Open 361 Days a Year: Admissions 10:00am – 3:30pm; park closes at 4:30pm

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Reservations are not required, and tickets do not need to be purchased online in advance.

Leghorn gray band

Domestic Chickens

Gallus gallus domesticus

Appearance: Chickens come in a wide variety of colors from black to white, red to green, and everything in between. Males tend to have bigger combs (fleshy growth found on the forehead) and longer tail feathers although with cross-breeding, sometimes females will have those features as well.

History: The earliest evidence of domesticated chickens comes from the Indus River civilization from around 3300 BCE. Chickens, depending on the breed, are used mainly for their meat and eggs. They were originally domesticated from the red jungle- fowl originally found in Southeast Asia.

Range: Domestic chickens are found throughout the world.

Diet: In the wild, chickens eat seeds, insects, small reptiles, and sometimes small mice. Here at the nature center, we give them seeds, fruits, and vegetables.

Our Flock

Date of Birth: February 5, 2018

Our chickens were hatched here at the WNC Nature Center.

What Makes Them Unique? We have 5 breeds of chicken here at the WNC Nature Center – Black Australorp, Dominique, Easter Egger, Leghorn, and Rhode Island Red. The black australorp is identifiable by their dark plumage. The Dominique have a checkered pattern of plumage. The Leghorn breed has white plumage while the Rhode Island red are more orange in color. The easter egger breed is the more colorful breed with feathers of various colors.

A flock of chickens

Meet our other animals

American Black Bear

American Black Bear

Generally shy and reclusive animals, black bears avoid human contact and are not normally aggressive. Two black bears, Uno and Ursa, live at the Nature Center.

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American Pygmy Goat

American Pygmy Goat

Similar to the Nigerian dwarf goat, the American pygmy is a small goat that only reaches 1-2 feet in height. They vary widely in coloration including white, tan, caramel, gray, and black.

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Red Wolf Karma

American Red Wolf

Red wolves are highly endangered species that has been eliminated from almost all of its natural range. Our breeding pair of red wolves, Oak and Gloria, are part of the AZA Species Survival Plan.

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