InfoSpark: Which came first? Crack open the life cycle of a chicken and egg
To get at the centre of this age-old question, our infographic depicts the journey from hen to egg and egg to chick
byVictor Sanjinez
Published: 12:00am, 02 Jun 2026
Length: 111 words
It takes 21 days for a chick to hatch from its shell. Photo: AFP
Humans domesticated chickens about 7,000 to 10,000 years ago in Oceania and Southeast Asia. Now, with a population of more than 25 billion around the world, chickens outnumber all other species of birds.
In our infographic below, explore this animal’s life cycle from a hen’s ovary to the hatching of a baby chick.
