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Initially supportive of the Rebellion and the ideals of Animal Farm, the hens are the only group of animals who actively protest Napoleon and his abuse of power. Considered, along with the sheep and ducks, to be unintelligent, they stage a rebellion after Napoleon forces them to give up their eggs. In retaliation, the hens smash their eggs and begin to lay them on the rafters.

The hens’ rebellion is representative of the disillusioned Ukrainian peasants who attempted to resist Stalin’s regime. Similar to this real-world event, the hens’ rebellion is suppressed in a horrific manner as Napoleon has the dissenters executed. The execution of the hens during the purge thus works to show the extent that Napoleon and those in power will go to in order to maintain their positions of authority. Furthermore, the suppression of the hens’ rebellion functions as a warning to subdue the other animals from attempting any sort of change or opposition to the leading party. Like the sheep, the hens represent a collective, and no one hen is given a proper name.

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