Chicken Terminology

A series of calls a hen may make after she lays an egg.

Measures taken to prevent introduction and/or spread of harmful organisms (viruses, bacteria, bugs, etc.) to your flock. Efforts include washing your hands before and after handling your chickens, washing hands after handling eggs and other chicken items, separate “coop shoes,” raising food and water off the ground, enclosed runs, frequently cleaning and disinfecting the coop and all coop related items, properly introducing pullets/new chickens to your flock and farm (quarantining new flock members for two weeks) and paying attention to local news for outbreaks of avian diseases.

A specific group of chickens with the same or similar appearance, behavior and characteristics that distinguish it from other chickens. Usually controlled by selective breeding.

A housing unit for raising baby chicks (until about three-four months old) which includes a heat source, water, food, bedding, and excludes drafts.

The action of a broody hen sitting and incubating eggs. 

A hormone-induced behavior of a hen to sit on and incubate eggs. Hens typically do not eat or drink much in this state. This state will typically last for about 21 days if the behavior is not broken.

A wire-bottomed cage placed in a well-lit location, away from the chicken coop intended to interrupt a hen’s hormone-induced broody state for the benefit of her health and the welfare of the rest of the flock.

A bacterial infection in a chicken’s foot, usually in the pad or toes, characterized by swelling and redness, usually identifiable by a black or brown scab (aka corn) on the bottom of the foot. It can appear on toes but is most common to the pad of the foot. The infection is usually caused by Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli and Pseudomonas.

A mineral that chickens use to make eggshells. You must source an extra supply of available calcium for hens’ consumption, typically oyster shells or crushed up eggshells.

The act of holding a flashlight against an incubated eggs’ shell to see the contents inside. Typically, candling is performed on an egg before incubation to look for cracks that could allow bacteria into the egg, and after day 3 of incubation to check on chick development.

Photo credit to @dahliachicken on Instagram.

Two pouchlike places in a chicken’s small intestine filled with bacteria that help digest particularly woody, fibrous, or tough bits of food ingested by a chicken through fermentation. A great explanation of the ceca can be found here.

Soft, brown, usually very runny droppings with a strong odor from when a chicken empties its ceca. This type of poop is normal from a chicken and should occur daily.

A newly hatched chicken. Chickens are considered to be a “chick” until about 20 weeks old.

Feed for chickens up to 6 weeks old with a high protein content (between 20-24%) which helps chicks grow strong. It is important to phase out this feed after six weeks to prevent liver damage from excess protein.

A fenced, outdoor enclosure for chickens, usually attached to the chicken coop. Other common names include “pen,” “run,” and “yard.”

The area inside the vent through which digestive and reproductive tracts empty.

A group of eggs in a nest.

Crushed up and fed to chickens as supplementary calcium to create eggshells. Chickens will eat this themselves if you just provide access to it.

Protruding flap of skin just below a chicken’s ear. Ear tuffs (a group of feathers) are found here on Ameraucana chickens.

Birds raised commercially or domestically for meat, eggs, and feathers. Includes chickens, ducks, turkeys, guinea fowl, geese, and more.

A chicken’s way of grooming themselves. This is usually a group activity, so chickens can be seen huddled in groups grooming themselves or each other. They pinch the preening gland, located at the base of their tail, which releases oil they then use to coat their feathers, making them water resistant. Feathers keep chickens insulated and dry when they are upkept, so chickens need to keep their feathers in good shape.

A gland located at the base of the chicken’s tail, in front of their tail feathers that secretes a thick, transparent oil when a chicken pinches it with their beak the bird then applies to its feathers through an act called preening.

A female chicken under a year old. Usually describes the period between when a female hen has molted into her adult feathers, but before she starts laying, typically between 15 and 22 weeks old.

Noun: Miscellaneous grains and seeds used as a treat for your flock. This is not the same as chicken feed. Scratch can give you flock a burst of energy and keep them warm in winter months as well as lets them utilize their scratching behavior when thrown on the ground in dirt or grass.

Verb: The action of a chicken using their feet to claw at the ground to look for food, such as worms and seeds.

Chicks that have been sorted by gender by anatomical examination within 24 hours after hatching. This is about 90% accurate within the first day (it is difficult to tell sex until chickens are older).

The process of identifying a chicken’s gender. There are many ways to do this but it is extremely difficult to be accurate after the first day after hatch until the chicken matures and shows developmental signs of gender.

The bottom part of a chicken’s leg, above the foot. 

The pair of long, curving feathers on a full-grown rooster’s tail. 

A yeast infection of the crop caused by Candida albicans.

Generally the way roosters approach a hen with whom they want to mate; a tall, proud gait.

The posture a mature hen takes when approached by a rooster or when approached by a person with their hand extended. She crouches down and spreads her wings to balance and lowers her tail for the rooster to “tread” her.

An abnormal behavior in chickens where one chicken will peck at another chicken’s vent, causing damage to the surrounding skin and underlying tissue. If your chicken is being picked on, isolate them, treat with an antibacterial spray or Blue-Kote and let them heal. Typically, with vent injuries you want to interrupt the hen’s egg laying cycle as not to worsen the vent’s condition. To do this, keep your chicken in a dark room for a couple days (bathrooms work great). To prevent vent pecking or other negative pecking behaviors, make sure your chickens are not crowded, have lots of enrichment activities to keep them busy, and remove hens from the flock with irritation or injury to the vent until they have healed.

The opening to the cloaca form which droppings and eggs emerge. Located under the chicken’s tail.

Red flaps of skin located under a chicken’s beak and chin.

See “Drinker.”