Differences Between A Chicken And A Hen

 If you are looking for a comprehensive guide to understand the difference between chicken and hens, you have come to the right place. In this piece, we will impart essential knowledge to distinguish hens from chickens, equipping you with all you need to know about the most versatile bird in the world.

If you are a lover who needs to have chirping birds in your backyard, you need to learn some basic lingo and terminology, with the most basic one as the difference between a hen and a chicken.

What Is A Chicken?

Now, we will take a look at some of the widely used poultry terms and try to trace their origin in the modern language.

In essence, chicken is the street name for Gallus gallus Domesticus. As the name suggests, it is a domesticated bird that is kept around the world, both in commercial farms and houses, to yield meat and eggs.

Origin Of The Word – Chicken

The word “chicken” is originated from the old English word “cicen” which traces it roots back to a number of older European forms. Some of those are as follows:

• Swedish – Kyckling

• German – Kü?ken

• Dutch – Kiekijen

The term was a casual name for a variety of young domestic fowls or chicks in the middle ages. The suffix “– en” came into the use much like for the words children and oxen. Through the passing centuries, the term chicken stuck in the common lingo and the Germanic word fowl left the vocabulary and applied to birds all the ages and either sex.

Among the professionals, some argue that a chicken can be rightfully termed as hen if it has started to lay eggs. The counter-argument in this regard is that becoming hen from a chicken has nothing to do with laying eggs but of the age. According to this principle, a chicken has to be a year old to be qualified for a hen.

Tracing this theory, there is no clear answer to as just when a chicken is turned into a hen.

What Is A Hen?

A hen is a specific term and attributed to a female chicken that has come of the age of sexual maturity and starts laying eggs. For a majority of female chickens, the mean adult age is 16 to 20 weeks.

Pro Tip: Keep in mind that a hen is just a female of mature chicken. It is not of a different species or a different category of fowls.

Origin Of The Word – Hen

There are a number of old Western European languages that have specific terms for this type of fowl.

• High German – henna

• Frisian – henna

• Middle Dutch – henne

• West Germanic – hannjo

The word is the feminized version of the Old English word – hanan which refers to male chicken or cockerel. In turn, this word is derived from an ancient word, kan, which means sing. Essentially, it was a culmination of different words from one era to another.

Modern Breeding Trends

In the later Middle Ages, chickens fell out of favor in Europe, but love emerged again with the expansion of trade and exploration by the end of the 1600s and onwards.

Chickens continued to be bred for utility and ornamental use. In this regard, merchants and mariners used to take various breeds from to east along with their wares. Later in the late 1800s, a drive started again in Europe in animal husbandry and breed variety to get maximum production in meat and eggs. In several regions, the efforts led to the establishment of many associations that were dedicated to the well-being and research of these world-famous fowls.

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