Chicken

Egg (Stage 1)

The protective shell laid by a hen that contains the yolk and albumen to provide nutrients for a developing baby bird.

Incubation

The period of approximately $21$ days during which eggs are kept warm by a sitting hen or an artificial heat source so embryos can grow.

Egg Tooth

A small, temporary sharp point on the tip of an unhatched chick's beak used to crack open the shell from the inside.

Hatchling

A baby bird that has just broken out of its shell, typically wet and tired before its down feathers dry and fluff up.

Chick (Stage 2)

A young bird covered in soft down feathers that begins eating chick crumb and exploring its surroundings while staying close to the mother hen.

Pullet

A young adolescent female chicken that is less than one year old and has not yet started laying eggs.

Adult Chicken (Stage 3)

A fully grown bird—either a female (hen) capable of laying eggs or a male (rooster) that protects the flock—completing the lifecycle.