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{{Short description|Domesticated species of bird}}
{{two other uses|the animal|chicken as human food|Chicken (food)||}}
{{About||the culinary use of chickens|Chicken as food|other uses|Chicken (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|Gallus gallus domesticus|other subspecies|Red Junglefowl}}
{{Redirect2|Rooster|Roosters}}
{{expert-subject|Birds|date=September 2009}}
{{Redirect|Cockerel|the Fabergé egg|Cockerel (Fabergé egg)}}
{{pp-pending|small=yes|expiry=February 17, 2009}}
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{{Speciesbox
| image = Male and female chicken sitting together.jpg
| image_caption = Male (left) and female (right)
| status = DOM
| genus = Gallus
| species = gallus domesticus
| synonyms = ''Gallus domesticus'' <small>]</small>
| authority = (], ])
| range_map = GLW 2 global distributions of c) chickens.tif
| range_map_caption = Chicken distribution
}}
The '''chicken''' ('''''Gallus domesticus''''') is a large and round short-winged ], ] from the ] of ] around 8,000 years ago. Most chickens are raised for food, providing ] and ]; others are kept as ]s<ref>{{Cite web |last=Joshua |date=2020-07-27 |title=Chickens and Roosters…As Pets? |url=https://journal.iaabcfoundation.org/roosters-as-pets/ |access-date=2024-12-05 |website=IAABC Foundation Journal}}</ref> or for ]ing.


Chickens are common and widespread domestic animals, with a total population of 26.5 billion {{As of|2023|lc=y}}, and an annual production of more than 50 billion birds. A hen bred for laying can produce over 300 eggs per year. There are numerous ] in folklore, religion, and literature.
{{Taxobox | name = Chicken
| status = DOM
| image = Female pair.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = A ] (left) and ] (right)
| regnum = ]ia
| phylum = ]
| classis = ]
| ordo = ]
| familia = ]
| genus = ]
| species = ]
| subspecies = '''''Gallus gallus domesticus''''' <br> (], 1758)
| binomial =
| binomial_authority =
| synonyms = '''Chicken''' : ] (uk) or ] (us) (m), ] (f)
}}
The '''chicken''' (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a ] ]. It is one of the most common and widespread ], with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003,<ref>according to Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds, Ed. Perrins, Christopher. Buffalo, N.Y.: Firefly Books, Ltd., 2003.</ref> there are more chickens in the world than any other ]. Humans keep chickens primarily as a source of food, consuming both their ] and their ].


== Nomenclature ==
] has held that the chicken was domesticated in ],<ref name="Sherman"/> but recent evidence suggests that domestication of the chicken was already under way in ] over 10,000 years ago.<ref name=Sherman>Sherman, David M. (2002). ''Tending Animals in the Global Village''. Blackwell Publishing. 46. ISBN 0683180517.</ref> From India the domesticated fowl made its way to the ]nized kingdom of ] in western Asia Minor, domestic fowl were imported to Greece by the fifth century BC.<ref>Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat, (Anthea Bell, translator) ''The History of Food'', Ch. 11 "The History of Poultry", revised ed. 2009, p. 306.</ref> Fowl had been known in Egypt since the ], with the "bird that lays every day" having come to Egypt from the land between Syria and Shinar, ], according to the annals of ].<ref>Howard Carter, "An Ostracon Depicting a Red Jungle-Fowl (The Earliest Known Drawing of the Domestic Cock)" ''The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology'', '''9'''.1/2 (April 1923), pp. 1-4.</ref>


Terms for chickens include:
==Terminology==
In the UK and Ireland adult male chickens are primarily known as ''cocks'', whereas in America, Canada and Australia they are better known as '']s''. Males under a year old are ''cockerels''.<ref></ref> Castrated roosters are called '']s'' (though both surgical and chemical castration are now illegal in some parts of the world). Females over a year old are known as ''hens'', and younger females are ''pullets''.<ref></ref> In Australia and New Zealand (also sometimes in Britain), there is a generic term ''chook'' ({{pron-en|ˈtʃʊk}}: rhymes with "book") to describe all ages and both sexes.<ref>{{cite web|title=Definition of "chook" in ''Encarta''. The vernacular use is said to be offensive in this dictionary but it may also be used as a term of jocular familiarity|url=http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/chook.html|work=|archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5kwQrJia9|archivedate=2009-10-31|deadurl=yes}}</ref> Babies are called ''chicks'', and the meat is called '']''.


* ''Biddy'': a chicken, or a newly hatched chicken<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/biddy |title=Definition of biddy |publisher=Dictionary.com |access-date=May 7, 2021 |archive-date=May 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507151125/https://www.dictionary.com/browse/biddy |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/biddy |title=Biddy definition and meaning |publisher=Collins English Dictionary|access-date=May 7, 2021 |archive-date=May 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507010137/https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/biddy |url-status=live}}</ref>
"Chicken" was originally the word only for chicks, and the species as a whole was then called ''domestic fowl'', or just ''fowl''. This use of "chicken" survives in the phrase "Hen and Chickens", sometimes used as a ] ] or ] name, and to name groups of one large and many small rocks or islands in the sea (see for example ]).
* '']'': a castrated or ] male chicken{{efn|The surgical and chemical castration of chickens is now illegal in some parts of the world.}}
* '']'': a young chicken<ref>{{cite web |title=Chick |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/chick |url-status=live |publisher=Cambridge Dictionary |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907132725/http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/chick |archive-date=September 7, 2015 }}</ref>
* ''Chook'' {{IPAc-en|tʃ|ʊ|k}}: a chicken (Australia/New Zealand, informal)<ref>{{cite web |title=Chook |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/chook |url-status=live |access-date=March 4, 2021 |website=Cambridge Dictionary |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907151220/http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/chook |archive-date=September 7, 2015 }}</ref>
* ''Cock'': a fertile adult male chicken<ref>{{cite web |title=Cock |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/cock |url-status=live |access-date=March 4, 2021 |publisher=Cambridge Dictionary |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907102240/http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/cock |archive-date=September 7, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Hen |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/cock |url-status=live |access-date=March 4, 2021 |publisher=Cambridge Dictionary |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907102240/http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/cock |archive-date=September 7, 2015 }}</ref>
* ''Cockerel'': a young male chicken<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cockerel |title=Cockerel |publisher=Dictionary Reference |access-date=August 29, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307191527/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cockerel |archive-date=March 7, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''Hen'': an adult female chicken<ref>{{cite web |title=Hen noun |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hen |publisher=] |access-date=2 February 2024}}</ref>
* ''Pullet'': a young female chicken less than a year old.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pullet |title=Pullet |publisher=Dictionary Reference |access-date=August 29, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101109014624/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pullet |archive-date=November 9, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> In the poultry industry, a pullet is a sexually immature chicken less than 22 weeks of age.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Overview of the Poultry Industry |url=https://dese.mo.gov/sites/default/files/aged%20-PoultrySR.pdf |url-status=live |publisher=Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education |page=8 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023230530/https://dese.mo.gov/sites/default/files/aged%20-PoultrySR.pdf |archive-date=October 23, 2020 }}</ref>
* ''Rooster'': a fertile adult male chicken, especially in North America. Originated in the 18th century, possibly as a euphemism to avoid the sexual connotation of the word ''cock''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of Rooster |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rooster |publisher=Merriam-Webster |access-date=March 6, 2021 |archive-date=April 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422030634/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rooster |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Rawson"> {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701144833/http://www.americanheritage.com/content/why-do-we-say-17 |date=July 1, 2017 }} "Why Do We Say...? Rooster", ''American Heritage'', August–September 2006.</ref><ref name="Online Etymology Dictionary"> {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111222713/https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=rooster |date=November 11, 2020 }} Entry for ''rooster (n.)'', May 2019</ref>
* ''Yardbird'': a chicken (southern United States, dialectal)<ref name="berhardt">{{cite book |last=Berhardt |first=Clyde E. B. |title=I Remember: Eighty Years of Black Entertainment, Big Bands |year=1986 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-8122-8018-0 |oclc=12805260 |page=153}}</ref>


''Chicken'' can mean a ''chick'', as in ]'s play '']'', where ] laments the death of "all my pretty chickens and their dam".<ref>], '']'', Act 4 Scene 3, lines 217–229.</ref> The usage is preserved in placenames such as the ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chicken |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chicken |url-status=live |access-date=March 4, 2021 |website=Merriam Webster Dictionary |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821163810/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chicken |archive-date=August 21, 2008 }}</ref> In older sources, and still often in trade and scientific contexts, chickens as a species are described as ''common fowl'' or ''domestic fowl''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Stevens |first=Lewis |title=Genetics and evolution of the domestic fowl |pages=11 and throughout |year=1991 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-521-40317-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S-DXqQ9UOmAC&dq=%22domestic+fowl%22&pg=PA11}}</ref>
==General biology and habitat==
Chickens are ]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ideas-4-pets.com/pages-infopages/pages_id-24/index.html |title=Info on Chicken Care |accessdate=2008-08-13 |publisher=ideas4pets |year=2003}}</ref> In the wild, they often scratch at the soil to search for seeds, insects and even larger animals such as ]s or young ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gworrell.freeyellow.com/chickenfaq.html|title=Frequently asked questions about chickens & eggs |accessdate=2008-08-13|publisher=Ferry Landing Farm & Apiary|author=Gerard P.Worrell AKA "Farmer Jerry"}}</ref>.


== Description ==
Chickens may live for five to eleven years, depending on the breed.<ref></ref> In commercial intensive farming, a meat chicken generally lives six weeks before slaughter.<ref></ref> A ] or ] meat chicken will usually be slaughtered at about 14 weeks. Hens of special laying ] may produce as many as 300 eggs a year. After 12 months, the hen's egg-laying ability starts to decline, and commercial laying hens are then slaughtered and used in processed foods, or sold as "soup hens".<ref>{{cite news| url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/foodmonthly/story/0,,662799,00.html | work=The Guardian | location=London | title=Ten weeks to live | first=Anthony | last=Browne | date=2002-03-10 | accessdate=2010-04-28}}</ref> The world's oldest chicken, according to the ], died of heart failure when she was 16 years old.<ref>Smith, Jamon. , '']'' (Alabama, USA). 6 August 2006. Retrieved on 26 February 2008.</ref>
] can be distinguished from the ] by its ]]]


{{multiple image
Roosters can usually be differentiated from hens by their striking plumage, marked by long flowing tails and shiny, pointed feathers on their necks and backs (the ''hackles'' and ''saddle'')—these are often colored differently from the hackles and saddles of females.
| width1 = 150
| image1 = Rooster portrait2.jpg
| caption1 = ] of male
| width2 = 200
| image2 = Hen Comb (cropped).jpg
| caption2 = Comb of female, generally smaller
}}


Chickens are relatively large ]s, ]. The body is round, the legs are unfeathered in most breeds, and the wings are short.<ref name="Smithsonian"/> Wild ] can ]; chickens and their ]s are too heavy to allow them to fly more than a short distance.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Geggel |first1=Laura |title=Forget About the Road. Why Are Chickens So Bad at Flying? |url=https://www.livescience.com/57139-why-chickens-cannot-fly.html |website=Live Science |access-date=3 February 2024 |date=8 December 2016 |archive-date=April 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240404115622/https://www.livescience.com/57139-why-chickens-cannot-fly.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Size and coloration vary widely between breeds.<ref name="Smithsonian">{{cite web |title=Chicken |url=https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/domestic-chicken |publisher=Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute |access-date=2 February 2024 |archive-date=February 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240202165324/https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/domestic-chicken |url-status=live }}</ref> Newly-hatched chicks of both modern and heritage varieties weigh the same, about {{cvt|37|g|oz}}. Modern varieties however grow much faster; by day 35 a Ross 708 ] may weigh {{cvt|1.8|kg|lb}} as against the {{cvt|1.05|kg|lb}} of a heritage chicken of the same age.<ref name="Schmidt Persia 2009">{{cite journal |last=Schmidt |first=C.J. |last2=Persia |first2=M.E. |last3=Feierstein |first3=E. |last4=Kingham |first4=B. |last5=Saylor |first5=W.W. |title=Comparison of a modern broiler line and a heritage line unselected since the 1950s |journal=Poultry Science |volume=88 |issue=12 |date=2009 |doi=10.3382/ps.2009-00055 |doi-access=free |pages=2610–2619}}</ref>
However, in some breeds, such as the ], the rooster has only slightly pointed neck feathers, the same color as the hen's. The identification must be made by looking at the ], or eventually from the development of ]s on the male's legs (in a few breeds and in certain hybrids the male and female chicks may be differentiated by color). Adult chickens have a fleshy crest on their heads called a '']'', and hanging flaps of skin either side under their beaks called '']''. Both the adult male and female have wattles and combs, but in most breeds these are more prominent in males.


Adult chickens of both sexes have a fleshy crest on their heads called a comb or cockscomb, and hanging flaps of skin on either side under their beaks called ]; combs and wattles are ]. Some breeds have a ] that causes extra feathering under the face, giving the appearance of a beard.<ref name=plosg>{{cite journal |last1=Guo |first1=Ying |last2=Gu |first2=Xiaorong |last3=Sheng |first3=Zheya |last4=Wang |first4=Yanqiang |last5=Luo |first5=Chenglong |last6=Liu |first6=Ranran |last7=Qu |first7=Hao |last8=Shu |first8=Dingming |last9=Wen |first9=Jie |last10=Crooijmans |first10=Richard P. M. A. |last11=Carlborg |first11=Örjan |last12=Zhao |first12=Yiqiang |last13=Hu |first13=Xiaoxiang |last14=Li |first14=Ning |display-authors=5 |title=A Complex Structural Variation on Chromosome 27 Leads to the Ectopic Expression of HOXB8 and the Muffs and Beard Phenotype in Chickens |journal=PLOS Genetics |volume=12 |issue=6 |date=2 June 2016 |pmid=27253709 |pmc=4890787 |doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.1006071 |doi-access=free |page=e1006071}}</ref>
A ''muff'' or ''beard'' is a ] found in several chicken breeds which causes extra ]ing under the chicken's face, giving the appearance of a ].
]]]


Chickens are ]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ideas-4-pets.co.uk/info.-on-chicken-care |title=Info on Chicken Care |access-date=August 13, 2008 |website=Ideas-4-pets.co.uk |year=2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150625195044/http://www.ideas-4-pets.co.uk/info.-on-chicken-care |archive-date=June 25, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the wild, they scratch at the soil to search for seeds, insects, and animals as large as ]s, small snakes,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45i1hZfUQhk |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/45i1hZfUQhk| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Chicken Kills Rattlesnake |last=D Lines |date=July 27, 2013 |access-date=March 13, 2019 |publisher=]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and young ].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gworrell.freeyellow.com/chickenfaq.html |title=Frequently asked questions about chickens & eggs |access-date=August 13, 2008 |website=Gworrell.freeyellow.com |author=Gerard P.Worrell AKA "Farmer Jerry" |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916202420/http://gworrell.freeyellow.com/chickenfaq.html |archive-date=September 16, 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> A chicken may live for 5–10 years, depending on the ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ruleworks.co.uk/cgi-bin/TUfaq.exe?Guide=Poultry&Category=Poultry%20-%20General#q9 |title=The Poultry Guide – A to Z and FAQs |website=Ruleworks.co.uk |access-date=August 29, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101128085141/http://ruleworks.co.uk/cgi-bin/TUfaq.exe?Guide=Poultry&Category=Poultry%20-%20General#q9 |archive-date=November 28, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The world's oldest known chicken lived for 16 years.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Smith |first1=Jamon |url=https://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/DA/20060806/News/606120381/TL |title=World's oldest chicken starred in magic shows, was on 'Tonight Show' |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220002804/https://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20060806%2FNEWS%2F608060400%2F1007%2FNEWS02 |archive-date=February 20, 2019 |website=] |location=Alabama, USA |date=August 6, 2006 |access-date=May 18, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Domestic chickens are not capable of long distance flight, although lighter birds are generally capable of flying for short distances, such as over fences or into trees (where they would naturally roost). Chickens will sometimes fly to explore their surroundings, but usually do so only to flee perceived danger.


Chickens are ], living in ], and ] and raise young communally. Individual chickens dominate others, establishing a ]; dominant individuals take priority for access to food and nest sites. The concept of dominance, involving pecking, was described in female chickens by ] in 1921 as the "pecking order".<ref>{{cite journal |last=Perrin |first=P. G. |year=1955 |title='Pecking order' 1927–54 |journal=American Speech |volume=30 |issue=4 |pages=265–268|doi=10.2307/453561 |jstor=453561 | issn = 0003-1283}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Schjelderup-Ebbe |first=T. |year=1975 |chapter=Contributions to the social psychology of the domestic chicken |editor-last=Schein |editor-first=M. W. |title=Social Hierarchy and Dominance. Benchmark Papers in Animal Behavior |volume=3 |location=Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania |publisher=Dowden, Hutchinson and Ross |pages=35–49}} (Reprinted from ''Zeitschrift für Psychologie'', 1922, 88:225–252.)</ref> Male chickens tend to leap and use their claws in conflicts.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rajecki |first=D. W. |year=1988 |title=Formation of leap orders in pairs of male domestic chickens |journal=Aggressive Behavior |volume=14 |issue=6 |pages=425–436|doi=10.1002/1098-2337(1988)14:6<425::AID-AB2480140604>3.0.CO;2-#|s2cid=141664966 }}</ref> Chickens are capable of mobbing and killing a weak or inexperienced predator, such as a young fox.<ref>{{cite web |last=AFP |date=March 12, 2019 |title=Chickens 'teamed up to kill fox' at Brittany farming school |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/12/chickens-teamed-up-to-kill-fox-at-brittany-farming-school |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190313002528/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/12/chickens-teamed-up-to-kill-fox-at-brittany-farming-school |archive-date=March 13, 2019 |access-date=March 13, 2019 |website=Theguardian.com}}</ref>
Chickens are gregarious birds and live together as a ]. They have a communal approach to the ] of eggs and raising of young. Individual chickens in a flock will dominate others, establishing a "]", with dominant individuals having priority for access to food and nesting locations. Removing hens or roosters from a flock causes a temporary disruption to this social order until a new pecking order is established. Adding hens—especially younger birds—to an existing flock can lead to violence and injury.<ref></ref>


]
Hens will try to lay in nests that already contain eggs, and have been known to move eggs from neighboring nests into their own. Some farmers use fake eggs made from plastic or stone (or ]s) to encourage hens to lay in a particular location. The result of this behavior is that a flock will use only a few preferred locations, rather than having a different nest for every bird.


A male's crowing is a loud and sometimes shrill call, serving as a territorial signal to other males,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://phys.org/news/2015-07-cock-roosters-crow.html |title=Top cock: Roosters crow in pecking order |website=Phys.org |access-date=January 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180115124738/https://phys.org/news/2015-07-cock-roosters-crow.html |archive-date=January 15, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> and in response to sudden disturbances within their surroundings. Hens cluck loudly after laying an ] and to call their chicks. Chickens give different ]s to indicate that a ] is approaching from the air or on the ground.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Evans |first1=Christopher S. |last2=Evans |first2=Linda |last3=Marler |first3=Peter |title=On the meaning of alarm calls: functional reference in an avian vocal system |journal=Animal Behaviour |date=July 1993 |volume=46 |issue=1 |pages=23–38 |doi=10.1006/anbe.1993.1158 |s2cid=53165305 |s2cid-access=free }}</ref>
Hens can also be extremely stubborn about always laying in the same location. It is not unknown for two (or more) hens to try to share the same nest at the same time. If the nest is small, or one of the hens is particularly determined, this may result in chickens trying to lay on top of each other.
]
Roosters crowing (a loud and sometimes shrill call) is a territorial signal to other roosters. However, crowing may also result from sudden disturbances within their surroundings. Hens cluck loudly after laying an egg, and also to call their chicks.


== Reproduction and life-cycle ==
In 2006, scientists researching the ancestry of birds "turned on" a chicken ], ''talpid2'', and found that the embryo jaws initiated formation of teeth, like those found in ancient bird fossils. John Fallon, the overseer of the project, stated that chickens have "...retained the ability to make teeth, under certain conditions..."<ref> Ammu Kannampilly, ], 2006-02-27. Retrieved 2007-10-01.</ref>


To initiate courting, some roosters may dance in a circle around or near a hen (a circle dance), often lowering the wing which is closest to the hen.<ref name="grandin69">{{cite book |title=Animals in Translation |last1=Grandin |first1=Temple |author-link1=Temple Grandin |last2=Johnson |first2=Catherine |year=2005 |publisher=] |location=New York City |isbn=978-0-7432-4769-6 |pages= |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/animalsintransla00gran/page/69 }}</ref> The dance triggers a response in the hen<ref name="grandin69" /> and when she responds to his call, the rooster may mount the hen and proceed with the mating. Mating typically involves a sequence in which the male approaches the female and performs a waltzing display. If the female is unreceptive, she runs off; otherwise, she crouches, and the male mounts, treading with both feet on her back. After copulation the male does a tail-bending display.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cheng |first1=Kimberly M. |last2=Burns |first2=Jeffrey T. |title=Dominance Relationship and Mating Behavior of Domestic Cocks: A Model to Study Mate-Guarding and Sperm Competition in Birds |journal=] |date=August 1988 |volume=90 |issue=3 |pages=697–704 |doi=10.2307/1368360 |jstor=1368360 }}</ref>
==Courting==
When a rooster finds food, he may call the other chickens to eat it first. He does this by clucking in a high pitch as well as picking up and dropping the food. This behavior can also be observed in mother hens, calling their chicks. In some cases the rooster will drag the wing opposite the hen on the ground, while circling her. This is part of chicken courting ritual and has been called a "dance".<ref name="grandin69">{{cite book |title= Animals in Translation|last= Grandin|first= Temple|authorlink= Temple Grandin|coauthors= Johnson, Catherine|year= 2005|publisher= Scribner|location= New York, New York|isbn= 0743247698|page= |pages= |url=69-71 }}</ref> The dance triggers a response in the hen's brain,<ref name="grandin69"/> and when the hen responds to his "call", the rooster may mount the hen and proceed with the fertilization.


Sperm transfer occurs by ]l contact between the male and female, in an action called the 'cloacal kiss'.<ref name="Briskie1997">{{cite journal |last=Briskie |first=J. V. |author2=R. Montgomerie |year=1997 |title=Sexual Selection and the Intromittent Organ of Birds |journal=Journal of Avian Biology |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=73–86 |doi=10.2307/3677097 |jstor=3677097}}</ref> As with all birds, ] is controlled by a ] system,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Dufour |first1=Sylvie |last2=Quérat |first2=Bruno |last3=Tostivint |first3=Hervé |last4=Pasqualini |first4=Catherine |last5=Vaudry |first5=Hubert |last6=Rousseau |first6=Karine |date=April 2020 |title=Origin and Evolution of the Neuroendocrine Control of Reproduction in Vertebrates, With Special Focus on Genome and Gene Duplications |url=https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/physrev.00009.2019 |journal=Physiological Reviews |volume=100 |issue=2 |pages=869–943 |doi=10.1152/physrev.00009.2019 |pmid=31625459 |issn=0031-9333}}</ref> the ]s in the ]. Reproductive hormones including ], ], and ]s (] and ]) initiate and maintain sexual maturation changes. Reproduction declines with age, thought to be due to a decline in GnRH-I-N.<ref name="Bain-et-al-2016">{{cite journal |last1=Bain |first1=M. M. |last2=Nys |first2=Y. |last3=Dunn |first3=I.C. |title=Increasing persistency in lay and stabilising egg quality in longer laying cycles. What are the challenges? |journal=] |publisher=] |volume=57 |issue=3 |date=May 3, 2016 |doi=10.1080/00071668.2016.1161727 |pages=330–338 |pmid=26982003 |pmc=4940894 |s2cid=17842329 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
==Breeding==
===Origins===


]
The domestic chicken is descended primarily from the ] (''Gallus gallus'') and is scientifically classified as the same species.<ref name=nature>. International Chicken Polymorphism Map Consortium (GK Wong et. al.) 2004. Nature 432, 717-722| doi:10.1038/nature03156</ref> As such it can and does freely interbreed with populations of red jungle fowl.<ref name=nature/> Recent genetic analysis has revealed that at least the gene for yellow skin was incorporated into domestic birds through hybridization with the ] (''G. sonneratii'').<ref>Eriksson J, Larson G, Gunnarsson U, Bed'hom B, Tixier-Boichard M, et al. (2008) ''Identification of the Yellow Skin Gene Reveals a Hybrid Origin of the Domestic Chicken.'' PLoS Genet January 23, 2008 .</ref>


Hens often try to lay in nests that already contain eggs and sometimes move eggs from neighbouring nests into their own. A flock thus uses only a few preferred locations, rather than having a different nest for every bird.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sherwin |first1=C.M. |last2=Nicol |first2=C.J. |year=1993 |title=Factors influencing floor-laying by hens in modified cages |journal=] |volume=36 |issue=2–3 |pages=211–222 |doi=10.1016/0168-1591(93)90011-d}}</ref> Under natural conditions, most birds lay only until a ] is complete; they then incubate all the eggs. This is called "going ]". The hen sits on the nest, fluffing up or pecking defensively if disturbed. She rarely leaves the nest until the eggs have hatched.<ref name="Puff-up-Feathers">{{cite web |title=Why Do Chickens Puff up Their Feathers? I 4 Reasons Explained|date= August 8, 2020|url= https://chickenandchicksinfo.com/why-do-chickens-puff-up-their-feathers/ |access-date=June 16, 2021 |archive-date=June 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618091939/https://chickenandchicksinfo.com/why-do-chickens-puff-up-their-feathers/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
Researchers have found chickens' bones in unusual amounts and out of natural jungle range, thus denoting a breeding place. Bones of domestic chickens from about 6000-4000 BC have been found in Yangshao and Peiligan, China, from a time when the Holocene climate was not naturally suitable for the ''Gallus'' species.<ref>CHOF, p496, citing West & Zhou, 1988</ref> Archaeological data is lacking for Thailand and southeast Asia.


Eggs of chickens from the high-altitude region of ] have special physiological adaptations that result in a higher hatching rate in low oxygen environments. When eggs are placed in a hypoxic environment, chicken embryos from these populations express much more ] than embryos from other chicken populations. This hemoglobin has a greater affinity for oxygen, binding oxygen more readily.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=H. |last2=Wang |first2=X.T. |last3=Chamba |first3=Y. |last4=Ling |first4=Y.|last5=Wu|first5=C.X. |date=October 2008|title=Influences of Hypoxia on Hatching Performance in Chickens with Different Genetic Adaptation to High Altitude |journal=Poultry Science |volume=87 |issue=10 |pages=2112–2116 |doi=10.3382/ps.2008-00122 |pmid=18809874 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
Later traces are found about 3000-2000 BC in ] and ], Pakistan,<ref>CHOF, p496, citing Zeuner 1963, Crawford 1984</ref> and -according to linguistic researchers- in Austronesian populations traveling across southeast Asia and Oceania. A northern road spread chicken to the ] of central Asia, modern day Iran. The chicken reached Europe (Romania, Turkey, Greece, Urkraine) about 3000BC, and the ] about 2500 BC.<ref name="CHOF">CHOF : The Cambridge History of Food, 2000, ], vol.1, pp496-499</ref>
Introduction into Western Europe came far later, about the 1st millennium BC. Phoenicians spread chickens along the Mediterranean coasts, to Iberia. Breeding increased under the ], and was reduced in the ].<ref name="CHOF" />
Middle East traces of chicken go back to a little earlier than 2000 BC, in ]; chicken went southward only in the 1st millennium BC. The chicken reached ] for purposes of ] about 1400BC, and became widely bred only in ] Egypt (about 300 BC).<ref name="CHOF" /> Little is known about the chicken's introduction into Africa. Three possible ways of introduction in about the early first millennium AD could have been through the Egyptian ] Valley, the East Africa Roman-Greek or Indian trade, or from Carthage and the Berbers, across the ]. The earliest known remains are from Mali, Nubia, East Coast, and ] and date back to the middle of the first millennium AD.<ref name="CHOF" />
Domestic chicken in the Americas before Western conquest is still an ongoing discussion, but blue-egged chicken, found only in the Americas and Asia, suggest an Asian origin for early American chickens.<ref name="CHOF" />


Fertile chicken eggs hatch at the end of the incubation period, about 21 days; the chick uses its ] to break out of the shell.<ref name="grandin69"/> Hens remain on the nest for about two days after the first chick hatches; during this time the newly hatched chicks feed by absorbing the internal ].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ali |first1=A. |last2=Cheng |first2=K.M. |year=1985 |title=Early egg production in genetically blind (rc/rc) chickens in comparison with sighted (Rc+/rc) controls |journal=Poultry Science |volume=64 |issue=5 |pages=789–794 |doi=10.3382/ps.0640789 |pmid=4001066 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The hen guards her chicks and broods them to keep them warm. She leads them to food and water and calls them towards food. The chicks ] on the hen and subsequently follow her continually. She continues to care for them until they are several weeks old.<ref name="Edgar Held Jones Troisi 2016 p. 2">{{cite journal |last1=Edgar |first1=Joanne |last2=Held |first2=Suzanne |last3=Jones |first3=Charlotte |last4=Troisi |first4=Camille |title=Influences of Maternal Care on Chicken Welfare |journal=Animals |volume=6 |issue=1 |date=2016-01-05 |pmid=26742081 |pmc=4730119 |doi=10.3390/ani6010002 |doi-access=free |page=2}}</ref>
A lack of data from Thailand, Russia, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa makes it difficult to lay out a clear map of the spread of chickens in these areas; better description and genetic analysis of local breeds threatened by ] may also help with research into this area.<ref name="CHOF" />


Inbreeding of White Leghorn chickens tends to cause ] expressed as reduced egg number and delayed sexual maturity.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sewalem |first1=A. |last2=Johansson |first2=K. |last3=Wilhelmson |first3=M. |last4=Lillpers |first4=K. |title=Inbreeding and inbreeding depression on reproduction and production traits of White Leghorn lines selected for egg production traits |journal=British Poultry Science |volume=40 |issue=2 |date=1999 |doi=10.1080/00071669987601 |pages=203–208|pmid=10465386 }}</ref> Strongly inbred Langshan chickens display obvious inbreeding depression in reproduction, particularly for traits such as age when the first egg is laid and egg number.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Xue |first1=Qian |last2=Li |first2=Guohui |last3=Cao |first3=Yuxia |last4=Yin |first4=Jianmei |last5=Zhu |first5=Yunfen |last6=Zhang |first6=Huiyong |last7=Zhou |first7=Chenghao |last8=Shen |first8=Haiyu |last9=Dou |first9=Xinhong |last10=Su |first10=Yijun |last11=Wang |first11=Kehua |last12=Zou |first12=Jianmin |last13=Han |first13=Wei |title=Identification of genes involved in inbreeding depression of reproduction in Langshan chickens |journal=Animal Bioscience |volume=34 |issue=6 |date=1 June 2021 |issn=2765-0189 |pmid=33152217 |pmc=8100482 |doi=10.5713/ajas.20.0248 |pages=975–984}}</ref>
===Current===
] vary in color depending on the hen, typically ranging from bright white to shades of brown and even blue, green, and recently reported purple (found in South Asia) (] varieties).]]


== Origin ==
Under natural conditions, most birds lay only until a ] is complete, and they will then incubate all the eggs. Many domestic hens will also do this–and are then said to "go broody". The broody hen will stop laying and instead will focus on the incubation of the eggs (a full clutch is usually about 12 eggs). She will "sit" or "set" on the nest, protesting or pecking in defense if disturbed or removed, and she will rarely leave the nest to eat, drink, or dust-bathe. While brooding, the hen maintains the nest at a constant temperature and humidity, as well as turning the eggs regularly during the first part of the incubation. To stimulate broodiness, an owner may place many artificial eggs in the nest, or to stop it they may place the hen in an elevated cage with an open wire floor.
<!--PLEASE stop squashing everything up, spaces and blank lines are intentional, THANK YOU-->
At the end of the incubation period (about 21 days),<ref name="grandin69"/> the eggs, if fertile, will hatch. Development of the egg starts only when incubation begins, so they all hatch within a day or two of each other, despite perhaps being laid over a period of two weeks or so. Before hatching, the hen can hear the chicks peeping inside the eggs, and will gently cluck to stimulate them to break out of their shells. The chick begins by "pipping"; pecking a breathing hole with its ] towards the blunt end of the egg, usually on the upper side. It will then rest for some hours, absorbing the remaining egg yolk and withdrawing the blood supply from the membrane beneath the shell (used earlier for breathing through the shell). It then enlarges the hole, gradually turning round as it goes, and eventually severing the blunt end of the shell completely to make a lid. It crawls out of the remaining shell, and its wet down dries out in the warmth of the nest.


=== Phylogeny ===
]]]
The hen will usually stay on the nest for about two days after the first egg hatches, and during this time the newly hatched chicks live off the egg yolk they absorb just before hatching. Any eggs not fertilized by a rooster will not hatch, and the hen eventually loses interest in these and leaves the nest. After hatching, the hen fiercely guards the chicks, and will brood them when necessary to keep them warm, at first often returning to the nest at night. She leads them to food and water; she will call them to edible items, but seldom feeds them directly. She continues to care for them until they are several weeks old, when she will gradually lose interest and eventually start to lay again.
Modern egg-laying breeds rarely go broody, and those that do often stop part-way through the incubation. However, some "utility" (general purpose) breeds, such as the ], ] and ], do regularly go broody, and they make excellent mothers, not only for chicken eggs but also for those of other species—even those with much smaller or larger eggs and different incubation periods, such as ], ]s, ]s or ]. Chicken eggs can also be hatched under a broody duck, with varied success.


], the wild ancestor of the chicken ]]
==Poultry farming==
{{main|Poultry farming}}
] on a farm]]
More than 50 billion chickens are reared annually as a source of food, for both their meat and their eggs. Chickens farmed for meat are called broiler chickens, whilst those farmed for eggs are called egg-laying hens. In total, the UK alone consumes over 29 million eggs per day. Some hens can produce over 300 eggs a year. Chickens will naturally live for 6 or more years, but broiler chickens typically take less than six weeks to reach slaughter size. For laying hens, they are slaughtered after about 12 months, when the hens' productivity starts to decline.


Water or ground-dwelling fowl similar to modern ]s, in the ], the ] of bird that chickens belong to, survived the ] that killed all tree-dwelling birds and their ] relatives.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Pennisi |first=Elizabeth |author-link=Elizabeth Pennisi |title=Quaillike creatures were the only birds to survive the dinosaur-killing asteroid impact |journal=Science |date=May 24, 2018 |doi=10.1126/science.aau2802}}</ref> Chickens are descended primarily from the ] (''Gallus gallus'') and are scientifically classified as the same species.<ref name=nature>{{cite journal |title=A genetic variation map for chicken with 2.8 million single nucleotide polymorphisms |journal=Nature |date=December 9, 2004 |volume=432 |issue=7018 |pages=717–722 |doi=10.1038/nature03156 |pmid=15592405 |pmc=2263125 |bibcode=2004Natur.432..717B |last1=Wong |first1=G. K. |last2=Liu |first2=B. |last3=Wang |first3=J. |last4=Zhang |first4=Y. |last5=Yang |first5=X. |last6=Zhang |first6=Z. |last7=Meng |first7=Q. |last8=Zhou |first8=J. |last9=Li |first9=D. |last10=Zhang |first10=J. |last11=Ni |first11=P. |last12=Li |first12=S. |display-authors=6}}</ref> Domesticated chickens freely interbreed with populations of red junglefowl.<ref name=nature /> The domestic chicken has subsequently hybridised with ], ] and ];<ref name="Lawal">{{cite journal |last1=Lawal |first1=Raman Akinyanju |last2=Martin |first2=Simon H. |last3=Vanmechelen |first3=Koen |last4=Vereijken |first4=Addie |last5=Silva |first5=Pradeepa |last6=Al-Atiyat |first6=Raed Mahmoud |last7=Aljumaah |first7=Riyadh Salah |last8=Mwacharo |first8=Joram M. |last9=Wu |first9=Dong-Dong |last10=Zhang |first10=Ya-Ping |last11=Hocking |first11=Paul M. |last12=Smith |first12=Jacqueline |last13=Wragg |first13=David |last14=Hanotte |first14=Olivier |display-authors=6 |title=The wild species genome ancestry of domestic chickens |journal=BMC Biology |date=December 2020 |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=13 |doi=10.1186/s12915-020-0738-1 |pmid=32050971 |pmc=7014787 |doi-access=free}}</ref> a gene for yellow skin, for instance, was incorporated into domestic birds from the grey junglefowl (''G. sonneratii'').<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Eriksson |first1=Jonas |last2=Larson |first2=Greger |last3=Gunnarsson |first3=Ulrika |last4=Bed'hom |first4=Bertrand |last5=Tixier-Boichard |first5=Michele |last6=Strömstedt |first6=Lina |last7=Wright |first7=Dominic |last8=Jungerius |first8=Annemieke |last9=Vereijken |first9=Addie |last10=Randi |first10=Ettore |last11=Jensen |first11=Per |last12=Andersson |first12=Leif |display-authors=6 |title=Identification of the Yellow Skin Gene Reveals a Hybrid Origin of the Domestic Chicken |journal=PLOS Genetics |date=February 29, 2008 |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=e1000010 |doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.1000010 |pmid=18454198 |pmc=2265484 |doi-access=free }}</ref> It is estimated that chickens share between 71 and 79% of their genome with red junglefowl.<ref name="Lawal"/>
The vast majority of poultry are raised using intensive farming techniques. According to the Worldwatch Institute, 74 percent of the world's poultry meat, and 68 percent of eggs are produced this way. One alternative to intensive poultry farming is free range farming.


=== Domestication ===
Friction between these two main methods has led to long term issues of ethical consumerism. Opponents of intensive farming argue that it harms the environment, creates human health risks and is inhumane. Advocates of intensive farming say that their highly efficient systems save land and food resources due to increased productivity, stating that the animals are looked after in state-of-the-art environmentally controlled facilities.


{{further|Domestication}}
==Artificial incubation==
]
Chicken egg incubation can successfully occur artificially as well. Nearly all fertilized chicken eggs will hatch after 21 days of good conditions - 99.5 °] (37.5 °]) and around 55% ] (increase to 70% in the last three days of incubation to help soften ]). Eggs must be turned regularly (usually three to eight times each week) during the first part of the incubation. If the eggs aren't turned, the ] inside will stick to the shell and may hatch with physical defects. Some incubators turn the eggs automatically. This turning mimics the natural process. An incubating hen will stand up several times a day and shift the eggs around with her ]. However, if the egg is turned during the last week of incubation the chick may have difficulty settling in the correct hatching position.


]
Many commercial incubators are industrial-sized with shelves holding tens of thousands of eggs at a time, with rotation of the eggs a fully automated process. Home incubators are boxes holding from half a dozen to 75 eggs; they are usually electrically powered, but in the past some were heated with an oil or paraffin lamp.


According to one early study, a single domestication event of the ] in present-day ] gave rise to the modern chicken with minor transitions separating the modern breeds.<ref name="oneMatriarch">{{citation |title=One subspecies of the red junglefowl (Gallus gallus gallus) suffices as the matriarchic ancestor of all domestic breeds |first1=A. |last1=Fumihito |first2=T. |last2=Miyake |first3=S. |last3=Sumi |first4=M. |last4=Takada |first5=S. |last5=Ohno |first6=N. |last6=Kondo |journal=PNAS |date=December 20, 1994 |volume=91 |number=26 |pages=12505–12509 |doi=10.1073/pnas.91.26.12505 |pmid=7809067 |bibcode=1994PNAS...9112505F |pmc=45467 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The red junglefowl is well adapted to take advantage of the vast quantities of seed produced during the end of the ], to boost its own reproduction.<ref>{{citation |first=Rick |last=King |title=Rat Attack |date=February 24, 2009 |journal=Nova and National Geographic Television |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/rat-attack.html |access-date=August 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823151419/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/rat-attack.html |archive-date=August 23, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> In domesticating the chicken, humans took advantage of the red junglefowl's ability to reproduce prolifically when exposed to a surge in its food supply.<ref>{{citation |first=Rick |last=King |title=Plant vs. Predator |date=February 1, 2009 |journal=NOVA |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/plant-vs-predator.html |access-date=August 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821123509/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/plant-vs-predator.html |archive-date=August 21, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Chickens as food==
{{Main|Chicken (food)}}
] chicken.]]
The ] of the chicken, also called "chicken", is a type of poultry meat. Because of its relatively low cost, chicken is one of the most used meats in the world. Nearly all parts of the bird can be used for food, and the meat can be cooked in many different ways. Popular chicken dishes include roasted chicken, ], ], ], ], ], and ]. Chicken is also a staple of ] restaurants.


Exactly when and where the chicken was domesticated remains controversial. Genomic studies estimate that the chicken was domesticated 8,000 years ago<ref name="Lawal"/> in Southeast Asia and spread to China and India 2,000 to 3,000 years later. Archaeological evidence supports domestic chickens in Southeast Asia well before 6000&nbsp;BC, China by 6000&nbsp;BC and India by 2000&nbsp;BC.<ref name=Lawal/><ref name="West Zhou 1988">{{cite journal |last1=West |first1=B. |last2=Zhou |first2=B.X. |year=1988 |title=Did chickens go north? New evidence for domestication |journal=J. Archaeol. Sci. |volume=14 |issue= 5 |pages=515–533 |doi=10.1016/0305-4403(88)90080-5 |bibcode=1988JArSc..15..515W }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Al-Nasser |first1=A. |last2=Al-Khalaifa |first2=H. |last3=Al-Saffar |first3=A. |last4=Khalil |first4=F. |last5=Albahouh |first5=M. |last6=Ragheb |first6=G. |last7=Al-Haddad |first7=A. |last8=Mashaly |first8=M. |title=Overview of chicken taxonomy and domestication |journal=World's Poultry Science Journal |date=June 1, 2007 |volume=63 |issue=2 |pages=285–300 |doi=10.1017/S004393390700147X |s2cid=86734013 }}</ref> A landmark 2020 Nature study that fully sequenced 863 chickens across the world suggests that all domestic chickens originate from a single domestication event of red junglefowl whose present-day distribution is predominantly in southwestern China, northern Thailand and Myanmar. These domesticated chickens spread across Southeast and South Asia where they interbred with local wild species of junglefowl, forming genetically and geographically distinct groups. Analysis of the most popular commercial breed shows that the White Leghorn breed possesses a mosaic of divergent ancestries inherited from subspecies of red junglefowl.<ref>{{cite journal |title=863 genomes reveal the origin and domestication of chicken |year=2020 |doi=10.1038/s41422-020-0349-y |s2cid=220050312 |last1=Wang |first1=Ming-Shan |last2=Thakur|first2=Mukesh |last3=Peng |first3=Min-Sheng |last4=Jiang |first4=Yu |last5=Frantz |first5=Laurent Alain François |last6=Li|first6=Ming |last7=Zhang|first7=Jin-Jin |last8=Wang |first8=Sheng |last9=Peters |first9=Joris |last10=Otecko |first10=Newton Otieno |last11=Suwannapoom |first11=Chatmongkon |last12=Guo |first12=Xing |journal=Cell Research |volume=30 |issue=8 |pages=693–701 |pmid=32581344 |pmc=7395088 |display-authors=6}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Liu |first1=Yi-Ping |last2=Wu |first2=Gui-Sheng |last3=Yao |first3=Yong-Gang |last4=Miao |first4=Yong-Wang |last5=Luikart |first5=Gordon |last6=Baig |first6=Mumtaz |last7=Beja-Pereira |first7=Albano |last8=Ding |first8=Zhao-Li |last9=Palanichamy |first9=Malliya Gounder |last10=Zhang |first10=Ya-Ping |display-authors=6 |title=Multiple maternal origins of chickens: Out of the Asian jungles |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |date=January 2006 |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=12–19 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2005.09.014 |pmid=16275023 |bibcode=2006MolPE..38...12L }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zeder |first1=Melinda A. |last2=Emshwiller |first2=Eve |last3=Smith |first3=Bruce D. |last4=Bradley |first4=Daniel G. |title=Documenting domestication: the intersection of genetics and archaeology |journal=Trends in Genetics |date=March 2006 |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=139–155 |doi=10.1016/j.tig.2006.01.007 |pmid=16458995 }}</ref>
==Chickens as pets==
{{main|Chickens as pets}}
Chickens are sometimes kept as ]s and can be tamed by hand feeding, but roosters can sometimes become aggressive and noisy. Some have advised against keeping them around very young children. Certain breeds, however, such as silkies and many bantam varieties are generally docile and are often recommended as good pets around children.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.henkeeping.co.uk/which.html | title = Clucks and Chooks: A Guide To Keeping Chickens}}</ref>
Some people find chickens' behaviour entertaining and educational.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.upc-online.org/home.html | title = Providing a Good Home for Chickens | author= United Poultry Concerns | accessdate = 2009-05-04}}</ref>


== Dispersal ==
] unnatural colors, sold as pets at a Market in ].]]
While some cities in the ] allow chickens as pets, the practice is not approved in all localities. Some communities ban only roosters, allowing the quieter hens. The so called "urban hen movement" harks back to the days when chicken keeping was much more common, and involves the keeping of small groups of hens in areas where they may not be expected, such as closely populated cities and suburban areas. City ordinances, zoning regulations or health boards may determine whether chickens may be kept.<ref>http://www.mypetchicken.com/chickenFAQ.aspx#InViolation</ref> A general requirement is that the birds be confined to the owner's property, not allowed to roam freely. There may be restrictions on the size of the property or how far from human dwellings a coop may be located, etc.<ref> My Pet Chicken: Links </ref>


=== Austronesia ===
In ], chickens with striking plumage have long been kept for ornamental purposes, including feather-footed varieties such as the ] from ], the ] from ], and the extremely long-tailed ] from ]. Asian ornamental varieties were imported into the ] and ] in the late 1800s. Distinctive American varieties of chickens have been developed from these Asian breeds. Poultry fanciers began keeping these ornamental birds for exhibition, a practice that continues today. Individuals in rural communities commonly keep chickens for both ornamental and practical value.


] from the ] via ] ] (starting at c. 4000 ]), inferred from genetic markers on ancient and modern chicken DNA (Thomson ''et al.'', 2014)<ref name="Thomson"/>]]
==Chicken diseases and ailments==
Chickens are susceptible to several ]s, including ], ]s, ]s, ]s, and ]s, as well as other diseases. (Despite the name, they are not affected by ]; the illness is generally restricted to humans.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11556693 | title=An animal model of varicella virus infection | author = White TM, Gilden DH, Mahalingam R. | accessdate=2009-05-01}}</ref>)


A word for the domestic chicken (''*manuk'') is part of the reconstructed ], indicating they were ] by the ] since ancient times. Chickens, together with dogs and pigs, were carried throughout the entire range of the prehistoric Austronesian maritime migrations to ], ], ], ], and ], starting from at least 3000&nbsp;BC from ].<ref name= Thomson>{{cite journal |last=Thomson |first=Vicki A. |others= et al. |title=Using ancient DNA to study the origins and dispersal of ancestral Polynesian chickens across the Pacific |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=April 2014 |volume=111 |issue=13 |pages=4826–4831 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1320412111 |pmid=24639505 |pmc=3977275 |bibcode=2014PNAS..111.4826T |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name= Piper>{{cite book |first1=Philip J. |last1=Piper |editor1-first=Philip J. |editor1-last=Piper |editor2-first=Hirofumi |editor2-last=Matsumura |editor3-first=David |editor3-last=Bulbeck |title=New Perspectives in Southeast Asian and Pacific Prehistory |chapter=The Origins and Arrival of the Earliest Domestic Animals in Mainland and Island Southeast Asia: A Developing Story of Complexity |publisher=] |volume=45 |series=terra australis |year=2017 |isbn=9781760460945 |chapter-url =http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/n2320/html/ch15.xhtml |access-date =May 5, 2023 |archive-date =November 28, 2022 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20221128075413/https://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/n2320/html/ch15.xhtml |url-status =live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FJ9ULYwX3zgC&pg=PA56 |title=The Cambridge History of the Pacific Islanders |first=Malama |last=Meleisea |date=March 25, 2004 |publisher=] |page=56 |access-date=March 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913140948/https://books.google.com/books?id=FJ9ULYwX3zgC&pg=PA56 |archive-date=September 13, 2016 |url-status=live |isbn=9780521003544}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tlSspaBLkhoC&pg=PA411 |title=Anthropological Genetics: Theory, Methods and Applications |first=Michael H. |last=Crawford |date=March 13, 2019 |publisher=] |page=411 |access-date=March 13, 2019 |via=Google Books |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913143140/https://books.google.com/books?id=tlSspaBLkhoC&pg=PA411 |archive-date=September 13, 2016 |url-status=live |isbn=9780521546973}}</ref> These chickens might have been introduced during ] times to ] via ] seafarers, but evidence for this is still putative.<ref name= Neumann>{{cite news |last=Neumann |first=Scott |title=Study: The Chicken Didn't Cross The Pacific To South America |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/03/18/291182073/study-the-chicken-didnt-cross-the-pacific-to-south-america |access-date=May 5, 2023 |work=The Two Way |agency=NPR |date=March 18, 2014 |archive-date=May 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230505060006/https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/03/18/291182073/study-the-chicken-didnt-cross-the-pacific-to-south-america |url-status=live }}</ref>
Some of the common diseases that affect chickens are shown below:
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
| style="background:lightgrey;" | '''Name'''
| style="background:lightgrey;" | '''Common Name'''
| style="background:lightgrey;" | '''Caused by'''
|-
|]
|
|fungi
|-
|]
|bird flu
|virus
|-
|]
|Blackhead disease
|protozoal parasite
|-
|]
|
|toxin
|-
|Cage Layer Fatigue
|
|mineral deficiencies, lack of exercise
|-
|]
|
|tissue injury in the gut
|-
|]
|
|parasites
|-
|]s
|
|virus
|-
|
|
|improper feeding
|-
|]
|Red mite
|parasite
|-
|]
|
|oversized egg
|-
|]
|
|bacteria
|-
|]
|
|high-energy food
|-
|
|
|bacteria
|-
|]
|
|virus
|-
|
|
|bacteria
|-
|]<br />or Infectious Laryngotracheitis
|
|virus
|-
|]
|Syngamus trachea
|worms
|-
|
|
|virus
|-
|]
|Gumboro
|virus
|-
|
|
|bacteria
|-
|]
|
|Avian leukosis virus
|-
|]
|
|virus
|-
|]
|Yeast Infection<br />or Thrush
|fungi
|-
|]
|
|bacteria-like organisms
|-
|]
|
|virus
|-
|
|
|bacteria
|-
|]
|Mushy chick disease
|umbilical cord stump
|-
| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.henkeeping.co.uk | title=Clucks and Chooks: guide to keeping chickens}}</ref>
|
|Infection in abdomen from egg yolk
|-
|
|
|-
|]
|
|bacteria
|-
|]
|Salmonella
|bacteria
|-
|]
|
|parasites
|-
|]
|
|cancer
|-
|]
|
|speed growing
|-
|]
|
|protozoal parasite
|-
|
|
|bacteria
|}


=== Americas ===
==Chickens in religion and mythology==
In ] the chicken has great significance during the ] ] ceremony. A chicken is considered a channel for ]s which may be present during the ceremony. A chicken is tethered by the ] and kept present at the ceremony for its duration to ensure that any evil spirits present during the ceremony go into the chicken and not the family members present. The chicken is then taken home and returns to its normal life.


The possibility that domestic chickens were in the Americas before Western contact is debated by researchers, but blue-egged chickens, found only in the Americas and Asia, suggest an Asian origin for early American chickens. A lack of data from Thailand, Russia, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa makes it difficult to lay out a clear map of the spread of chickens in these areas; better description and genetic analysis of local breeds threatened by ] may also help with research into this area.<ref name= CHOF/> Chicken bones from the ] in ] were radiocarbon dated as pre-Columbian, and DNA analysis suggested they were related to prehistoric populations in Polynesia.<ref name="Borrell 2007">{{cite journal |last1=Borrell |first1=Brendan |title=DNA reveals how the chicken crossed the sea |journal=Nature |date=June 1, 2007 |volume=447 |issue=7145 |pages=620–621 |doi=10.1038/447620b |pmid=17554271 |bibcode=2007Natur.447R.620B |s2cid=4418786 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Storey 2007">{{cite journal |last=Storey |first=A. A. |others= et al. |title=Radiocarbon and DNA evidence for a pre-Columbian introduction of Polynesian chickens to Chile |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=June 19, 2007 |volume=104 |issue=25 |pages=10335–10339 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0703993104 |pmid=17556540 |pmc=1965514 |bibcode=2007PNAS..10410335S |doi-access=free }}</ref> However, further study of the same bones cast doubt on the findings.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Gongora |first=Jaime |others= et al. |year=2008 |title=Indo-European and Asian origins for Chilean and Pacific chickens revealed by mtDNA |journal=PNAS |volume=105 |issue=30 |pages=10308–10313 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0801991105 |pmid=18663216 |pmc=2492461 |bibcode=2008PNAS..10510308G |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name= Thomson14>{{cite journal |last=Thomson |first=Vicki A.
In ], the chicken was not normally used for sacrifices, perhaps because it was still considered an exotic animal. Because of its valour, the cock is found as an attribute of ], ], and ]. The alleged last words of ] as he died from ] poisoning, as recounted by ], were "], I owe a cock to ]; will you remember to pay the debt?", signifying that ] was a cure for the illness of life.
|others= et al. |title=Using ancient DNA to study the origins and dispersal of ancestral Polynesian chickens across the Pacific |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=April 1, 2014 |volume=111 |issue=13 |pages=4826–4831 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1320412111 |pmid=24639505 |pmc=3977275 |bibcode=2014PNAS..111.4826T |doi-access=free }}</ref>


=== Eurasia ===
The Greeks believed that even ]s were afraid of cocks. Several of ] reference this belief.


Chicken remains have been difficult to date, given the small and fragile bird bones; this may account for discrepancies in dates given by different sources. Archaeological evidence is supplemented by mentions in historical texts from the last few centuries BC, and by depictions in prehistoric artworks, such as across Central Asia.<ref name= Peters24>{{cite journal |last=Peters |first=Carli |others= et al. |title= Archaeological and molecular evidence for ancient chickens in Central Asia |journal= Nature Communications |volume=15 |issue=1 |date=2024-04-02 |page=2697 |issn=2041-1723 |pmid=38565545 |pmc=10987595 |doi=10.1038/s41467-024-46093-2|bibcode=2024NatCo..15.2697P }}</ref> Chickens were widespread throughout southern Central Asia by the 4th century BC.<ref name= Peters24/>
In the ], ] prophesied the betrayal by ]: "Jesus answered, 'I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.'" (] 22:34) Thus it happened (] 22:61), and Peter cried bitterly. This made the cock a symbol for both vigilance and betrayal.


Middle Eastern chicken remains go back to a little earlier than 2000&nbsp;BC in ].<ref name="CHOF">The Cambridge History of Food, 2000, ], Vol. 1, pp. 496-499</ref> Phoenicians spread chickens along the Mediterranean coasts as far as Iberia. During the ] (4th–2nd centuries BC), in the southern ], chickens began to be widely domesticated for food.<ref name= pmid26195775>{{cite journal |last1=Perry-Gal |first1=Lee |last2=Erlich |first2=Adi |last3=Gilboa |first3=Ayelet |last4=Bar-Oz |first4=Guy |date=August 11, 2015 |title=Earliest economic exploitation of chicken outside East Asia: Evidence from the Hellenistic Southern Levant |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=112 |issue=32 |pages=9849–9854 |bibcode=2015PNAS..112.9849P |doi=10.1073/pnas.1504236112 |pmc=4538678 |pmid=26195775 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The first pictures of chickens in Europe are found on ] ] of the 7th century BC.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NrIapgM4LwQC&pg=PA176 |title=Regional Greek Cooking |first1=Dean |last1=Karayanis |first2=Catherine |last2=Karayanis |date=March 13, 2019 |publisher=] |page=176 |access-date=March 13, 2019 |via=Google Books |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913141141/https://books.google.com/books?id=NrIapgM4LwQC&pg=PA176 |archive-date=September 13, 2016 |url-status=live |isbn=9780781811460}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xwq1lunLkuoC&pg=PA207 |title=Cooking with the Bible: Biblical Food, Feasts, and Lore |first1=Anthony F. |last1=Chiffolo |first2=Rayner W. |last2=Hesse |date=March 13, 2019 |publisher=] |page=207 |access-date=March 13, 2019 |via=Google Books |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913080305/https://books.google.com/books?id=Xwq1lunLkuoC&pg=PA207 |archive-date=September 13, 2016 |url-status=live |isbn=9780313334108}}</ref>
Earlier, Jesus compares himself to a mother hen when talking about ]: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing." (] 23:37; also Luke 13:34).


Breeding increased under the ] and reduced in the ].<ref name= CHOF/> ] of chicken bones from archaeological sites in Europe revealed that in the ] chickens became less aggressive and began to lay eggs earlier in the breeding season.<ref name= brown>{{cite journal |last1=Brown |first1=Marley |title=Fast Food |journal=Archaeology |date=Sep–Oct 2017 |volume=70 |issue=5 |page=18 |url=https://www.archaeology.org/issues/269-1709/from-the-trenches/5820-trenches-europe-chicken-domestication |access-date=July 25, 2019 |issn=0003-8113 |archive-date=July 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725160925/https://www.archaeology.org/issues/269-1709/from-the-trenches/5820-trenches-europe-chicken-domestication |url-status=live }}</ref>
In many ]an ]s, the ] is believed to flee at the first crowing of a cock.


=== Africa ===
In traditional ] practice, a kosher animal is swung around the head and then slaughtered on the afternoon before ], the Day of Atonement, in a ritual called ]. A chicken or fish is typically used because it is commonly available (and small enough to hold). The sacrifice of the animal is to receive atonement, for the animal symbolically takes on all the person's sins in kapparos. The meat is then donated to the poor. A ] brings a hen for the ceremony, while a ] brings a rooster. Although not actually a sacrifice in the biblical sense, the death of the animal reminds the penitent sinner that his or her life is in ]'s hands.


Chickens reached Egypt via the Middle East for purposes of ] about 1400&nbsp;BC and became widely bred in Egypt around 300&nbsp;BC.<ref name="CHOF"/> Three possible routes of introduction into Africa around the early first millennium AD could have been through the Egyptian ] Valley, the East Africa Roman-Greek or Indian trade, or from Carthage and the Berbers, across the ]. The earliest known remains are from ], ], East Coast, and ] and date back to the middle of the first millennium AD.<ref name= CHOF/>
The ] speaks of learning "courtesy toward one's mate" from the rooster. This might refer to the fact that when a rooster finds something good to eat, he calls his hens to eat first.


== Diseases ==
The chicken is one of the ] symbols of the ]. Also in ], a cooked chicken as a religious offering is usually limited to ancestor veneration and worship of village deities. ] deities such as the ] are not one of the recipients of such offerings. Under some observations, an offering of chicken is presented with "serious" prayer (while roasted ] is offered during a joyous celebration). In ] Chinese ]s, a chicken can be used as a substitute for one who is seriously ill or not available (e.g. sudden death) to attend the ceremony. A red ] scarf is placed on the chicken's head and a close relative of the absent bride/groom holds the chicken so the ceremony may proceed. However, this practice is rare today.


{{main |Poultry disease}}
A ] was supposed to have been born from an egg laid by a rooster.


] ]]
==Chickens in history==
]]]
The first pictures of chickens in Europe are found on ] ] of the 7th century BC. The poet ] (mid-5th century BC, according to the later Greek author ]) calls the chicken "the ]n alarm". In ]'s comedy '']'' (414 BC) a chicken is called "the ] bird", which points to an introduction from the East. Pictures of chickens are found on Greek ] and ].


Chickens are susceptible both to ]s such as ]s, and to ] caused by ]s such as ] and ]es. The parasite '']'' feeds on blood, causing irritation and reducing egg production, and acts as a vector for bacterial diseases such as ] and ].<ref name="Schiavone Pugliese 2022">{{Cite journal |last1=Schiavone |first1=Antonella |last2=Pugliese |first2=Nicola |last3=Otranto |first3=Domenico |last4=Samarelli |first4=Rossella |last5=Circella |first5=Elena |last6=De Virgilio |first6=Caterina |last7=Camarda |first7=Antonio |date=2022-01-20 |title=''Dermanyssus gallinae'': the long journey of the poultry red mite to become a vector |journal=Parasites & Vectors |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=29 |doi=10.1186/s13071-021-05142-1 |pmid=35057849 |issn=1756-3305 |pmc=8772161 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
In ancient Greece, chickens were still rare and were a rather prestigious food for ]. ] seems to have been a centre of chicken breeding.
Viral diseases include ].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Barjesteh |first1=Neda |last2=O'Dowd |first2=Kelsey |last3=Vahedi |first3=Seyed Milad |title=Antiviral responses against chicken respiratory infections: Focus on avian influenza virus and infectious bronchitis virus |journal=Cytokine |date=March 2020 |volume=127 |pages=154961 |doi=10.1016/j.cyto.2019.154961 |pmid=31901597|pmc=7129915 }}</ref>


== Use by humans ==
An early domestication of chickens in ] is probable, since the word for domestic chicken (''*manuk'') is part of the reconstructed ] (see ]). Chickens, together with dogs and ]s, were the domestic animals of the ] culture, the first ] culture of ].


=== Farming ===
Chickens were spread by ]n seafarers and reached ] in the 12th century AD, where they were the only domestic animal, with the possible exception of the ] (''Rattus exulans''). They were housed in extremely solid chicken coops built from stone.


{{Main|Poultry farming}}
The ]s used chickens for oracles, both when flying ("ex avibus", ]) and when feeding ("auspicium ex tripudiis", ]). The hen ("gallina") gave a favourable omen ("auspicium ratum"), when appearing from the left (Cic.,de Div. ii.26), like the crow and the owl.


Chickens are common and widespread domestic animals, with a total population of 23.7 billion {{As of|2018|lc=y}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=Number of chickens worldwide from 1990 to 2018.|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/263962/number-of-chickens-worldwide-since-1990/|access-date=February 23, 2020|website=Statista|archive-date=November 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127124744/https://www.statista.com/statistics/263962/number-of-chickens-worldwide-since-1990/|url-status=live}}</ref> More than 50 billion chickens are reared annually as a source of meat and eggs.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ciwf.org.uk/farm-animals/chickens/ |title=About chickens |publisher=] |access-date=April 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170426063521/https://www.ciwf.org.uk/farm-animals/chickens/ |archive-date=April 26, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> In the United States alone, more than 8 billion chickens are slaughtered each year for meat,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://usda.library.cornell.edu/concern/publications/pg15bd88s |title=Poultry Slaughter Annual Summary |last=Fereira |first=John |website=usda.mannlib.cornell.edu |access-date=April 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170426063701/http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/MannUsda/viewDocumentInfo.do?documentID=1497 |archive-date=April 26, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> and more than 300 million chickens are reared for egg production.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://usda.library.cornell.edu/concern/publications/1v53jw96n |title=Chickens and Eggs Annual Summary |last=Fereira |first=John |website=usda.mannlib.cornell.edu |access-date=April 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170426061324/http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/MannUsda/viewDocumentInfo.do?documentID=1509 |archive-date=April 26, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> The vast majority of poultry is raised in ]. According to the ], 74% of the world's poultry meat and 68% of eggs are produced this way.<ref>{{cite web |title=Towards Happier Meals In A Globalized World |url=http://www.worldwatch.org/towards-happier-meals-globalized-world |publisher=] |access-date=May 29, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140529153518/http://www.worldwatch.org/towards-happier-meals-globalized-world |archive-date=May 29, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> An alternative to intensive poultry farming is ] farming. Friction between these two main methods has led to long-term issues of ]. Opponents of ] argue that it harms the environment, creates human health risks and is inhumane towards ].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ilea |first1=Ramona Cristina |title=Intensive Livestock Farming: Global Trends, Increased Environmental Concerns, and Ethical Solutions |journal=Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics |date=April 2009 |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=153–167 |doi=10.1007/s10806-008-9136-3 |bibcode=2009JAEE...22..153I |s2cid=154306257 }}</ref> Advocates of intensive farming say that their efficient systems save land and food resources owing to increased productivity, and that the animals are looked after in a controlled environment.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tilman |first1=David |last2=Cassman |first2=Kenneth G. |last3=Matson |first3=Pamela A. |last4=Naylor |first4=Rosamond |last5=Polasky |first5=Stephen |title=Agricultural sustainability and intensive production practices |journal=Nature |date=August 2002 |volume=418 |issue=6898 |pages=671–677 |doi=10.1038/nature01014 |pmid=12167873 |bibcode=2002Natur.418..671T |s2cid=3016610 }}</ref> Chickens farmed for meat are called ]s. Broiler breeds typically take less than six weeks to reach slaughter size,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.animalsaustralia.org/factsheets/broiler_chickens.php |title=Broiler Chickens Fact Sheet |website=Animals Australia |access-date=August 29, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100712123234/http://www.animalsaustralia.org/factsheets/broiler_chickens.php |archive-date=July 12, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> some weeks longer for ] and ] broilers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chickens Farmed for Meat |url=https://www.ciwf.org.uk/farm-animals/chickens/meat-chickens/ |publisher=] |access-date=2 February 2024 |archive-date=September 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240921105646/https://www.ciwf.org.uk/farm-animals/chickens/meat-chickens/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
For the oracle "ex tripudiis" according to ] (Cic. de Div. ii.34), any bird could be used, but normally only chickens ("pulli") were consulted. The chickens were cared for by the pullarius, who opened their cage and fed them pulses or a special kind of soft cake when an augury was needed. If the chickens stayed in their cage, made noises ("occinerent"), beat their wings or flew away, the omen was bad; if they ate greedily, the omen was good.


]
In 249 BC, the Roman general ] had his chickens thrown overboard when they refused to feed before the ], saying "If they won't eat, perhaps they will drink." He promptly lost the battle against the ]s and 93 Roman ships were sunk. Back in Rome, he was tried for impiety and heavily fined.


Chickens farmed primarily for eggs are called layer hens. The UK alone consumes more than 34 million eggs per day.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.egginfo.co.uk/egg-facts-and-figures/industry-information/data |title=UK Egg Industry Data |website=Official Egg Info |access-date=April 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230000509/https://www.egginfo.co.uk/egg-facts-and-figures/industry-information/data |archive-date=December 30, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> Hens of some breeds can produce over 300 eggs per year; the highest authenticated rate of egg laying is 371 eggs in 364 days.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Glenday |first1=Craig |title=Guinness World Records 2011 |date=April 26, 2011 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0440423102 |page=286}}</ref> After 12 months of laying, the commercial hen's egg-laying ability declines to the point where the flock is commercially unviable. Hens, particularly from ] systems, are sometimes infirm or have lost a significant amount of their feathers, and their life expectancy has been reduced from around seven years to less than two years.<ref name="Browne">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2002/mar/10/foodanddrink.features1 |work=The Guardian |location=London |title=Ten weeks to live |first=Anthony |last=Browne |date=March 10, 2002 |access-date=April 28, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516080228/http://observer.guardian.co.uk/foodmonthly/story/0,,662799,00.html |archive-date=May 16, 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> In the UK and Europe, laying hens are then slaughtered and used in processed foods, or sold as 'soup hens'.<ref name="Browne" /> In some other countries, flocks are sometimes ] rather than being slaughtered to re-invigorate egg-laying. This involves complete withdrawal of food (and sometimes water) for 7–14 days<ref name="Patwardhan and King, (2011)">{{cite journal |last1=Patwardhan |first1=D. |last2=King |first2=A. |year=2011 |title=Review: feed withdrawal and non feed withdrawal moult |journal=World's Poultry Science Journal |volume=67 |issue=2 |pages=253–268 |doi=10.1017/s0043933911000286|s2cid=88353703 }}</ref> or sufficiently long to cause a body weight loss of 25 to 35%,<ref name="Webster, (2003)">{{cite journal |last1=Webster |first1=A.B. |year=2003 |title=Physiology and behavior of the hen during induced moult |journal=Poultry Science |volume=82 |issue=6 |pages=992–1002 |doi=10.1093/ps/82.6.992 |pmid=12817455|doi-access=free }}</ref> or up to 28 days under experimental conditions.<ref name="Molino et al., (2009)">{{cite journal |last1=Molino |first1=A.B. |last2=Garcia |first2=E.A. |last3=Berto |first3=D.A. |last4=Pelícia |first4=K. |last5=Silva |first5=A.P. |last6=Vercese |first6=F. |year=2009 |title=The Effects of Alternative Forced-Molting Methods on The Performance and Egg Quality of Commercial Layers |journal=Brazilian Journal of Poultry Science |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=109–113 |doi=10.1590/s1516-635x2009000200006|doi-access=free |hdl=11449/14340 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> This stimulates the hen to lose her feathers but also re-invigorates egg-production. Some flocks may be force-moulted several times. In 2003, more than 75% of all flocks were moulted in the US.<ref name="Yousaf and Chaudhry, (2008)">{{cite journal |last1=Yousaf |first1=M. |last2=Chaudhry |first2=A.S. |title=History, changing scenarios and future strategies to induce moulting in laying hens |journal=World's Poultry Science Journal |date=March 1, 2008 |volume=64 |issue=1 |pages=65–75 |doi=10.1017/s0043933907001729 |s2cid=34761543 |url=http://eprint.ncl.ac.uk/file_store/production/56559/452E6892-26EF-40C6-891B-048E9FE17D2E.pdf |access-date=October 23, 2020 |archive-date=November 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124090812/https://eprint.ncl.ac.uk/file_store/production/56559/452E6892-26EF-40C6-891B-048E9FE17D2E.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 161 BC, a law was passed in Rome that forbade the consumption of fattened chickens. It was renewed a number of times, but does not seem to have been successful. Fattening chickens with bread soaked in milk was thought to give especially delicious results. The Roman gourmet ] offers 17 recipes for chicken, mainly boiled chicken with a sauce. All parts of the animal are used: the ]s include the ], liver, ]s and even the ] (the fatty "tail" of the chicken where the tail feathers attach).


=== As pets ===
The Roman author ] gives advice on chicken breeding in his eighth book of his treatise on ]. He identifies Tanagrian, Rhodic, Chalkidic and Median (commonly misidentified as Melian) breeds, which have an impressive appearance, a quarrelsome nature and were used for ] by the Greeks. For farming, native (Roman) chickens are to be preferred, or a cross between native hens and Greek cocks. Dwarf chickens are nice to watch because of their size but have no other advantages.


Keeping chickens as pets became increasingly popular in the 2000s<ref>{{cite news |title=Some homeowners find chickens all the rage |work=] |date=July 27, 2007 |last=Fly |first=Colin |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/1310840201.html?.dids=1310840201:1310840201&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jul+27,+2007&author=Colin+Fly&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=Some+homeowners+find+chickens+all+the+rage&pqatl=google }}{{dead link|date=July 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> among urban and suburban residents.<ref>{{cite news |title=Cooped up in suburbia |work=] |date=December 16, 2004 |last=Pollack-Fusi |first=Mindy |url=https://www.boston.com/yourlife/home/articles/2004/12/16/cooped_up_in_suburbia/ |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304063550/http://www.boston.com/yourlife/home/articles/2004/12/16/cooped_up_in_suburbia/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Many people obtain chickens for their egg production but often name them and treat them as any other pet like cats or dogs. Chickens provide companionship and have individual personalities. While many do not cuddle much, they will eat from one's hand, jump onto one's lap, respond to and follow their handlers, as well as show affection.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/25/magazine/backyard-chickens-empathy.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125101336/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/25/magazine/backyard-chickens-empathy.html |archive-date=November 25, 2020 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title = How Caring for Backyard Chickens Stretched My Emotional Muscles|newspaper = The New York Times|date = November 25, 2020|last1 = Kreilkamp|first1 = Ivan}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/style/pets/la-hm-pets-chickens-20170827-story.html|title=Chickens will become a beloved pet — just like the family dog|last=Boone|first=Lisa|website=]|date=August 27, 2017|access-date=April 3, 2019|archive-date=April 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402104824/https://www.latimes.com/style/pets/la-hm-pets-chickens-20170827-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Chickens are social, inquisitive, intelligent<ref>{{Cite web|last=Barras|first=Colin|title=Despite what you might think, chickens are not stupid|url=https://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20170110-despite-what-you-might-think-chickens-are-not-stupid|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210605084929/https://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20170110-despite-what-you-might-think-chickens-are-not-stupid|archive-date=June 5, 2021|access-date=September 6, 2020|website=www.bbc.com|language=en}}</ref> birds, and many people find their behaviour entertaining.<ref name='UPC good homes' >{{cite web |url=https://www.upc-online.org/home.html |title=Providing a Good Home for Chickens |author=United Poultry Concerns |access-date=May 4, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090605061816/http://www.upc-online.org/home.html |archive-date=June 5, 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> Certain breeds, such as ]s and many ] varieties, are generally docile and are often recommended as good pets around children with disabilities.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.henkeeping.co.uk/henkeeping/choosing-your-chickens/ |website=Clucks and Chooks |title=Choosing Your Chickens |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090730222405/http://www.henkeeping.co.uk/which.html |archive-date=July 30, 2009}}</ref>
Per Columella, the ideal flock consists of 200 birds, which can be supervised by one person if someone is watching for stray animals. White chickens should be avoided as they are not very fertile and are easily caught by eagles or goshawks. One cock should be kept for five hens. In the case of Rhodian and Median cocks that are very heavy and therefore not much inclined to sex, only three hens are kept per cock. The hens of heavy fowls are not much inclined to brood; therefore their eggs are best hatched by normal hens. A hen can hatch no more than 15-23 eggs, depending on the time of year, and supervise no more than 30 hatchlings. Eggs that are long and pointed give more male, rounded eggs mainly female hatchlings.


=== Cockfighting ===
Per Columella, chicken coops should face southeast and lie adjacent to the kitchen, as smoke is beneficial for the animals. Coops should consist of three rooms and possess a hearth. Dry dust or ash should be provided for dust-baths.


{{main|Cockfight}}
According to Columella, chicken should be fed on barley groats, small chick-peas, millet and wheat bran, if they are cheap. Wheat itself should be avoided as it is harmful to the birds. Boiled ryegrass (''Lollium'' sp.) and the leaves and seeds of alfalfa (''Medicago sativa'' L.) can be used as well. Grape marc can be used, but only when the hens stop laying eggs, that is, about the middle of November; otherwise eggs are small and few. When feeding grape marc, it should be supplemented with some bran. Hens start to lay eggs after the ], in warm places around the first of January, in colder areas in the middle of February. Parboiled barley increases their fertility; this should be mixed with alfalfa leaves and seeds, or vetches or millet if alfalfa is not at hand. Free-ranging chickens should receive two cups of barley daily.


] in ], India, 2011 ]]
Columella advises farmers to slaughter hens that are older than three years, because they no longer produce sufficient eggs.


A ] is a contest held in a ring called a cockpit between two cocks. Cockfighting is outlawed in many countries as involving ].<ref>{{cite news|author=Raymond Hernandez |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/11/nyregion/blood-sport-gets-blood-fans-cockfighting-don-t-understand-its-outlaw-status.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |title=A Blood Sport Gets in the Blood; Fans of Cockfighting Don't Understand Its Outlaw Status |work=The New York Times |location=New York City Metropolitan Area |date=1995-04-11 |access-date=2014-05-10}}</ref> The activity seems to have been practised in the ] from 2500 to 2100 BC.<ref name="Crawford 1990">{{cite book |last=Crawford |first=R. D. |title=''Poultry Breeding and Genetics'' |publisher=] |year=1990 |pages=10–11 |isbn=978-0444885579 |ol=2207173M |url=https://openlibrary.org/books/OL2207173M/Poultry_breeding_and_genetics |access-date=February 2, 2024 |archive-date=April 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418123608/https://openlibrary.org/books/OL2207173M/Poultry_breeding_and_genetics |url-status=live }}</ref> In the process of domestication, chickens were apparently kept initially for cockfighting, and only later used for food.<ref name="Lawler Adler 2012">{{cite journal |last1=Lawler |first1=Andrew |last2=Adler |first2=Jerry |title=How the Chicken Conquered the World |journal=Smithsonian Magazine |issue=June 2012 |date=June 2012 |url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-the-chicken-conquered-the-world-87583657/ |access-date=February 2, 2024 |archive-date=October 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031040210/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-the-chicken-conquered-the-world-87583657/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Capons were produced by burning out their spurs with a hot iron. The wound was treated with potter's chalk.


=== In science===
For the use of poultry and eggs in the kitchens of ancient Rome see ].


Chickens have long been used as ]s to study developing embryos. Large numbers of embryos can be provided commercially; fertilized eggs can easily be opened and used to observe the developing embryo. Equally important, embryologists can carry out experiments on such embryos, close the egg again and study the effects later in development. For instance, many important discoveries in ] have been made using chicken embryos, such as the discovery of the ] and the ].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Young |first1=John J. |last2=Tabin |first2=Clifford J. |title=Saunders's framework for understanding limb development as a platform for investigating limb evolution |journal=Developmental Biology |date=September 2017 |volume=429 |issue=2 |pages=401–408 |doi=10.1016/j.ydbio.2016.11.005 |pmid=27840200 |pmc=5426996 }}</ref>
==Chickens in South America==
An unusual variety of chicken that has its origins in ] is the ], bred in southern ] by ] people. Araucanas, some of which are tailless and some of which have tufts of feathers around their ears, lay blue-green eggs. It has long been suggested that they predate the arrival of European chickens brought by the ] and are evidence of ] trans-Pacific contacts between Asian or Pacific Oceanic peoples, particularly the Polynesians and South America. In 2007, an international team of researchers reported the results of analysis of chicken bones found on the Arauco Peninsula in south central Chile. Radiocarbon dating suggested that the chickens were Pre-Columbian, and DNA analysis showed that they were related to prehistoric populations of chickens in Polynesia.<ref> Brendan Borrell, Nature, 5 June 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-01.</ref> These results appeared to confirm that the chickens came from Polynesia and that there were transpacific contacts between Polynesia and South America before Columbus's arrival in the Americas.<ref>A. A. Storey et al., "Radiocarbon and DNA evidence for a pre-Columbian introduction of Polynesian chickens to Chile", ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America'', www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.0703993104; John Noble Wilford, "First Chickens in Americas were Brought from Polynesia, '']'', June 5, 2007</ref>


The chicken was the first bird species to have its ] sequenced.<ref>{{cite journal |author=International Chicken Genome Sequencing Consortium |title=Sequence and comparative analysis of the chicken genome provide unique perspectives on vertebrate evolution |journal=Nature |date=December 9, 2004 |volume=432 |issue=7018 |pages=695–716 |doi=10.1038/nature03154 |pmid=15592404 |bibcode=2004Natur.432..695C |doi-access=free }}</ref> At 1.21 ], the chicken genome is similarly sized compared to other birds, but smaller than nearly all mammals: the ] is 3.2 ].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gregory |first1=T. Ryan |title=Synergy between sequence and size in Large-scale genomics |journal=Nature Reviews Genetics |date=September 2005 |volume=6 |issue=9 |pages=699–708 |doi=10.1038/nrg1674|pmid=16151375 |s2cid=24237594 }}</ref> The final gene set contained 26,640 genes (including noncoding genes and ]s), with a total of 19,119 protein-coding genes, a similar number to the human genome.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Warren |first1=Wesley C. |last2=Hillier |first2=LaDeana W. |last3=Tomlinson |first3=Chad |last4=Minx |first4=Patrick |last5=Kremitzki |first5=Milinn |last6=Graves |first6=Tina |last7=Markovic |first7=Chris |last8=Bouk |first8=Nathan |last9=Pruitt |first9=Kim D. |last10=Thibaud-Nissen |first10=Francoise |last11=Schneider |first11=Valerie |last12=Mansour |first12=Tamer A. |display-authors=6 |title=A New Chicken Genome Assembly Provides Insight into Avian Genome Structure |journal=G3 |date=January 2017 |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=109–117 |doi=10.1534/g3.116.035923 |pmid=27852011 |pmc=5217101 }}</ref> In 2006, scientists researching the ancestry of birds switched on a chicken ], ''talpid2'', and found that the embryo jaws initiated formation of teeth, like those found in ancient bird fossils.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080620230515/https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=1666805 |date=June 20, 2008 }} Ammu Kannampilly, ], February 27, 2006. Retrieved October 1, 2007.</ref>
However, a later report looking at the same specimens concluded:
<blockquote>
A published, apparently pre-Columbian, Chilean specimen and six pre-European Polynesian specimens also cluster with the same European/Indian subcontinental/Southeast Asian sequences, providing no support for a Polynesian introduction of chickens to South America. In contrast, sequences from two archaeological sites on Easter Island group with an uncommon haplogroup from Indonesia, Japan, and China and may represent a genetic signature of an early Polynesian dispersal. Modeling of the potential marine carbon contribution to the Chilean archaeological specimen casts further doubt on claims for pre-Columbian chickens, and definitive proof will require further analyses of ancient DNA sequences and radiocarbon and stable isotope data from archaeological excavations within both Chile and Polynesia.<ref>''Indo-European and Asian origins for Chilean
and Pacific chickens revealed by mtDNA.'' Jaime Gongora, Nicolas J. Rawlence, Victor A. Mobegi, Han Jianlin, Jose A. Alcalde, Jose T. Matus, Olivier Hanotte, Chris Moran, J. Austin, Sean Ulm, Atholl J. Anderson, Greger Larson and Alan Cooper, "Indo-European and Asian origins for Chilean and Pacific chickens revealed by mtDNA" PNAS July 29, 2008 vol. 105 no 30</ref>
</blockquote>


=== In culture, folklore, and religion ===
==See also==
*]
*] - a type of raffle where the prize is a chicken.
*]
*]
*]
*"]"
*]
*]
*]
*]
*] - hybrids between chickens, peafowl, guineafowl and pheasants
*]


{{Anchor|Crowing|Cockadoodledoo|Cocka-doodle-doo}}
==References==
{{reflist|2}}


{{main|Cultural references to chickens}}
==Further reading==
*{{cite book
| last = Smith
| first = Page
| coauthors = Charles Daniel
| authorlink = Page Smith
| title = ''The Chicken Book''
| publisher = University of Georgia Press
|month=April | year=2000
| isbn = 082032213X}}
*{{cite book
| last = Green-Armytage
| first = Stephen
| title = ''Extraordinary Chickens''
| publisher = Harry N. Abrams
| month=October | year=2000
| isbn = 0810933438}}


Chickens are featured widely in ], ], ], and popular culture. The chicken is a sacred animal in many cultures and deeply embedded in belief systems and religious practices.<ref name="smithsonianmag.com">{{cite magazine |last1=Adler |first1=Jerry |last2=Lawler |first2=Andrew |date=June 2012 |title=How the Chicken Conquered the World |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-the-chicken-conquered-the-world-87583657/ |magazine=Smithsonian |access-date=24 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103193648/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/How-the-Chicken-Conquered-the-World.html |archive-date=3 November 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>
==External links==
Roosters are sometimes used for ], a practice called alectryomancy. This involves the sacrifice of a sacred rooster, often during a ritual ], used as a form of communication with the gods.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vvVPAAAAMAAJ&q=Alectryomancy+cockfight&pg=PA394 |title=Encyclopædia Perthensis; Or Universal Dictionary of the Arts, Sciences, Literature, &c. Intended to Supersede the Use of Other Books of Reference |publisher=John Brown |year=1816 |edition=2nd |volume=1 |page=394 |access-date=February 2, 2024 |archive-date=September 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240921105802/https://books.google.com/books?id=vvVPAAAAMAAJ&q=Alectryomancy+cockfight&pg=PA394#v=snippet&q=Alectryomancy%20cockfight&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> In ]'s Nobel-Prize-winning 1967 novel '']'', cockfighting is outlawed in the town of Macondo after the patriarch of the Buendia family murders his cockfighting rival and is haunted by the man's ghost.<ref>{{cite news |title=Love and Immolation in Argentina |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/books/1981/08/16/love-and-immolation-in-argentina/9cf0bdac-cfc3-4198-8824-d89d5e059c55/ |newspaper=] |date=16 August 1981 |access-date=February 2, 2024 |archive-date=August 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827142619/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/books/1981/08/16/love-and-immolation-in-argentina/9cf0bdac-cfc3-4198-8824-d89d5e059c55/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ]s have been made at least since '']'' published one in 1847.<ref>''The Knickerbocker, or The New York Monthly'', March 1847, p. 283.</ref> Chickens have been featured in art in farmyard scenes such as ]'s 1646 ''Turkeys and Chickens'' and ]'s 1885 ''Feeding the Chickens''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kellogg |first1=Diane M. |title=Chickens in Art History |url=https://www.paintingworldmag.com/post/chickens-in-art-history |publisher=Painting World Magazine |access-date=2 February 2024 |date=22 May 2020 |archive-date=February 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240202161615/https://www.paintingworldmag.com/post/chickens-in-art-history |url-status=dead }}</ref> The ] "]", its chorus line imitating the cockerel's call, was published in '']'' in 1765.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Opie |first1=Iona |last2=Opie |first2=Peter |title=The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes |publisher=] |orig-year=1951 |edition=2nd |year=1997 |page=128}}</ref>
{{wikispecies|Gallus gallus domesticus|Chicken}}
The 2000 animated ] ] '']'', directed by ] and ], featured ] chickens with many chicken jokes.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Corliss |first=Richard |date=2000-12-04 |title=Run, Chicken Run! |language=en-US |magazine=Time |url=https://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2047283,00.html |access-date=2023-03-23 |issn=0040-781X |archive-date=24 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124033415/https://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2047283,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/61096|title=AFI&#124;Catalog|access-date=17 August 2018|archive-date=17 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817060102/https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/61096|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.sfgate.com/movies/amp/Chicken-Recipe-Simply-Divine-Action-comedy-3239861.php|title='Chicken' Recipe Simply Divine / Action comedy blends great story, animation |website=SFGate |date=21 June 2000 |access-date=2 June 2021 |archive-date=2 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602214504/https://www.sfgate.com/movies/amp/Chicken-Recipe-Simply-Divine-Action-comedy-3239861.php |url-status=live}}</ref>
{{commons|Chicken}}

{{wiktionary}}
<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=200 heights=180>
<!-- ==============================({{NoMoreLinks}})============================== -->
File:Terracotta askos (flask) in the form of a rooster MET DP252108 (cropped).jpg|] askos in the form of a rooster, 4th century B.C.
<!-- DO ''not'' ADD MORE LINKS TO THIS ARTICLE UNLESS THEY CONFORM TO ]. WIKIPEDIA IS ''not'' A COLLECTION OF LINKS -->
File:Rooster and hen, Dong Ho picture, paper - Vietnam National Museum of Fine Arts - Hanoi, Vietnam - DSC05287.JPG|Rooster and hen, ], Vietnam
<!-- ============================================================================= -->
File:Feeding the chickens, by Walter Frederick Osborne.jpg|''Feeding the chickens'' by ], 1885
File:Joseph Crawhall - Spanish Cock And Snail.jpg|], ''Spanish Cock and Snail'', c. 1900
File:Chicken Mask Bali.jpg|Wooden chicken mask, ], late 20th century
File:Yoruba Cockfight.jpg|Carved and painted wooden tribal statue of a cock fight, ], West Africa, c. 2000
</gallery>

== Notes ==

{{notelist}}

== References ==

{{reflist}}

== External links ==

{{Commons category|Chickens}}
{{Spoken Misplaced Pages|date=2024-02-22|Chicken Misplaced Pages.ogg}}
* {{Wikispecies-inline|Gallus gallus domesticus|''Gallus gallus domesticus''}}


{{Chicken}} {{Chicken}}
{{Poultry}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q780}}
{{Authority control}}


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Latest revision as of 19:31, 23 December 2024

Domesticated species of bird For the culinary use of chickens, see Chicken as food. For other uses, see Chicken (disambiguation). "Rooster" and "Roosters" redirect here. For other uses, see Rooster (disambiguation). "Cockerel" redirects here. For the Fabergé egg, see Cockerel (Fabergé egg).

Chicken
Male (left) and female (right)
Conservation status
Domesticated
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Galliformes
Family: Phasianidae
Genus: Gallus
Species: G. g. domesticus
Binomial name
Gallus gallus domesticus
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Chicken distribution
Synonyms

Gallus domesticus L.

The chicken (Gallus domesticus) is a large and round short-winged bird, domesticated from the red junglefowl of Southeast Asia around 8,000 years ago. Most chickens are raised for food, providing meat and eggs; others are kept as pets or for cockfighting.

Chickens are common and widespread domestic animals, with a total population of 26.5 billion as of 2023, and an annual production of more than 50 billion birds. A hen bred for laying can produce over 300 eggs per year. There are numerous cultural references to chickens in folklore, religion, and literature.

Nomenclature

Terms for chickens include:

  • Biddy: a chicken, or a newly hatched chicken
  • Capon: a castrated or neutered male chicken
  • Chick: a young chicken
  • Chook /tʃʊk/: a chicken (Australia/New Zealand, informal)
  • Cock: a fertile adult male chicken
  • Cockerel: a young male chicken
  • Hen: an adult female chicken
  • Pullet: a young female chicken less than a year old. In the poultry industry, a pullet is a sexually immature chicken less than 22 weeks of age.
  • Rooster: a fertile adult male chicken, especially in North America. Originated in the 18th century, possibly as a euphemism to avoid the sexual connotation of the word cock.
  • Yardbird: a chicken (southern United States, dialectal)

Chicken can mean a chick, as in William Shakespeare's play Macbeth, where Macduff laments the death of "all my pretty chickens and their dam". The usage is preserved in placenames such as the Hen and Chicken Islands. In older sources, and still often in trade and scientific contexts, chickens as a species are described as common fowl or domestic fowl.

Description

Comb of maleComb of female, generally smaller

Chickens are relatively large birds, active by day. The body is round, the legs are unfeathered in most breeds, and the wings are short. Wild junglefowl can fly; chickens and their flight muscles are too heavy to allow them to fly more than a short distance. Size and coloration vary widely between breeds. Newly-hatched chicks of both modern and heritage varieties weigh the same, about 37 g (1.3 oz). Modern varieties however grow much faster; by day 35 a Ross 708 broiler may weigh 1.8 kg (4.0 lb) as against the 1.05 kg (2.3 lb) of a heritage chicken of the same age.

Adult chickens of both sexes have a fleshy crest on their heads called a comb or cockscomb, and hanging flaps of skin on either side under their beaks called wattles; combs and wattles are more prominent in males. Some breeds have a mutation that causes extra feathering under the face, giving the appearance of a beard.

Chickens are omnivores. In the wild, they scratch at the soil to search for seeds, insects, and animals as large as lizards, small snakes, and young mice. A chicken may live for 5–10 years, depending on the breed. The world's oldest known chicken lived for 16 years.

Chickens are gregarious, living in flocks, and incubate eggs and raise young communally. Individual chickens dominate others, establishing a pecking order; dominant individuals take priority for access to food and nest sites. The concept of dominance, involving pecking, was described in female chickens by Thorleif Schjelderup-Ebbe in 1921 as the "pecking order". Male chickens tend to leap and use their claws in conflicts. Chickens are capable of mobbing and killing a weak or inexperienced predator, such as a young fox.

Crowing (with audio)

A male's crowing is a loud and sometimes shrill call, serving as a territorial signal to other males, and in response to sudden disturbances within their surroundings. Hens cluck loudly after laying an egg and to call their chicks. Chickens give different warning calls to indicate that a predator is approaching from the air or on the ground.

Reproduction and life-cycle

To initiate courting, some roosters may dance in a circle around or near a hen (a circle dance), often lowering the wing which is closest to the hen. The dance triggers a response in the hen and when she responds to his call, the rooster may mount the hen and proceed with the mating. Mating typically involves a sequence in which the male approaches the female and performs a waltzing display. If the female is unreceptive, she runs off; otherwise, she crouches, and the male mounts, treading with both feet on her back. After copulation the male does a tail-bending display.

Sperm transfer occurs by cloacal contact between the male and female, in an action called the 'cloacal kiss'. As with all birds, reproduction is controlled by a neuroendocrine system, the Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone-I neurons in the hypothalamus. Reproductive hormones including estrogen, progesterone, and gonadotropins (luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone) initiate and maintain sexual maturation changes. Reproduction declines with age, thought to be due to a decline in GnRH-I-N.

Newly hatched chicks

Hens often try to lay in nests that already contain eggs and sometimes move eggs from neighbouring nests into their own. A flock thus uses only a few preferred locations, rather than having a different nest for every bird. Under natural conditions, most birds lay only until a clutch is complete; they then incubate all the eggs. This is called "going broody". The hen sits on the nest, fluffing up or pecking defensively if disturbed. She rarely leaves the nest until the eggs have hatched.

Eggs of chickens from the high-altitude region of Tibet have special physiological adaptations that result in a higher hatching rate in low oxygen environments. When eggs are placed in a hypoxic environment, chicken embryos from these populations express much more hemoglobin than embryos from other chicken populations. This hemoglobin has a greater affinity for oxygen, binding oxygen more readily.

Fertile chicken eggs hatch at the end of the incubation period, about 21 days; the chick uses its egg tooth to break out of the shell. Hens remain on the nest for about two days after the first chick hatches; during this time the newly hatched chicks feed by absorbing the internal yolk sac. The hen guards her chicks and broods them to keep them warm. She leads them to food and water and calls them towards food. The chicks imprint on the hen and subsequently follow her continually. She continues to care for them until they are several weeks old.

Inbreeding of White Leghorn chickens tends to cause inbreeding depression expressed as reduced egg number and delayed sexual maturity. Strongly inbred Langshan chickens display obvious inbreeding depression in reproduction, particularly for traits such as age when the first egg is laid and egg number.

Origin

Phylogeny

Red junglefowl, the wild ancestor of the chicken

Water or ground-dwelling fowl similar to modern partridges, in the Galliformes, the order of bird that chickens belong to, survived the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event that killed all tree-dwelling birds and their dinosaur relatives. Chickens are descended primarily from the red junglefowl (Gallus gallus) and are scientifically classified as the same species. Domesticated chickens freely interbreed with populations of red junglefowl. The domestic chicken has subsequently hybridised with grey junglefowl, Sri Lankan junglefowl and green junglefowl; a gene for yellow skin, for instance, was incorporated into domestic birds from the grey junglefowl (G. sonneratii). It is estimated that chickens share between 71 and 79% of their genome with red junglefowl.

Domestication

Further information: Domestication
Chicken domestication and dispersal; possibility of early arrival in Americas

According to one early study, a single domestication event of the red junglefowl in present-day Thailand gave rise to the modern chicken with minor transitions separating the modern breeds. The red junglefowl is well adapted to take advantage of the vast quantities of seed produced during the end of the multi-decade bamboo seeding cycle, to boost its own reproduction. In domesticating the chicken, humans took advantage of the red junglefowl's ability to reproduce prolifically when exposed to a surge in its food supply.

Exactly when and where the chicken was domesticated remains controversial. Genomic studies estimate that the chicken was domesticated 8,000 years ago in Southeast Asia and spread to China and India 2,000 to 3,000 years later. Archaeological evidence supports domestic chickens in Southeast Asia well before 6000 BC, China by 6000 BC and India by 2000 BC. A landmark 2020 Nature study that fully sequenced 863 chickens across the world suggests that all domestic chickens originate from a single domestication event of red junglefowl whose present-day distribution is predominantly in southwestern China, northern Thailand and Myanmar. These domesticated chickens spread across Southeast and South Asia where they interbred with local wild species of junglefowl, forming genetically and geographically distinct groups. Analysis of the most popular commercial breed shows that the White Leghorn breed possesses a mosaic of divergent ancestries inherited from subspecies of red junglefowl.

Dispersal

Austronesia

Prehistoric introduction of domesticated chickens into Oceania from the Philippines via Neolithic Austronesian expansion (starting at c. 4000 BP), inferred from genetic markers on ancient and modern chicken DNA (Thomson et al., 2014)

A word for the domestic chicken (*manuk) is part of the reconstructed Proto-Austronesian language, indicating they were domesticated by the Austronesian peoples since ancient times. Chickens, together with dogs and pigs, were carried throughout the entire range of the prehistoric Austronesian maritime migrations to Island Southeast Asia, Micronesia, Island Melanesia, Polynesia, and Madagascar, starting from at least 3000 BC from Taiwan. These chickens might have been introduced during pre-Columbian times to South America via Polynesian seafarers, but evidence for this is still putative.

Americas

The possibility that domestic chickens were in the Americas before Western contact is debated by researchers, but blue-egged chickens, found only in the Americas and Asia, suggest an Asian origin for early American chickens. A lack of data from Thailand, Russia, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa makes it difficult to lay out a clear map of the spread of chickens in these areas; better description and genetic analysis of local breeds threatened by extinction may also help with research into this area. Chicken bones from the Arauco Peninsula in south-central Chile were radiocarbon dated as pre-Columbian, and DNA analysis suggested they were related to prehistoric populations in Polynesia. However, further study of the same bones cast doubt on the findings.

Eurasia

Chicken remains have been difficult to date, given the small and fragile bird bones; this may account for discrepancies in dates given by different sources. Archaeological evidence is supplemented by mentions in historical texts from the last few centuries BC, and by depictions in prehistoric artworks, such as across Central Asia. Chickens were widespread throughout southern Central Asia by the 4th century BC.

Middle Eastern chicken remains go back to a little earlier than 2000 BC in Syria. Phoenicians spread chickens along the Mediterranean coasts as far as Iberia. During the Hellenistic period (4th–2nd centuries BC), in the southern Levant, chickens began to be widely domesticated for food. The first pictures of chickens in Europe are found on Corinthian pottery of the 7th century BC.

Breeding increased under the Roman Empire and reduced in the Middle Ages. Genetic sequencing of chicken bones from archaeological sites in Europe revealed that in the High Middle Ages chickens became less aggressive and began to lay eggs earlier in the breeding season.

Africa

Chickens reached Egypt via the Middle East for purposes of cockfighting about 1400 BC and became widely bred in Egypt around 300 BC. Three possible routes of introduction into Africa around the early first millennium AD could have been through the Egyptian Nile Valley, the East Africa Roman-Greek or Indian trade, or from Carthage and the Berbers, across the Sahara. The earliest known remains are from Mali, Nubia, East Coast, and South Africa and date back to the middle of the first millennium AD.

Diseases

Main article: Poultry disease
8 day old chick with avian influenza

Chickens are susceptible both to parasites such as mites, and to diseases caused by pathogens such as bacteria and viruses. The parasite Dermanyssus gallinae feeds on blood, causing irritation and reducing egg production, and acts as a vector for bacterial diseases such as salmonellosis and spirochaetosis. Viral diseases include avian influenza.

Use by humans

Farming

Main article: Poultry farming

Chickens are common and widespread domestic animals, with a total population of 23.7 billion as of 2018. More than 50 billion chickens are reared annually as a source of meat and eggs. In the United States alone, more than 8 billion chickens are slaughtered each year for meat, and more than 300 million chickens are reared for egg production. The vast majority of poultry is raised in factory farms. According to the Worldwatch Institute, 74% of the world's poultry meat and 68% of eggs are produced this way. An alternative to intensive poultry farming is free-range farming. Friction between these two main methods has led to long-term issues of ethical consumerism. Opponents of intensive farming argue that it harms the environment, creates human health risks and is inhumane towards sentient animals. Advocates of intensive farming say that their efficient systems save land and food resources owing to increased productivity, and that the animals are looked after in a controlled environment. Chickens farmed for meat are called broilers. Broiler breeds typically take less than six weeks to reach slaughter size, some weeks longer for free range and organic broilers.

A commercial chicken house with open sides raising broiler pullets for meat

Chickens farmed primarily for eggs are called layer hens. The UK alone consumes more than 34 million eggs per day. Hens of some breeds can produce over 300 eggs per year; the highest authenticated rate of egg laying is 371 eggs in 364 days. After 12 months of laying, the commercial hen's egg-laying ability declines to the point where the flock is commercially unviable. Hens, particularly from battery cage systems, are sometimes infirm or have lost a significant amount of their feathers, and their life expectancy has been reduced from around seven years to less than two years. In the UK and Europe, laying hens are then slaughtered and used in processed foods, or sold as 'soup hens'. In some other countries, flocks are sometimes force moulted rather than being slaughtered to re-invigorate egg-laying. This involves complete withdrawal of food (and sometimes water) for 7–14 days or sufficiently long to cause a body weight loss of 25 to 35%, or up to 28 days under experimental conditions. This stimulates the hen to lose her feathers but also re-invigorates egg-production. Some flocks may be force-moulted several times. In 2003, more than 75% of all flocks were moulted in the US.

As pets

Keeping chickens as pets became increasingly popular in the 2000s among urban and suburban residents. Many people obtain chickens for their egg production but often name them and treat them as any other pet like cats or dogs. Chickens provide companionship and have individual personalities. While many do not cuddle much, they will eat from one's hand, jump onto one's lap, respond to and follow their handlers, as well as show affection. Chickens are social, inquisitive, intelligent birds, and many people find their behaviour entertaining. Certain breeds, such as silkies and many bantam varieties, are generally docile and are often recommended as good pets around children with disabilities.

Cockfighting

Main article: Cockfight
A cockfight in Tamil Nadu, India, 2011

A cockfight is a contest held in a ring called a cockpit between two cocks. Cockfighting is outlawed in many countries as involving cruelty to animals. The activity seems to have been practised in the Indus Valley civilisation from 2500 to 2100 BC. In the process of domestication, chickens were apparently kept initially for cockfighting, and only later used for food.

In science

Chickens have long been used as model organisms to study developing embryos. Large numbers of embryos can be provided commercially; fertilized eggs can easily be opened and used to observe the developing embryo. Equally important, embryologists can carry out experiments on such embryos, close the egg again and study the effects later in development. For instance, many important discoveries in limb development have been made using chicken embryos, such as the discovery of the apical ectodermal ridge and the zone of polarizing activity.

The chicken was the first bird species to have its genome sequenced. At 1.21 Gb, the chicken genome is similarly sized compared to other birds, but smaller than nearly all mammals: the human genome is 3.2 Gb. The final gene set contained 26,640 genes (including noncoding genes and pseudogenes), with a total of 19,119 protein-coding genes, a similar number to the human genome. In 2006, scientists researching the ancestry of birds switched on a chicken recessive gene, talpid2, and found that the embryo jaws initiated formation of teeth, like those found in ancient bird fossils.

In culture, folklore, and religion

Main article: Cultural references to chickens

Chickens are featured widely in folklore, religion, literature, and popular culture. The chicken is a sacred animal in many cultures and deeply embedded in belief systems and religious practices. Roosters are sometimes used for divination, a practice called alectryomancy. This involves the sacrifice of a sacred rooster, often during a ritual cockfight, used as a form of communication with the gods. In Gabriel García Márquez's Nobel-Prize-winning 1967 novel One Hundred Years Of Solitude, cockfighting is outlawed in the town of Macondo after the patriarch of the Buendia family murders his cockfighting rival and is haunted by the man's ghost. Chicken jokes have been made at least since The Knickerbocker published one in 1847. Chickens have been featured in art in farmyard scenes such as Adriaen van Utrecht's 1646 Turkeys and Chickens and Walter Osborne's 1885 Feeding the Chickens. The nursery rhyme "Cock a doodle doo", its chorus line imitating the cockerel's call, was published in Mother Goose's Melody in 1765. The 2000 animated adventure comedy film Chicken Run, directed by Peter Lord and Nick Park, featured anthropomorphic chickens with many chicken jokes.

Notes

  1. The surgical and chemical castration of chickens is now illegal in some parts of the world.

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