What Is A Group Of Chickens Called?

Humans and chickens have lived alongside each other for ages. The chickens are descendants of the red junglefowl, which was a shy bird primarily found in southeastern Asia.

Like their descendants, the red junglefowl, domesticated chickens are gregarious and sociable birds. They prefer living in groups of at least three hens and one cockerel.

Keeping chickens in a group will make them happier and will provide you with a constant supply of eggs. But what is a group of chickens called?

A group of chickens is called a flock or a peep of chickens, while a group of baby chicks is called a brood. The collective noun for chickens might change depending on the age of your chickens, but the most commonly used is a flock of chickens.

Here is information on the terms used to describe chicken groups and the intricacies involved.

Other Names for a Group of Chickens

In general, there are four terms for describing groups of chickens. These include peep, clutch, flock, and brood. The term flock represents a group of adult birds or one comprising chickens of mixed age. Flocks often live together and have established pecking orders.

A flock will develop when a group of birds has lived together for a while, but you can add new chickens to an existing flock. However, the new addition might upset the current hierarchy.

The hierarchy among your flock will determine which chicken feeds first, gets which nesting area, and has access to dust baths or drinking facilities. However, among hens, hierarchies rarely cause aggression or fighting towards other members of the flock deemed ‘inferior.’ Instead, the hierarchies foster the formation of strong bonds.

‘Brood’ describes a group of chicks with a broody hen or in a brooder. The chicks will stay close to mother hens for 4-8 weeks, then slowly interact with others. When you raise a brood with your flock, the former will become a part of the flock with time.

A group of eggs is referred to as a clutch. It usually has 12-15 eggs, and a hen will keep laying new eggs until its clutch reaches this size. When it does, the mother hen will sit on it to incubate the eggs. When a chick hatches, it will peep out of the egg shell. This is why very young chicks are sometimes known as peeps.

How Many Chickens are Considered a Flock?

In most cases, a flock comprises at least three chickens. The ideal when keeping chicken is 6-10 birds since these are easy to manage and deliver the benefits of being in a group.

Chicken keeping is a lucrative business and fulfilling hobby. When deciding how many chickens you will keep in your flock, your budget and space are the major determinants of your answer.

Only keep the maximum number of chickens for which you can provide food and keep safe. Keeping too many chickens can lower your egg production and make your venture frustrating.

Some industrial poultry farms can have thousands of chickens. Though they live together, this is not really regarded as a flock.

Do Chickens Like Being in a Group?

Yes, medium and small chickens often form strong bonds and stay in groups. At night and in cold months, the flock huddles together for warmth. When kept alone, your bird will become depressed and anxious, elements that will affect its growth and egg production.

Staying in groups also helps chickens keep safe from predators. As long as the chickens in your flock are socialized together, you need not worry about fights among them.

What is a Group of Roosters Called?

You might be wondering what to call a group of roosters when calling a group of hens a flock. Sadly, there is no specific term for a group of roosters because you will rarely find a group purely made of male chickens.

As such, roosters in a group will also be called a flock. Moreover, the term flock describes a group of both hens and roosters since the term ‘chicken’ is gender-neutral.

If you choose to keep roosters alone, remember that they are more aggressive than hens and will fight each other when they lack hens to mate with.

Experts recommend pairing your roosters with 10-15 hens to keep them from competing and fighting. However, the exact number of hens a rooster needs depends on its breed since some breeds are docile.

What is a Group of Baby Chickens Called?

Brood is the term commonly used for a group of baby chickens. A few people call it a peep because of how the chicks will peep from their shells or the squeaking sounds they make when hatching.

A hen that is less than a year old and has yet to start laying eggs is a pullet. When the pullets mature and are just about to start laying eggs, they are known as point-of-lay chickens. This is often when they reach 17-20 weeks.

How Many Chickens are in a Clutch?

The clutch size of broody hens at a time is often 12-15 eggs. You can give your hen as many eggs as it can cover comfortably for incubation.

Remember, not all incubated eggs will become chicks. Most chickens will get 10-14 chicks per clutch after 21 days of incubation but be careful to only give your hen what it can comfortably raise.

You might suffer losses if a brood is too big for your hen because raising the chicks will be a struggle.

Conclusion

You now have your answers if you have been wondering what to call a group of chickens and the other terminologies associated with chickens. The names of different groups of chickens might not sound as exotic as those of other birds.

For instance, peck for a group of owls, aeries for eagles, mob for emus, or a murmuration for birds flying in a group. However, the terminologies will significantly enhance your speech about chickens and make chicken rearing fun.