Chickens have beaks which they use to forage around and peck for food. The main types of food a chicken eats are grains and seeds and other plant material like vegetables and fruits. Chickens, like many other birds, also eat small insects and bugs like caterpillars, slugs and all sorts of creepy crawly creatures. To help grind up their food chickens have a thing called a gizzard which is a part of the stomach that can sometimes have gravel in it to help break it into smaller pieces.
The main reason chickens are kept on a farm or at people's homes is so people can eat them and use their eggs. An average chicken will lay about 300 eggs a year. The eggs we use for eating are unfertilized by roosters and will not hatch. If an egg is fertilized by a rooster the hen will sit on the egg to keep it warm and wait for it to hatch. An egg will usually hatch in about 21 days, producing a baby chicken, or chick.
Roosters are the male chicken and are much bigger and more colorful then the females. They have a big bright crest and wattle on their heads which help keep them cool. They have bright shiny feathers and long pointy tails. They are known for their loud crowing which usually happens in the early morning but roosters can also crow at any time during the day or night.
Chickens are naturally social and friendly birds and have been tamed or domesticated by humans for many thousands of years. In their natural environment they live together in groups called flocks and raise their young with each other's help. They are very clean animals and preen their feather every day. They also like to take dust baths. Chickens are birds that cannot fly very well and there are many animals that like to eat them such as foxes, cats and badgers so they stick together in their groups for safety.