Chicken Wikipedia

Only in the early 20th century, however, did chicken meat and eggs become mass-production commodities. Although many taxonomists and ornithologists consider it as a domesticated form of the wild red jungle fowl, some classify it as a subspecies of the red jungle fowl (i.e., G. gallus domesticus), whereas others, including the U.S. Chicken, (Gallus gallus), any of more than 60 breeds of medium-sized poultry that are primarily descended from the wild red jungle fowl (Gallus gallus, family Phasianidae, order Galliformes) of India. In the UK and Europe, laying hens are then slaughtered and used in processed foods, or sold as ‘soup hens’. Hens of some breeds can produce over 300 eggs per year; the highest authenticated rate of egg-laying is 371 eggs in 364 days. During the Hellenistic period (4th–2nd centuries BC), in the southern Levant, chickens began to be widely domesticated for food.

Chickens

Despite the chicken’s close relationship with the red jungle fowl, there is evidence that the gray jungle fowl (G. sonneratii) of southern India and other jungle fowl species, also members of Gallus, may have contributed to the bird’s ancestry. In the process of domestication, chickens were apparently kept initially for cockfighting, and only later used for food. Many people obtain chickens for their egg production but often name them and treat them as any other pet like cats or dogs. Genetic sequencing of chicken bones from archaeological https://krikya-online.com sites in Europe revealed that in the High Middle Ages chickens became less aggressive and began to lay eggs earlier in the breeding season. 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.

It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is one of the most common and widespread domesticated animals in the world. The life span of a chicken varies between 5 – 7 years although there have been cases of chickens living 20 years or so. During this time, the newly-hatched chicks live off the egg yolk they absorb just before hatching.

• Although chickens are flightless birds, they do have a tendency to attempt flight.
• Farmers have developed numerous breeds and varieties to fulfill commercial requirements.
• The word chicken comes from Old English cicen (pronounced essentially the same as in Modern English).
• Chickens (Gallus domesticus) are domestic birds that cannot fly.

Chicken can mean a chick, and this was historically the meaning of the word chicken, as in William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, where Macduff laments the death of “all my pretty chickens and their dam”. Check out more animals that begin with the letter C Some breeds, such as the Cochin, Cornish and Silkie, regularly go broody and make excellent mothers.

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Chickens will sometimes attempt flight simply to explore their surroundings, however, they will especially fly in an attempt to flee when they perceive danger or pursued by a predator. Hens lay eggs that range in color from white to pale brown and other pale colors depending on the breed. The rooster is larger and more brightly colored than the hen, he also has a larger comb on top of his head. Roosters can usually be differentiated from hens by their striking plumage, marked by long flowing tails and bright pointed feathers on their necks. The chicken is believed to have descended from the wild Indian and south-east Asian Red Junglefowl which is biologically classified as the same species.

Besides humans, lots of animals eat chickens as well. Modern egg-laying breeds rarely go broody and those that do often stop part-way through the incubation cycle. At the end of the incubation period, which is an average of 21 days, the eggs (if fertilized) will hatch and the broody hen will take care of her young. Individual chickens in a flock will dominate others, establishing a ‘pecking order’, with dominant individuals having priority for access to food and nesting locations. Domestic chickens are typically fed commercially prepared feed that includes a protein source as well as grains. Chickens can be kept as pets, for breeding, egg laying and a food product.

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. The chicken was the first bird species to have its genome sequenced. Large numbers of embryos can be provided commercially; fertilized eggs can easily be opened and used to observe the developing embryo. Chickens are social, inquisitive, intelligent birds, and many people find their behaviour entertaining. Keeping chickens as pets became increasingly popular in the 2000s among urban and suburban residents.