Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Illustration of thirty-nine varieties of chicken (and one Guinea Fowl) . There are hundreds of chicken breeds in existence. [1] Domesticated for thousands of years, distinguishable breeds of chicken have been present since the combined factors of geographical isolation and selection for desired characteristics created regional types with distinct physical and behavioral traits passed on to ...
The chicken breeds recognized by the American Poultry Association are listed in the American Standard of Perfection. They are categorized into classes: standard-sized breeds are grouped by type or by place of origin, while bantam breeds are classified according to type or physical characteristics.
The chicken (Gallus 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 .
Barred cock and hen, illustration from Jean Bungartz, Geflügel-Album, 1885 Egg. The Plymouth Rock is an American breed of domestic chicken.It was first seen in Massachusetts in the nineteenth century and for much of the early twentieth century was the most widely kept chicken breed in the United States.
The Jersey Giant is an American breed of domestic chicken. It was created in Burlington County, New Jersey , in the late nineteenth century. [ 5 ] It is among the heaviest of all chicken breeds.
The Silkie (also known as the Silky or Chinese silk chicken) is a Chinese breed of chicken named for its atypically fluffy plumage, which is said to feel like silk and satin. The breed has several other unusual qualities, such as black skin and bones , blue earlobes, and five toes on each foot, whereas most chickens have only four.
The Ameraucana is an American breed of domestic chicken. It was developed in the United States in the 1970s, and derives from Araucana chickens brought from Chile. It was bred to retain the blue-egg gene but eliminate the lethal alleles of the parent breed. There are both standard-sized and bantam versions. [2]
Special utility breeds with desirable characteristics are used. Two eggs are laid and incubated for about 17 days. When they hatch, the squabs are fed by both parents on "pigeon's milk", a thick secretion high in protein produced by the crop. Squabs grow rapidly, but are slow to fledge and are ready to leave the nest at 26 to 30 days weighing ...