What Is the Life Cycle of a Chicken and How to Teach It to Preschoolers

What is the life cycle of a chicken? From egg to chick to adult chicken, each stage offers opportunities to explore nature, growth, and change. It’s a simple but fascinating process that can be an ideal teaching moment for preschoolers. For young children, this simple question opens the door to exciting discoveries about how living things grow and change.

In this article, we’ll explore each stage of a chicken’s life in preschool-friendly language and offer engaging ways for educators and parents to bring this learning to life through observation, storytelling, and hands-on activities.

What Is the Life Cycle of a Chicken?

The life cycle of a chicken is the story of how a tiny egg becomes a fluffy chick and then grows into a full-grown chicken. Just like people grow from babies into adults, chickens go through different stages of life. Every stage is important and helps the chicken get ready for the next one.

1. Egg Stage

The first stage in a chicken’s life is the egg stage. A mother chicken, called a hen, lays eggs. Some eggs are just for eating, but others have baby chicks growing inside—these are called fertilized eggs. Inside a fertilized egg, a tiny embryo begins to grow. At first, it is so small that you cannot see it without special tools, but it is already alive and starting to develop.

The embryo floats in the yolk, which provides food, and is surrounded by the albumen, or egg white, which keeps it safe. Around these are protective membranes and a hard shell made of calcium. The yolk is the yellow part of the egg that feeds the growing chick, while the egg white cushions it like a soft blanket. With all these layers, the egg provides everything the chick needs to begin life.

For the chick to grow well, the egg needs to stay warm. A hen keeps her eggs warm by sitting on them. This is called “incubating” the eggs. Some people use machines called incubators to keep the eggs warm without a hen. Each day, the chick grows a little more. It starts to grow tiny wings, a beak, legs, and eyes. After about 21 days, the chick is ready to come out of the egg.

2. Hatchling Stage

Hatching is the exciting moment when the baby chick leaves the egg. The chick does this all by itself. It uses a special little bump on its beak, called an egg tooth, to break the shell. This takes a long time and a lot of hard work. The chick pecks at the shell over and over until it makes a small hole. Then it keeps pecking until the hole is big enough to push out.

When the chick first comes out, it is very wet and tired. It looks small and weak, but it’s just resting after all that work. After a few hours, the chick’s feathers dry and become soft and fluffy. It looks like a cute, little yellow puffball.

The hatchling is not ready to eat food yet because it still has some food left from the egg inside its belly. That food keeps it full for the first day or two. This stage is very short, but it is a big step in the chick’s life. It is now living outside the egg and starting its life in the big world.

3. Chick Stage

Once the chick has hatched and dried, it enters the chick stage. During this time, the young bird is small, covered in soft down feathers, and needs warmth to stay healthy. This stage lasts from the time the chick hatches until it is about six weeks old. The chick stage is full of growing, learning, and exploring.

Chicks also begin to play with other chicks and learn to live together. They sometimes peck each other gently as they figure out who’s the leader of the group. This is how chickens learn to get along. This is a fun and active stage, where chicks are full of energy and growing fast every day.

4. Pullet or Cockerel Stage

When chicks are between six and twenty weeks old, it enters a stage similar to adolescence in humans. At this point, the bird is no longer a small chick but not yet a fully mature adult. Female young chickens are called pullets, while male young chickens are called cockerels.

At this stage, chickens learn a lot about being part of the flock. They find their place in the group and become more social. Their voices start to change, and their bodies get ready for adult life. This stage helps prepare the chickens for the next and final part of their life cycle—becoming adults.

5. Adult Stage

The final stage of the life cycle is adulthood. The adult stage begins when chickens are about five or six months old. A grown female is called a hen, and she can lay eggs. A grown male is called a rooster, and he can fertilize eggs. Adult chickens are fully developed in size and appearance, with all their feathers and distinct characteristics.

Adult chickens have strong feathers, clear voices, and lots of energy. They like to peck the ground, take dust baths, flap their wings, and roost on perches. They also know how to take care of themselves and stay safe.

Together, hens and roosters continue the cycle by producing new eggs, which allows the process to start again. The adult stage is not only the end of one cycle but also the beginning of another, showing how the process continues without end.

Why Teach the Life Cycle of a Chicken in Early Childhood?

Learning about the life cycle of a chicken is more than just discovering how an egg becomes a hen. For preschoolers, it opens the door to important concepts about growth, change, and the natural world. Teaching this topic in early childhood offers several benefits:

• Builds Scientific Thinking
  The life cycle of a chicken gives children a concrete example of how living things grow and change over time. By observing the stages, preschoolers begin to practice early science skills such as predicting, sequencing, and comparing.
• Encourages Curiosity and Exploration
  Children are naturally curious about animals and nature. Watching a chick hatch or learning how it grows captures their attention and sparks questions. This curiosity drives learning and helps them develop problem-solving skills.
• Supports Language and Vocabulary Development
  Teaching the life cycle of a chicken introduces new words like “embryo,” “hatch,” and “pullets.” Preschoolers expand their vocabulary and learn to use descriptive language when they talk about what they see and learn.
• Teaches Responsibility and Care
  If children are involved in caring for eggs or observing chicks, they also learn empathy, responsibility, and respect for living things. These experiences help them develop social-emotional skills that are just as important as academic ones.
• Connects to Everyday Life
  Eggs are common in children’s meals and chickens are familiar animals in many communities. Linking the lesson to things children already know helps them make real-world connections and understand that science is part of daily life.

How to Teach the Chicken Life Cycle？

Teaching the life cycle of a chicken can be both fun and educational for young children. It helps them understand how animals grow and change over time. To make learning easier and more exciting, you can use stories, pictures, real-life examples, and hands-on activities. Here’s how to teach the life cycle of a chicken in a way that children will enjoy and remember.

Start with a Simple Story

Begin with a short and fun story about a chicken’s life. You can say something like: “Once upon a time, there was a little egg. Inside the egg was a tiny chick, waiting to hatch. After 21 days, the chick pecked its way out. It grew bigger and stronger every day until one day, it became a big, beautiful chicken!” This helps young learners imagine the cycle before learning the details.

Use Pictures and Charts

Show children pictures or diagrams of each stage of the life cycle of a chicken: egg, hatchling, chick, pullet or cockerel, and adult. Bright, colorful images help them see what each stage looks like.

You can make a poster with arrows showing how one stage leads to the next. Label the stages and use short, easy-to-read descriptions.

Read Books About Chickens

There are many great children’s books about chickens and how they grow. Some even include real photos. Books help reinforce what children learn and make the topic feel more real.

Some popular titles include:

• Where Do Chicks Come From? by Amy E. Sklansky
• Chickens Aren’t the Only Ones by Ruth Heller
• From Egg to Chicken by Gerald Legg

Watch Short Videos

Children love videos. Find age-appropriate educational videos that show a chick growing inside the egg, hatching, and becoming a chicken. Videos let children see real-life movements and changes, which can be more powerful than just hearing about it.

Create Hands-on Activities

Let children explore the life cycle through play and creativity. Here are some fun ideas:

• Cut and paste worksheets: Let kids match the stages and glue them in the right order.
• Draw or color: Have them draw each stage of the chicken’s life or color in a life cycle of a chick coloring page.
• Chicken egg craft: Use paper or plastic eggs to hide “chicks” and pretend they are hatching.

Visit a Farm or Hatchery

If possible, take children to a local farm or hatchery. Seeing real eggs, chicks, and chickens helps them connect everything they learned in class. They might even get to see a chick hatch! If a field trip isn’t possible, try a virtual farm tour or hatchery video online. Many farms post updates during egg-hatching season.

Sing Songs and Play Games

Use songs and movement to help children remember the stages. You can make up a fun song about the chicken life cycle, or use finger puppets to act out each stage. Simple games like memory cards (matching pictures to the right stage) or “chicken bingo” can also make learning feel like playtime.

Repeat and Review Often

Children remember best when they hear things more than once. Talk about the chicken life cycle during science lessons, story time, art, and even outdoor play. The more they hear it, the more it will stick.

End with a review by asking questions like:

• What comes out of the egg?
• What does a chick grow into?
• Who lays the eggs?

Let them answer and explain in their own words to show what they’ve learned.

Differences Between Roosters and Hens at Different Stages

As preschoolers learn about the life cycle of a chicken, it can also be fun to notice the differences between male chickens (roosters) and female chickens (hens). These differences are not always easy to spot when they are very young, but as they grow, certain traits begin to stand out.

Stage of Growth	Rooster (Male)	Hen (Female)
Chick Stage (0–6 weeks)	Almost identical to hens. Hard to tell apart at this stage.	Almost identical to roosters. Both look like fluffy yellow or white chicks.
Pullet / Cockerel Stage (6–20 weeks)	Comb and wattles (the red parts on head/neck) start growing larger and brighter. May begin trying to crow.	Smaller comb and wattles. Quieter, usually no crowing.
Young Adult Stage (5–6 months)	Feathers become more colorful and shiny. Long tail feathers start to appear. More active and bold behavior.	Feathers are softer and less shiny. Behavior is calmer and more social.
Adult Stage (6+ months)	Fully developed large comb, wattles, and tail feathers. Loud crowing and protective behavior.	Begin laying eggs. Comb and wattles are smaller. More focused on nesting.

Toys and Learning Materials for Teaching the Life Cycle of a Chicken

Hands-on learning makes the life cycle of a chicken easier for preschoolers to understand. By using toys, models, and Montessori materials, children can see, touch, and explore how a chicken grows step by step. These resources not only make the lesson fun but also support sensory learning, sequencing, and problem-solving skills.

• Chicken Life Cycle Figurine Sets
  Small plastic or wooden models show each stage: egg, hatchling, chick, and adult hen or rooster. Children can arrange them in order, compare sizes, and retell the cycle using the figures.
• Montessori 3-Part Cards
  Montessori classrooms often use 3-part cards with a picture, a label, and a control card. For the chicken life cycle, cards might show “Egg,” “Chick,” “Hen,” and “Rooster.” Children match the pictures and words, building both vocabulary and sequencing skills.
• Montessori Wooden Chicken Life Cycle Puzzle
  A self-correcting wooden puzzle that illustrates each life stage clearly. Children enjoy arranging the pieces in the correct order, reinforcing sequencing and fine motor skills.
• Felt Chicken Life Cycle Board Set
  Soft felt pieces show each stage (egg, chick, hen, rooster). Children stick them onto a felt board to build the life cycle. It’s interactive, colorful, and ideal for circle time or quiet play.

Fun Facts About Chickens

Preschoolers love discovering surprising facts about animals, and chickens have plenty of fun secrets to share! Adding these details to a lesson about the life cycle of a chicken keeps children engaged and excited to learn more.

1. Chickens are great at remembering faces
   Chickens can recognize more than 100 faces of other chickens, animals, and even humans. That means if you visit a chicken often, it might remember you!
2. Chicks talk to their mothers before they hatch
   Even while still inside the egg, baby chicks start to peep and chirp. The mother hen clucks back to them, and they “talk” before the chick is even born!
3. A hen lays eggs almost every day
   Most hens lay one egg every 24 to 26 hours. On average, a healthy hen can lay about 250–300 eggs in a single year, starting the life cycle all over again.
4. Chickens can run fast
   They may look small, but chickens can run up to 9 miles per hour when they need to escape danger. That’s faster than most kids can run!
5. Chickens love to take dust baths
   Instead of using water, chickens roll around in dry dirt or sand to clean themselves. This is called a dust bath, and it helps keep their feathers clean and bugs away.
6. There are over 500 chicken breeds
   Chickens come in many colors, sizes, and feather styles. Some have fluffy feet, some have wild hair-like feathers on their heads, and some even have blue or green eggs.
7. Chickens have a pecking order
   Every group of chickens has leaders and followers. This social system is called the “pecking order.” Chickens figure out who’s in charge by gently pecking each other.
8. A rooster doesn’t just crow in the morning
   Even though we think of roosters crowing at sunrise, they actually crow all day long. Crowing helps them protect their flock and show they are strong.
9. Chickens see more colors than humans
   Chickens have very good eyesight and can see more colors than people can. Their eyes can even detect ultraviolet light!
10. Some chickens like music
    It’s true! Some chickens enjoy soft, gentle music. It can help them relax and even lay eggs more easily.

FAQs About the Life Cycle Of A Chicken

• What is the full lifespan of a chicken?
  Chickens can live for 5 to 10 years, depending on their breed and how well they are cared for. Some backyard hens live even longer with good food and a safe home.
• What do chicks eat when they first hatch?
  When chicks first hatch, they survive on the nutrients from the yolk sac they absorbed before leaving the egg. This can sustain them for up to three days. After that, they need special chick starter feed or finely ground grains to continue healthy growth.
• Do chickens need special care at different stages of their life?
  Yes. Eggs need warmth to hatch, chicks need heat and protection, and adults need space, food, and nesting boxes to thrive.
• Can chickens live with other animals?
  Chickens can live with other gentle animals like ducks, goats, or rabbits. But they need their own space to sleep, eat, and stay safe from bigger or rough animals.
• Why do some eggs not hatch?
  Some eggs are not fertilized, so no chick develops inside. Even fertilized eggs may not hatch if they don’t get the right warmth or care.

Conclusion

The life cycle of a chicken is a simple yet powerful way to introduce preschoolers to the wonders of science and nature. From the egg to the adult hen or rooster, each stage provides opportunities for observation, storytelling, and hands-on exploration. By learning how chickens grow and change, children build early science skills, expand their vocabulary, and develop empathy for living things.

For educators and parents, teaching the chicken life cycle is more than just a lesson; it is a chance to spark curiosity and nurture a love of learning. With the help of visuals, Montessori materials, fun activities, and real-life experiences, young learners can connect with the natural world in meaningful ways.

Take action today, bring the chicken life cycle into your preschool lessons or family learning time, and watch children’s curiosity grow with every stage.