Free Printable Life Cycle of a Chicken Worksheet - Free Printable

Let’s think about the life cycle of a chicken step by step.

We know that chickens start as eggs. So the first stage should be the egg.

Inside the egg, a baby chick starts to grow — that’s called an embryo. But the embryo is inside the egg, so it comes after the egg is laid and before the chick hatches.

Then, when the chick is ready, it breaks out of the egg — that’s the hatchling. It’s still very small and fluffy.

After a little while, the hatchling grows into a chick — bigger, but not yet grown up.

Finally, the chick becomes an adult hen (or rooster), which can lay more eggs and start the cycle again.

So let’s put them in order:

1. Egg →
2. Embryo (growing inside the egg) →
3. Hatchling (just came out of the egg) →
4. Chick (a bit older) →
5. Adult hen (fully grown)

Now, looking at the diagram, there are 5 boxes arranged in a circle with arrows going clockwise. We need to place each stage in the right box following the arrow direction.

Starting from the top box and going clockwise:

Top box → Right box → Bottom-right box → Bottom-left box → Left box → back to top

But we don’t have to follow the boxes’ positions strictly — we just need to arrange the stages in correct biological order around the cycle.

Actually, since the arrows show a continuous loop, we can start anywhere — but usually, we begin with the egg.

Let’s assign:

- Start with egg (first stage)
- Then embryo (developing inside egg)
- Then hatchling (just hatched)
- Then chick (young chicken)
- Then adult hen (lays eggs again)

That makes sense.

Wait — actually, the embryo is part of the egg stage. In many simplified life cycles, they list “egg” then “hatchling”, skipping embryo as a separate visible stage. But here, embryo is given as a separate image, so we must include it.

Looking at the images:

- Egg: whole egg
- Embryo: inside the egg, developing
- Hatchling: just broke out, wet or fluffy
- Chick: dry, walking, young
- Adult hen: full-grown chicken

So the correct sequence is:

1. Egg
2. Embryo (inside egg)
3. Hatchling (emerging)
4. Chick (growing)
5. Adult hen (reproduces)

In the circular diagram, if we go clockwise starting from the top:

Top box: Egg
Right box: Embryo
Bottom-right box: Hatchling
Bottom-left box: Chick
Left box: Adult Hen

But wait — does the embryo come *after* the egg? Actually, the egg contains the embryo. So maybe the egg is laid, then the embryo develops inside it, then it hatches.

Yes — so the order is:

Egg → Embryo → Hatchling → Chick → Adult Hen → (lays Egg again)

Perfect.

Now, to match the diagram’s flow: the arrows go clockwise. Let’s assume we start at the top box and move clockwise.

So:

Top box: Egg
Next (right): Embryo
Next (bottom right): Hatchling
Next (bottom left): Chick
Next (left): Adult Hen
Then back to top (Egg)

That works.

Alternatively, sometimes people start with the adult laying the egg — but the question says “place the different stages of a chicken’s life cycle in the correct order.” The life cycle typically begins with the egg for simplicity in elementary education.

Also, note: the adult hen lays the egg, so technically the cycle could start with adult → egg → etc. But since the instruction is to place the stages in order, and the images include “egg” as a distinct stage, we’ll go with egg first.

Final ordered sequence (clockwise from top):

1. Egg
2. Embryo
3. Hatchling
4. Chick
5. Adult Hen

Let me double-check:

- Egg is laid.
- Inside, embryo develops.
- Hatchling emerges.
- Grows into chick.
- Becomes adult hen.
- Lays egg → repeat.

Yes, that’s correct.

Final Answer:
Top box: egg
Right box: embryo
Bottom-right box: hatchling
Bottom-left box: chick
Left box: adult hen