Photo by Rachael Brugger |
Brooder: a heated enclosure for keeping baby chicks warm during their first several weeks, until they can grow insulating feathers
Broody hen: a hen whose maternal hormones trigger her instinct to stop laying and hatch a clutch of eggs and care for the chicks that hatch out
Capon: neutered/castrated male chicken
Clutch: a group of eggs laid or incubated together
Cockerel: a male chicken under one year of age
Comb: the red-colored flesh on top of a chicken’s head
Coop: a cage or house for chickens
Crop: an expandable portion of the esophagus where food is stored before digestion
Fledge: to grow feathers
Hackles: the long, narrow feathers on the neck; sometimes collectively called a “cape”
Hen: a female chicken of egg-laying age, at least one year old
Incubator: a heat-regulated device for hatching fertile eggs
Litter: the absorbent bedding material, such as wood shavings, on the floor of a chicken house
Molt (also moult): the annual period of time when chickens shed their feathers (can be triggered by hormones or stress
Primaries: the 10 large, stiff flight feathers on each wing
Pullet: an immature female chicken, less than one year old
Roost: a perch for resting and sleeping
Rooster: an adult, intact male chicken
Setting: sitting on eggs to hatch chicks
Sexing: determining gender of newly hatched chicks
Vent: the external opening, through which the chicken eliminates waste and lays eggs
Wattle: the red-colored flesh hanging from a chicken’s chin
