Poultry- term describing domestic fowl.
Flock - name for a group of chickens.
Hen -- an adult female that has reached egg laying age.
Pullet -- a female chicken that hasn't yet started laying eggs.
Rooster - a male chicken that has attained breeding age.
Cock - a rooster.
Cockerel - a male chicken under breeding age.
Capon- a castrated male chicken.
Chick - a baby chicken.
Hatchlings - young newly hatched chicks.
Banti -- a bantam; a small breed of chicken.
Sex link- a situation where the male and female chicks can be sexually identified at birth based upon their coloration.
Straight run- term to designate that hatchlings are not sexed (identified as male vs female).
Broody - the hen's behavior to lay on and thus incubate a clutch of eggs.
Clutch -- the group of eggs or chicks from one hen.
Broiler - a chicken destined for slaughter between 7-12 weeks of age.
Comb - the fleshy growth atop a chickens head, usually red in color.
Crop - part of the digestive system looked at the base of the neck, which stores ingested food.
Vent - the opening on a chickens butt through which passes bodily discharges and eggs.
Molt - a time period when the bird loses feathers and regrows replacements.
Roost - a place up off the ground where chickens tend to rest or sleep.
Grit - small pebbles or gravel eaten by chickens to grind their food in their gizzard.
Spur - sharp horny spike on the legs. More pronounced and common on roosters.
For your Australian readers, hens are commonly known as 'chooks'!
ReplyDeleteGlad you brought that up. Thanks. When I was in England I once heard a person refer to her hens as chooks, and also biddies.
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