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 On a chicken farm, hens lay eggs.The eggs are sent to shops so we can buy them.Some farms have ducks or turkeys.Some farms have geese or chickens.Farmers sell poultry to shops for us to buy so we can eat them. |
Chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese are farm birds. They are called poultry (say pole-tree). People buy eggs that come from farms. People eat chicken, duck, turkey and goose. They all come from poultry farms.
Chickens
A hen with her chicks
A baby chicken is called a chick. Its father is a rooster and its mother is a hen.
Hens are female chickens. Hens lay eggs. The eggs are washed and packed into boxes. 
Trucks take boxes of eggs to the shops so we can buy them.
On many egg farms, hens are kept in tiny cages and can never run around.They are called battery hens.
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But on some chicken farms, the hens can run around and scratch the ground or hay. This is called free range. |
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When there is no rooster, a hen lays eggs that do not have baby chicks inside. After a rooster mates with a hen, a chick will grow inside each of her eggs. After she lays her eggs, the hen sits on them for 21 days before they hatch. Go here to read the kidcyber page about life cycle of a chicken |
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Ducks
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Ducks paddle on the water and walk on the ground. They have webbed feet to help them swim. They make a quacking sound. They eat greens, grains, bugs and snails they find in the grass. |
| A baby duck is a duckling. Its father is a drake and its mother is a duck. |  |
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Turkeys are very big birds. They have a big fan tail.They have red skin on their heads. The red skin that hangs down over the beak is called a snood. They make a gobble gobble sound. |
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Geese
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Geese are big birds. They can be fierce. They are good watchdogs! |
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A baby goose is a gosling. Its father is a gander, and its mother is a goose.
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Poultry (2003). [Online], Available: www.kidcyber.com.au
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Updated December 2006