1 year old
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Biddy – A regional term for a mature female chicken
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Chick – A baby female chicken under 3 months old
There are a handful of common terms used to describe female chickens depending on their maturity and region. The most universal terms are hen, pullet, and chick. “Hen” refers to a sexually mature adult female, “pullet” to an adolescent, and “chick” to babies. The regional term “biddy” is also used in some areas. Knowing the proper chicken terminology will help you communicate clearly as a backyard chicken keeper!
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Life Stage and Gender Terms
Chick: a young chicken that still has all or part of its down feathers
Juvenile: a young chicken that has its first set of regular feathers but is not sexually mature
Adult: a sexually mature chicken of any age
Cock: a male chicken over 1 year of age
Cockerel: a male chicken under 1 year of age
Rooster: a male chicken of any age; the most common name to call a male chicken
Stag: the same as a cockerel. Typically used with game breeds.
Hen: a female chicken over 1 year of age.
Pullet: a female chicken under 1 year of age.
Straight Run: an unsexed group of chicks.
Comb: a fleshy appendage on the top of a chicken’s head that shows health and sexual maturity. There are a lot of different shapes of combs, but only one gene makes a combless chicken.
Wattles: a pair of fleshy appendages hanging beneath a chicken’s beak. Some genes make wattles nearly non-existent.
Earlobes: a fleshy area on each side of the chicken’s head. Earlobe colors are largely dependent on the breed. Colors are typically red, white, blue (white + melanizer), and mulberry (red + melanizer).
Hackles: The neck feathers. In most breeds, the hackles differ in shape, length, and shine between each gender.
Crop: A sack near the base of a chicken’s neck on the right side of the upper breast that holds the recently eaten food and starts the digestion process.
Keel: The long, curved bone running from the chicken’s breast to their “butt”.
Saddle: The feathers just in front of the tail. In most breeds, the saddle feathers differ in shape, length, and shine between each gender.
Sickles: Curved feathers in the tails of most breeds of roosters.
Henny-feathered: A male chicken without rooster feathers. Example breeds: Campine and Sebright.
Shanks: The scaled part of chicken legs.
Spurs: A hard, pointed growth on the shanks, towards the inner back. Most common on roosters, but hens can and do grow spurs as well.
Hatch: When a chick comes out of the egg. Also used as in “I had a good hatch in my new incubator. ”.
Pip: The first hole a chick chips into the shell.
Zip: When a chick starts chipping the shell around the circumference of the egg.
Lockdown: The final days of incubation when you should no longer open the incubator until hatching is complete.
Broody: A hen whose hormones have made her want to sit on eggs and raise chicks.
Candle/Candled/Candling: Shining a light into the air cell of an egg to check for embryo development or egg quality.
Clear: An egg that shows no embryo development when candled.
Blood ring: An egg that has a ring of blood when candled. This indicates the embryo died early in development.
DOS: Dead in shell. A chick that died before or during hatching.
Eggsong: A loud call made by a hen or pullet after she has laid an egg. Roosters will often join in.
Crowing: A loud call made by roosters at any time of the day… or night. Dominant hens may crow if no rooster is present.
Tidbitting: An excited sound alerting other chickens to tasty food. Typically made by a rooster to his harem or a broody hen to her chicks.
Alert: A loud, growling call alerting the flock to potential danger.
Purring: A quiet sound most commonly made by happy chicks. Also heard in broody hens and some chickens when roosting.
What Is A Female Chicken Called?
FAQ
What is a chicken female called?
Hen: an adult female chicken. Pullet: a young female chicken less than a year old. In the poultry industry, a pullet is a sexually immature chicken less than 22 weeks of age.
What is a chicken girl called?
A female chicken is known as a hen when it is an adult, and it is known as a pullet as a female juvenile. An adult male is known as a rooster, while a juvenile male is called a cockerel.
What is the slang for a female chicken?
A hen is a female chicken.
How do you say “female chicken”?
‘Hen’ is female specifically. All hens are chickens, but not all chickens are hens. Adult male chickens are called “roosters” or “cocks,” though “cock” is now more commonly used to mean “penis,” so it’s not used as a proper noun.