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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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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

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[1] 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 [2][3]

 Capon: a castrated or neutered male chicken[a]

 Chick: a young chicken[4]

 Chook /tʃʊk/: a chicken (Australia/New Zealand, informal)[5]

 Cock: a fertile adult male chicken[6][7]

 Cockerel: a young male chicken[8]

 Hen: an adult female chicken[9]

 Pullet: a young female chicken less than a year old. [10] In the poultry
industry, a pullet is a sexually immature chicken less than 22 weeks of
age.[11]

 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.[12][13][14]

 Yardbird: a chicken (southern United States, dialectal) [15]

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".
[16]
The usage is preserved in placenames such as the Hen and Chicken
Islands.[17] In older sources, and still often in trade and scientific contexts,
chickens as a species are described as common fowl or domestic fowl.[18]

Description
Comb of male

Comb 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.
[19]
Wild junglefowl can fly; chickens and their flight muscles are too heavy to
allow them to fly more than a short distance. [20] Size and coloration vary
widely between breeds.[19] 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.
[21]

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.[22]

Chickens are omnivores.[23] In the wild, they scratch at the soil to search for
seeds, insects, and animals as large as lizards, small snakes,[24] and
young mice.[25] A chicken may live for 5–10 years, depending on the breed.
[26]
The world's oldest known chicken lived for 16 years. [27]

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".[28]
[29]
Male chickens tend to leap and use their claws in conflicts. [30] Chickens are
capable of mobbing and killing a weak or inexperienced predator, such as a
young fox.[31]

Duration: 6 seconds.0:06Crowing (with audio)

A male's crowing is a loud and sometimes shrill call, serving as a territorial

signal to other males,[32] 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.[33]

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. [34] The
dance triggers a response in the hen[34] 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. [35]

Sperm transfer occurs by cloacal contact between the male and female, in
an action called the 'cloacal kiss'.[36] As with all birds, reproduction is
controlled by a neuroendocrine system,[37] 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.[38]
 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.
[39]
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.[40]

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. [41]

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.[34] 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.[42] 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.[43]

Inbreeding of White Leghorn chickens tends to cause inbreeding

depression expressed as reduced egg number and delayed sexual maturity.
[44]
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.[45]

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.[46] Chickens are descended primarily from
the red junglefowl (Gallus gallus) and are scientifically classified as the same
species.[47] Domesticated chickens freely interbreed with populations of red
junglefowl.[47] The domestic chicken has subsequently hybridised with grey
junglefowl, Sri Lankan junglefowl and green junglefowl;[48] a gene for yellow
skin, for instance, was incorporated into domestic birds from the grey
junglefowl (G. sonneratii).[49] It is estimated that chickens share between 71
and 79% of their genome with red junglefowl.[48]

Domestication

Further information: Domestication

Chicken domestication
and dispersal; [48]
possibility of early arrival in Americas [50][51]

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.[52] 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.[53] 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.[54]

Exactly when and where the chicken was domesticated remains

controversial. Genomic studies estimate that the chicken was domesticated
8,000 years ago[48] 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.
[48][55][56]
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. [57][58][59]

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)[60]
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.[60][61][62][63] These chickens might have been
introduced during pre-Columbian times to South
America via Polynesian seafarers, but evidence for this is still putative. [64]

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.
[65]
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. [50][51] However, further study of
the same bones cast doubt on the findings. [66][67]

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.[68] Chickens were widespread
throughout southern Central Asia by the 4th century BC. [68]

Middle Eastern chicken remains go back to a little earlier than 2000 BC

in Syria.[65] 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. [69] The
first pictures of chickens in Europe are found on Corinthian pottery of the 7th
century BC.[70][71]

Breeding increased under the Roman Empire and reduced in the Middle Ages.
[65]
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. [72]

Africa

Chickens reached Egypt via the Middle East for purposes

of cockfighting about 1400 BC and became widely bred in Egypt around
300 BC.[65] 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.[65]

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.[73] Viral diseases include avian influenza.
[74]

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.[75] More than 50 billion chickens are
reared annually as a source of meat and eggs. [76] In the United States alone,
more than 8 billion chickens are slaughtered each year for meat, [77] and more
than 300 million chickens are reared for egg production. [78] 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.
[79]
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.[80] 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. [81] Chickens farmed for
meat are called broilers. Broiler breeds typically take less than six weeks to
reach slaughter size,[82] some weeks longer for free
range and organic broilers.[83]

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. [84] Hens of some breeds can
produce over 300 eggs per year; the highest authenticated rate of egg laying
is 371 eggs in 364 days.[85] 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. [86] In the
UK and Europe, laying hens are then slaughtered and used in processed
foods, or sold as 'soup hens'.[86] 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[87] or sufficiently long to cause a body weight loss of 25 to 35%,
[88]
or up to 28 days under experimental conditions. [89] 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.[90]

As pets
Keeping chickens as pets became increasingly popular in the 2000s [91] among
urban and suburban residents.[92] 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. [93]
[94]
Chickens are social, inquisitive, intelligent [95] birds, and many people find
their behaviour entertaining.[96] Certain breeds, such as silkies and
many bantam varieties, are generally docile and are often recommended as
good pets around children with disabilities. [97]

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.
[98]
The activity seems to have been practised in the Indus Valley
civilisation from 2500 to 2100 BC.[99] In the process of domestication,
chickens were apparently kept initially for cockfighting, and only later used
for food.[100]

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.[101]

The chicken was the first bird species to have its genome sequenced.[102] 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.[103] 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.[104] 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.[105]

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. [106] 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.[107] 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. [108] Chicken
jokes have been made at least since The Knickerbocker published one in
1847.[109] 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.[110] The nursery rhyme "Cock a doodle doo", its
chorus line imitating the cockerel's call, was published in Mother Goose's
Melody in 1765.[111] The 2000 animated adventure comedy film Chicken Run,
directed by Peter Lord and Nick Park, featured anthropomorphic chickens
with many chicken jokes.[112][113][114]

Etruscan askos in the form of a rooster, 4th century B.C.

 

Rooster and hen, Đông Hồ folk woodcut, Vietnam

Feeding the chickens by Walter Osborne, 1885

Joseph Crawhall III, Spanish Cock and Snail, c. 1900

 

Wooden chicken mask, Bali, late 20th century

Carved and painted wooden tribal statue of a cock fight, Yoruba, West Africa,
c. 2000

Notes

1. ^ The surgical and chemical castration of chickens is now illegal

in some parts of the world.

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 Data related to Gallus gallus domesticus at Wikispecies

e
ken

try

n identifiers

 Wikidata: Q780

 EPPO: GALUDO

 GBIF: 9457155

us gallus  iNaturalist: 505478

esticus  NBN: NHMSYS0020975169

 NZOR: 00228927-f07c-4b05-8012-b9e8fb65eb3c

 Open Tree of Life: 153563

 TSA: 7267

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 Birds described in 1758

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