5834_CHICKENENCYCLOPEDIA

Commonly Used Abbreviations ABA

American Bantam Association

IB

infectious bronchitis

ACV

apple cider vinegar

LS

light Sussex

AGB

American Game Bantam

MG

Modern Game

AI

artificial insemination

ND

Newcastle disease

ALBC

American Livestock Breeds

NOP

National Organic Program

NSQ

not show quality

OEG

Old English Game

OEGB

Old English Game bantam

POL

point of lay

PQ

pet quality

RBC

Rare Breeds Canada

RFID

radio frequency identification

RIR

Rhode Island Red

RCCL

Rose Comb Clean Leg

SCCL

Single Comb Clean Leg

SLW

silver laced Wyandotte

SPPA

Society for the Preservation of

Conservancy

AOC

All Other Colors; Any Other Color

AOCCL All Other Comb Clean Leg AOSB

All Other Standard Breeds

AOV

All Other Varieties; Any Other Variety

APA

American Poultry Association

BB

Best of Breed

BQ

breeder quality

BBR

black breasted red

BLR

blue laced red

CRD

chronic respiratory disease

DE

diatomaceous earth

EE

Easter Egger

FL

feather leg

GLW

golden laced Wyandotte

Poultry Antiquities

SQ

show quality

VND

velogenic Newcastle disease

A

such as when an egg was partially incubated, then abandoned.

aflatoxicosis \ A toxic reaction resulting from eating moldy grain containing aflatoxin, a compound produced

by Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus, and Penicillium puberulum mold in grain.

Aflatoxin is most likely to occur in grain that has been insect damaged, drought stressed, or cracked. Any grain that looks or smells moldy should not be fed to chickens.

[Also called: X disease]

abdomen \ The belly, or the under-

age, determination of \ See box

side of a chicken’s body from the end of the breastbone to the vent. Technically, because a chicken has no diaphragm separating its chest from its abdomen, its body cavity is more properly called the coelom.

on page 8. See

See page 19 for illustration.

abdominal capacity \ Total depth and width of the abdomen.

abdominal depth \ The distance between the pubic bones and the breastbone, indicating a hen’s ability to hold a forming egg. abdominal width \ The distance between the two pubic bones, indicating the amount of space available for an egg to pass through when being laid.

[Also called: width of body]

acariasis \ Infestation by mites. addled \ Describes a rotten or otherwise inedible egg, typically one in which the embryo died during early incubation,

A

also: longevity

age of lay \ The age at which pullets begin laying eggs. Leghorns and similar lightweight breeds start laying at 18 to 22 weeks of age. Larger-bodied hens generally begin laying at 24 to 26 weeks of age.

aggressive chicken \ A chicken with an attitude. Mean individuals occasionally appear in nearly every breed and are more typically cocks than hens. Some breeds are characteristically aggressive; others commonly have aggressive individuals. Generally aggressive breeds include Cubalaya, Modern Game, and Old English Game. Breeds known for commonly having aggressive individuals include Aseel, Buckeye, Cornish, Faverolle, Rhode Island Red, Shamo, Sumatra, and Wyandotte. All sorts of methods have been put forth for taming an ornery rooster, but the safest course is to get rid of it before you, a family member, a neighbor, or a young child gets seriously injured.

abdominal depth

abdominal width

abdomen to aggressive chicken 7

beak \ The hard, protruding portion of a bird’s mouth, consisting of an upper and a lower mandible that serve as the bird’s jaws.

beak beating \ A feeding behavior in which the chicken picks up a bit of food in its beak and rubs it on the ground to break off pieces small enough to swallow.

B

beak conditioning \ An industry euphemism for debeaking. See also: debeak

Barthühner hen

Barthühner \ One of Switzerland’s two Appenzeller breeds, little known outside its native country. Barthühner means “bearded chicken” in German, the primary language of the region. This breed is quite chunky in appearance, sports a rose comb in addition to a beard and muffs, comes in a few color varieties, and may be large or bantam. The hens lay white-shell eggs and may brood.

bastard wing \ Alula. The term is

beaking out \ The practice of ­using the beak to scoop feed from a trough onto the ground. Feed on the ground is usually wasted because it gets trampled into the dirt or bedding and covered with droppings. To discourage beaking out, use a feeder or trough with a rolled or bent-in edge and adjust the hopper to the height of the chickens’ backs. When raising chicks, fill chick-size trough feeders only two-thirds full and continue adjusting feeder height as the birds grow to maturity.

[Also called: billing out] beak wiping \ A grooming behavior in which the chicken wipes its beak along the ground. This activity serves three purposes: it cleans the beak, sharpens the beak, and keeps the ends from growing too long or out of balance.

used in the old sense of the word, meaning “false,” because it looks like a tiny false wing growing out of the regular wing. See also: alula

beard \ A dense clump of small feath-

’bator \ Short for incubator.

ers attached to the upper throat, just under the beak, always in association

26 Barthühner to beard

with a muff. Some breeds, such as Belgian Bearded d’Anvers and Belgian Bearded d’Uccle, are clearly identified as bearded. Other bearded breeds include Ameraucana, Crevecoeur, Faverolle, and Houdan. Some breeds, notably Polish and Silkie, come in bearded and nonbearded varieties.

shredded paper, or dried grass clippings — scattered on the floor of a chicken coop to absorb moisture and droppings, cushion the birds’ feet, help minimize breast blisters and other injuries to heavy breeds, and control temperature by insulating the ground.

[Also called: litter]

Bearded d’Anvers \ See: Belgian

beetle brow \ A prominent fore-

Bearded d’ Anvers

head that projects out over the eyes — typical of Brahmas, Malays, and Shamos — giving the chicken the often undeserved appearance of being mean or sinister.

Bearded d’Uccle \ See: Belgian Bearded d’Uccle

bedding \ Any material — such as chopped straw, wood shavings (except ­cedar, which is toxic to chickens),

beetle brow

beak trimming

filing stage, use toenail clippers or canine

Sometimes the length of the beak’s two

clippers to trim it back. Unless the upper

mandibles must be adjusted so the chicken

beak has grown far too long, the part that

can properly peck and preen. Like finger-

needs to be trimmed away will be lighter in

nails a beak grows continuously, but unlike

color than the rest of the beak. If in doubt,

fingernails it normally wears down as fast

look inside the chicken’s mouth to see

as it grows, aided by the activity of beak

where live tissue ends.

wiping. When a chicken lacks opportunities

trimming. Rarely, the lower part may need

if it is caged), the upper mandible grows

reshaping, especially if a too-long upper

so long it interferes with eating and other

mandible has pushed the lower mandible in

activities that are important to the chicken’s

the opposite direction.

The upper mandible is naturally a little

overgrown upper mandible

In most cases only the upper half needs

to keep its beak worn down (for instance,

well-being.

beard

Beak trimming is not the same as debeaking, although it has been used

longer than the lower mandible. If the upper

euphemistically in the commercial poultry

half begins to overlap the lower, trim it back

industry as a synonym.

correct

with a fingernail file. Once it has passed the

Bearded d’Anvers to beetle brow 27

B

feather anatomy and types A feather is one of many growths coming

Webbed feathers consist of a hollow quill

through a chicken’s skin that together make

at the base, closest to the skin, and a solid

up the plumage covering the bird’s body.

shaft at the top. From the shaft sprout

Feather shape, color, and texture vary with

slender barbs bearing barbules, which in

breed and variety, but every chicken has

turn bear barbicels with interlocking hooks

four different kinds of feather.

by which they fasten together to form a smooth vane or web. At the lower end of the shaft, just above the quill, the hooks are lacking, causing that portion of the feather to be fluffy rather than smooth. Contour feathers, flight feathers, tail feathers, and coverts are all webbed feathers (except in silkie feathered breeds.)

webbed feathers

plumules

anatomy of a webbed feather

shaft

shaft

F

barb quill barbule vane/web

114 feather anatomy and types

barbicel

Plumules or down feathers are short and

freshly butchered and plucked chicken. Old-

lack barbicels; therefore, they are fluffy

fashioned breeds have more filoplumes than

rather than smooth. These feathers form a

Cornish-cross broilers, and dark-colored

soft undercoat beneath the webbed feath-

breeds have more visible filoplumes than

ers, trapping air to help the chicken maintain

light-colored breeds.

body temperature. See also: silkie feathered

filoplume

Bristles are the small, stiff feathers with

Filoplumes are small, hairlike feathers

a few barbs at the base, growing around

attached to nerve endings to monitor the

the chicken’s eyes, nose, and mouth. They

placement of contour feathers, such as

function like a human’s nose or ear hairs

when a chicken puffs out its feathers to

to protect sensitive organs from dust and

look fierce or stay warm. The filoplumes

insects.

bristle

appear as hairs remaining on the skin of a

feather positions

main sickles

tail coverts saddle

hackles

tail coverts main tail feathers

fluff

wing detail

wing coverts

F

secondary flight feathers

primary flight feathers axial

feather positions 115

J

Japanese Bantam \ An ancient

J

breed of true bantam developed in Japan.

The Japanese Bantam has a large tail in proportion to its size and carries the tail so far forward that the cock’s tail feathers

Japanese Bantam rooster

nearly touch the back of its head. These little birds are capable fliers and come in several color varieties, as well as in bearded and nonbearded varieties. The Japanese has a large single comb, long drooping wings, and short legs. The short legs are associated with the lethal creeper gene. The hens lay brown-shell eggs and make excellent broodies.

Japanese Silkie \ See: Silkie Java \ A dual-purpose farmstead breed brought to the United States and developed by early settlers; now quite rare. It was named after the Indonesian island of Java, although no one is certain that’s where the breed originated. The Java was used in developing the Jersey Giant and the Plymouth Rock, both of which eventually overshadowed the Java in popularity. The breed may be identified by its extremely long sloping back and its fivepointed single comb, with the first point appearing farther back on the head compared to most other single-comb breeds.

The Java may be large or bantam and comes in four color varieties — auburn, black, mottled, and white. The hens lay eggs with brown shells and make excellent broodies.

Jersey Giant \ A breed developed in the United States and named after New Jersey, its state of origin. The Jersey Giant was created as an alternative to turkey and is the largest known breed — hens mature to 10 pounds (4.5 kg), cocks to 13 pounds (6 kg), and caponized cockerels reach a whopping 20 pounds (9 kg).

Raising Jersey Giants for meat production turned out to be uneconomical because 154 Japanese Bantam to Jersey Giant

they put most of their energy into developing a strong bone structure before they start fleshing out at about six months, and take as long as nine months to reach a reasonable size for harvesting. They remain popular, however, for their huge size, calm disposition, and cold hardiness. The Jersey Giant has a single comb, may be large or bantam, and comes in a few color varieties, of which black and white are the two most common. For such a large breed, the hens are good layers of brown-shell eggs and make wonderful broodies, although their eggs may take a day or two longer to hatch than other breeds.

joint ill \ See: arthritis judging system \ The system according to which chickens are evaluated at an exhibition. In the United States, one of three systems is used:

The American system is

generally used for adult and open shows. The chickens in each class are ranked against each other according to the standard for their breed and variety. Awards are generally given to the top three or five, although some shows go all the way down the line.

The Danish system is often used for youth shows. The chickens are not compared to one another but rather each bird is judged on its own merit according to how well it meets the standard description for its breed and variety. Instead of pitting competitors against one another, this system helps exhibitors gauge their individual progress.

J Jersey Gaint hen

Java hen

joint ill to judging system 155