Raising chickens can be an incredibly rewarding experience. From collecting fresh eggs to having cute, fluffy chicks running around, chicken owners know how enjoyable these birds can be. However, when you first get baby chicks, you may be wondering – what exactly is a biddy chicken?
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about biddy chickens so you can give your new chicks the best start in life
What Does “Biddy” Mean?
The term “biddy” refers to a baby chick that is newly hatched and still developing. Biddy chickens are generally less than 8 weeks old and require extra care and attention.
The word biddy likely comes from a nickname for Bridget or just means “little bird.” Some people also affectionately call them “biddies.” Essentially biddy is a cute name for the tiny, fuzzy chicks you get soon after they hatch.
Life Stages of a Chicken
To fully understand biddy chickens, it helps to know the different life stages of a chicken:
- Egg: Fertilized eggs are incubated until hatching
- Biddy: The newly hatched chick up until about 8 weeks old
- Pullet: A female chicken under 1 year old that has not started laying eggs
- Hen: A mature female chicken that lays eggs
- Cockerel: A male chicken under 1 year old
- Rooster: A mature male chicken
The biddy stage is a critical growing phase when chicks are very vulnerable and require diligent care.
Hatching and Initial Care
Baby chicks hatch looking wet, tired, and a bit clumsy. They rely completely on an external heat source and will die without proper warmth.
In nature, a mother hen provides protection under her wings. For pet chicks, a brooder is essential. This is a heated enclosure that keeps the temperature around 95°F.
The brooder should have easy access to chick starter feed and water. Use shallow dishes that prevent drowning or choking. Pine shavings make ideal litter.
What Biddy Chickens Look Like
Biddy chickens have distinct physical characteristics that set them apart:
- Covered in soft, fluffy down feathers
- Thin, slightly unstable legs
- Small body size, often fitting in the palm of your hand
- Clumsy, wobbly movements as they learn to walk
Their down keeps them warm but isn’t waterproof yet. You’ll notice them start growing in real feathers around 4-6 weeks old.
Common Breeds
While any breed can be a biddy chick, some small chicken breeds are bred to stay petite into adulthood. Bantam chickens, for example, are about one quarter the size of standard breeds.
Popular biddy chicken breeds include:
- Silkie Bantams
- Dutch Bantams
- Japanese Bantams
- Pekin Bantams
- Polish Bantams
Knowing the breed can help estimate size and predict developmental milestones.
Caring for Biddy Chicks
Here are some tips for providing your biddy flock the best care:
- Heat: Maintain a brooder temperature of 95°F, lowering by 5° each week.
- Bedding: Use pine shavings and clean litter daily.
- Food: Provide starter feed with 20% protein and keep feeders full.
- Water: Give clean, fresh water in shallow dishes.
- Space: Allow at least 1 sq ft per chick, increasing to 2-3 sq ft.
- Health: Watch for illness and isolate any sick birds immediately.
With attentive care in their early weeks, your biddy chicks will thrive into happy, healthy chickens! Let us know if you have any other biddy questions.
Word History and Origins
Origin of biddy11595–1605; compare British dialect biddy (< ?) with same sense, usually as a call to chickens
Origin of biddy21700–10; special use of Biddy, by-form of
nounChiefly New England, South Midland, and Southern U.S.
- a chicken.
- a newly hatched chick.
[bid-ee]
- a fussbudget, especially a fussy old woman.
- a female domestic servant, especially a cleaning woman.
- a dialect word for chicken hen
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
- informal a woman, esp an old gossipy or interfering one
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Discover More
Restaurant Review – Chick-a-Biddy | Atlanta Eats
FAQ
What is a chicken biddy?
Biddy typically refers to a female chicken that is used for laying eggs. Chicken can refer to both male and female chickens and can also describe the meat of the animal. Biddy is more commonly used in a farming context, whereas chicken is more commonly used in cooking and food contexts.
What is biddy slang for?
biddy (plural biddies) (derogatory) A woman, especially an old woman; especially one regarded as fussy or mean or a gossipy busybody. (uncommon) An attractive girl.
What are chicken biddies?
Nomenclature. Terms for chickens include: Biddy: a chicken, or a newly hatched chicken. Capon: a castrated or neutered male chicken. Chick: a young chicken.
Why are old ladies called biddies?
Upper-class American families often paid for young women to make the trip, who’d then work as domestic servants to pay for their passage. In fact, this happened so often that these women came to be known as ‘biddies’, a shortening of ‘Bridget’, a popular Irish girls’ name.
What is a Biddy chicken?
Biddy: This is a colloquial term you’ll hear from time to time that refers to female chickens. Originally, it probably referred specifically to an older hen (it also referred to an older woman, especially a querulous old woman or busy-body–comparing her to chicken was pejorative). Later it came to refer to juvenile OR mature chickens.
What does Biddy mean?
Pick the best words! We show you the art, you guess the literary work. The meaning of BIDDY is hen; also : a young chicken.
What is the difference between a Biddy and a cluck?
Some of these terms include: A biddy is an old female chicken that is no longer laying eggs. Biddies are often kept as pets or used for breeding purposes. A cluck is an old female chicken that is known for her loud, clucking call. Clucks are often used to describe hens that are past their prime egg-laying years.
What is a broody hen?
Broody: “Broody” in this sense is just fancy jargon for a mother hen. A “broody” is a hen who is either setting on eggs to hatch them, or has hatched them already and is raising the chicks. Biddy: This is a colloquial term you’ll hear from time to time that refers to female chickens.
Where did the name Biddy come from?
Biddy, for a newly hatched chicken, is recorded in the 1600s. It may come from the sound people make to call chickens, e.g., Here, biddy biddy. Biddy, as a demeaning term for an old woman, is recorded in the 1700s. It comes from a nickname of the popular Irish given name Bridget, originally used to address female servants.
What is an old female chicken called?
While the term “hen” is the most commonly used term to describe an adult female chicken, there are several other terms that are used to describe old female chickens. Some of these terms include: A biddy is an old female chicken that is no longer laying eggs. Biddies are often kept as pets or used for breeding purposes.