Plastic Toy Chicken

An absolute necessity to any farm diorama!

Our Plastic Chicken (Hen)

Our lifelike plastic chicken or hen is 1 7/8 inches from beak to tail. The plastic is moulded into nice detail showing the feathers, beak, legs and tail, and the smaller comb and neck wattles possessed by the female. Our chicken stands on a small platform and would be great fun for a miniature farm, model train layout, school project, farm diorama, or used as a toy or collectible plastic animal. Check out our other chicken and rooster toys and gifts.

About Chickens

A hen is a female chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus), often simply called a "chicken," whereas the male is usually called a "rooster." We're all pretty familiar with this barnyard animal, which is mild-mannered and lays eggs, which form a large part of the diet in our culture, whether we eat them directly or use them as ingredients in cooking. Hens' eggs are a staple food around the word, and eggs are said to be preserved as perfectly by the shell as almost any food source. We also eat the meat of the chicken by the billions, so between the eggs and the chickens, we depend on them very heavily for our nourishment and lifestyle. Chickens feed on bugs, plants, seeds and grain, as well as - at times - on very small animals such as lizards. They can often be seen pecking in the dirt to find small pieces of food. For this reason, they can be quite good at controlling some pests. Chickens are not able to fly long distances, but can usually fly for very short distances, such as over a low fence, unless they are very heavy. Hens develop a "pecking order," of dominance, which is distrupted if a hen is removed from the flock and must be re-established. A hen will lay about 12 eggs, and then sit on the nest to keep the eggs warm and protected for about 21 days until they hatch. The hen with mother the chicks for several weeks, guarding them fiercely, keeping them warm when necessary, and leading them to food and water. It's then time to begin again. Domestic chickens lay eggs so often that they can provide a regular source of food for humans, and they will continue to lay about an egg per day when the original eggs are taken away. Historically, we have believed they were first domesticated in India, but recent evidence suggest they may have been domesticated before that in Vietnam as early as 10,000 years ago. Domesticated chickens were kept in Asia Minor, ancient Greece, Egypt, and Babylonia. The domestic chicken probably developed from a hybridization of red and gray jugle fowl, with the yellow skin deriving from the gray variety. There are now more chickens in the world than any other bird.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.