A hen is an adult female chicken. While roosters crow loudly at dawn and strut around with bright tail feathers, hens are the ones who lay the eggs we eat for breakfast. On farms and in backyard coops, hens spend their days scratching at the ground looking for seeds and insects, taking dust baths, and settling into nesting boxes to lay eggs.

Hens have been domesticated for thousands of years, making them one of humanity's most important animals. A single hen can lay over 200 eggs per year. Unlike wild birds that only lay eggs during breeding season, domesticated hens lay eggs year-round, which is why eggs became such a reliable food source for civilizations around the world.

The phrase mother hen describes someone who fusses over and protects others the way a hen watches over her chicks, keeping them warm under her wings and clucking warnings when danger approaches. If your grandmother constantly asks if you've eaten enough or dressed warmly, someone might affectionately call her a mother hen.