Cow and Chicken
Webpages concerning "Cow and Chicken"
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Wikipedia-Article "Cow"
- "Cow" redirects here, for other uses, see Cow (disambiguation). "Ox" also redirects here. For the preprocessor for yacc, see Ox (program).
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Cattle Conservation status: Domesticated |
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Cattle (called cows in vernacular usage) are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. They are raised as livestock for meat (called beef and veal), dairy products (milk), leather and as draught animals (pulling carts, plows and the like). In some countries, such as India, they are subject to religious ceremonies and respect. It is estimated that there are 1.3 billion head of cattle in the world today [1].
Cattle were originally identified by Carolus Linnaeus as three different species. These were Bos taurus, the European cattle, including similar types from Africa and Asia; Bos indicus, the zebu; and the extinct Bos primigenius, the aurochs. The aurochs is ancestral to both zebu and European cattle. More recently these three have increasingly been grouped as one species, sometimes using the names Bos primigenius taurus, Bos primigenius indicus and Bos primigenius primigenius. Complicating the matter is the ability of cattle to interbreed with other closely related species. Hybrid individuals and even breeds exist, not only between European cattle and zebu but also with yaks, banteng, gaur, and bison, a cross-genera hybrid. For example, genetic testing of the Dwarf Lulu breed, the only humpless "Bos taurus-type" cattle in Nepal, found them to be a mix of European cattle, zebu and yak. Cattle cannot successfully be bred with water buffalo or African buffalo. (See aurochs for the history of domestication, and zebu for peculiarities of that group.)
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Terminology
The word "cattle" did not originate as a name for bovine animals. It derives from the Latin caput, head, and thus originally meant "unit of livestock" or "one head". The word is closely related to "chattel" (a unit of property) and to "capital" in the sense of "property."
Older English sources like King James Version of the Bible refer to livestock in general as cattle, or sometimes the archaic kine (which comes from the same English stem as cow). Additionally other species of the genus Bos are often called cattle or wild cattle. This article refers to the common modern meaning of "cattle", the European domestic bovine.
Young cattle are called calves. A young male is called a bull-calf; a young female before she has calved is called a heifer (pronounced "heffer"). Male cattle bred for meat are castrated unless needed for breeding. The castrated male is then called a bullock or steer, unless kept for draft purposes, in which case it is called an ox (plural oxen), not to be confused with the related wild musk ox. If castrated as an adult, it is called a stag. An intact male is called a bull. An adult female over two years of age (approximately) is called a cow. The adjective applying to cattle is bovine.
There is no singular equivalent in modern English to cattle other than the various gender and age-specific terms (though "catron" is occasionally seen as a half-serious proposal). Strictly speaking, the singular noun for the domestic bovine is ox: a bull is a male ox and a cow is a female ox. That this was once the standard name for domestic bovines is shown in placenames such as Oxford. But "ox" is no longer used in this general sense, being restricted to the sense given above. Today "cow" is probably the closest to being gender-neutral, although it is usually understood to mean female (females of other animals, such as whales or elephants, are also called cows.) To refer to a specific number of these animals without specifying their gender, it must be stated as (for example) "ten head of cattle."
Some Australian, Canadian, New Zealand and Scottish farmers use the term "cattlebeast". "Neat" (horned oxen, from which "neatsfoot oil" comes from), "beef" (young ox) and "beefing" (young animal fit for slaughtering) are obsolete terms. Cattle raised for human consumption are called beef cattle. Within the beef cattle industry in parts of the United States, the older term beef (plural beeves) is still used to refer to an animal of either gender. Cows of certain breeds that are kept for the milk they give are called dairy cows. Herds are counted as, for example, "one hundred head". The term cattle itself is not a plural, but a mass noun. Thus one may refer to some cattle, but not three cattle. The word cow can also be used derogatively, when describing a person, whom one expresses a dislike for. In some countries, such as the UK, this slur is used exclusively for women whereas in others it may be used for both genders.
Biology
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Cattle are ruminants, meaning that they have a unique digestive system that allows them to synthesize amino acids. This allows them to thrive on grasses and other vegetation.
Cattle have one stomach, with four compartments. They are the rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum. The rumen is the largest compartment. It can hold up to 150 litres of digestable feed in a mature cow (compare this to the 1300 litres of total volume in a young cow, or 1500 litres in a larger and older cow). The rumen is known as the "Paunch." The reticulum is the smallest compartment. Cattle sometimes consume metal objects which are deposited in the reticulum, and this is where hardware disease occurs. The reticulum is known as the "Honeycomb." The omasum's main function is to absorb water and nutrients from the digestible feed. The omasum is known as the "Many Plies." The abomasum is most like the human stomach; this is why it is known as the "True Stomach."
The aurochs was originally spread throughout Europe, Africa and Asia. In historical times, their range was restricted to Europe, and the last animals were killed by poachers in Masovia, Poland, in 1627, although some breeders have attempted to recreate the original gene pool of the aurochs by careful crossing of commercial breeds, creating the Heck cattle breed.
A popular misconception about cattle (primarily bulls) is that they are enraged by the colour red. This is incorrect; cattle are mostly colour-blind. The main source of this rumour is the fact that Matadors traditionally use red-coloured capes to provoke bulls into attacking. In fact, the red color is merely traditional; the movement of the cape is the attractant.
Uses of cattle
Cattle occupy a unique role in human history. Some consider them the oldest form of wealth. Their ability to provide meat, dairy and draft while reproducing themselves and eating nothing but grass has furthered human interests dramatically through the millennia.
In Hinduism, the cow is said to be holy (and thus should not be eaten); "The cow is my mother. The bull is my sire.". [2] The importance of the cow is highlighted by the fact that a regional holiday called Mattu Pongal (literally Cow Pongal in Tamil) exists which is akin to a bovine thanksgiving day. In fact a divine cow named Kamadhenu is considered to be the mother of all Hindu Gods.
In Latin America, Australia and the western North America cattle are grazed on large tracts of rangeland called ranchos, ranches or Stations (Australia).
In Portugal, Spain and some Latin American countries, bulls are used in the sport of bullfighting while a similar sport Jallikattu is seen in South India; in many other countries this is illegal. Other sports like Bull riding are seen as part of a Rodeo, especially in North America.
The outbreaks of mad cow disease have reduced or prevented some traditional uses of cattle for food, for example the eating of brains or spinal cords.
Ox
Oxen (plural of ox) are cattle trained as draft animals. Often they are adult, castrated males. Usually an ox is over four years old due to the need for training and for time to grow to full size. Oxen are used for plowing, transport, hauling cargo, grain-grinding by trampling or by powering machines, irrigation by powering pumps, and wagon drawing. Oxen were commonly used to skid logs, and sometimes are still in low-impact select-cut logging, in forests.
Contrary to popular American lore, an "ox" is not a unique breed of bovine, nor have any "blue" oxen lived outside the folk tales surrounding Paul Bunyan, the mythical American logger.
An ox is nothing more than a mature bovine with an "education". The education consists of the animal's learning to respond appropriately to the teamster's (ox driver's) commands: in North America such as (1) get up, (2) whoa, (3) back up, (4) gee (turn to the right) and (5) haw (turn to the left).
American ox trainers favored larger breeds for their ability to do more work in addition to their intelligence (the ability to learn); for the same reason, the typical ox is the male of a breed, rather than the smaller female. Also, the gait of the ox is often important to ox trainers, since the speed the animal walks should roughly match the gait of the ox driver who must work with it.
Oxen are most often used in teams of two, paired, for light work such as carting. In past days some teams were about fourteen, and even over twenty for logging. A wooden yoke is fastened about the neck of each pair so that the force of draft is distributed across their shoulders. Oxen are chosen, from calves, with horns since the horns hold the yoke in place when the oxen lower their heads, back up or slow down (particularly with a wheeled vehicle going downhill). Yoked oxen cannot slow a load like harnessed horses can, the load has to be controlled downhill by other means.
Oxen must be painstakingly trained from a young age. Their teamster must make or buy as many as a dozen yokes of different sizes as the animals grow. Ox teams are steered by commands or noise (whip cracks) and many teamsters were known for their voices and language.
Oxen can pull harder and longer than horses, particularly on obstinate or almost un-movable loads. This is one of the reasons that teams were dragging logs from forests long after horses had taken over most other draught uses in Europe and the New World. Though not as fast as horses, they are less prone to injury because they are more sure-footed and do not try to jerk the load. Many oxen are still in use worldwide, especially in developing nations.
Miscellaneous
- For the mythology and lore connected with the bull, see Bull (mythology).
- The ox is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. See: Ox (Zodiac).
- The constellation Taurus represents a bull.
- A cow is alleged to have started the Great Chicago Fire by kicking over a kerosene lamp.
- On February 18, 1930 Elm Farm Ollie became the first cow to fly in an airplane and also the first cow to be milked in an airplane.
- A humourous anecdote among farmers suggests that instant death will come to anyone bitten by a cattle's upper front teeth. The joke is apparent to anyone knowing that a cow possesses no such teeth.
- The first known law requiring branding in North America was enacted on February 5, 1644 by Connecticut. It said that all cattle and pigs have to have a registered brand or earmark by May 1, 1644. (Kane, 5)
Cattle in Popular Culture
- Gary Larson's famous comic strip The Far Side frequently included cows in humorous situations.
- The lilac-colored "Milka Cow" is a well-known symbol of the Milka brand of chocolate.
- Since 1995, advertisements for Chick-fil-A restaurants have featured cows encouraging people to "Eat Mor Chikin."
- The sound a cow makes is often used to create comedic effect. In Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The French shot cows out of catapults. In the movie Twister, they had tornadoes shooting cows all around in the air and they mooed while flying. In the game Fallout and Fallout 2, cows had mutated into Brahman. These cows sometimes would say, "Moo, I say!"
- In a Grape-Nuts television commercial and in the movie "Kingpin" with Woody Harrelson, in which he pretends to be Amish, they have scenes of men milking a bull by mistake and thinking it was a cow
- In the Computer Game Diablo II there is an area called the "Secret Cow Level" in which players could gain experience quicker than normal.
- In the Computer Game Starcraft and Starcraft:Broodwar the cheat code "there is no cow level" will immediately take the player to the next level.
- There are also movies that use cows as comedic elements. One such movie is Rat Race, where a hot a balloon flies through a pasture, one gets its hoof entangled, and continues to wreak havoc. Also, in the movie Top Secret!, a cow costume causes confusion in a prison break.
Breeds of cattle
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- Abondance
- Afrikaner cattle
- Angus
- Ankole
- Aubrac
- Ayrshire
- Beefalo (a cross between domestic cattle and the American Bison)
- Beefmaster
- Belgian Blue
- Belted Galloway
- Blaarkop
- Black Angus
- Blonde d'Aqui
- Braford
- Brahman: Bos indica
- Brangus
- Braunvieh
- British White
- Brown Swiss
- BueLingo
- Canchim
- Caracu
- Charolais
- Chateaubriand
- Chiangus
- Chianina
- Commercial
- Corriente
- Devon
- Dexter
- Dutch Belted (Lakenvelder)
- French Simmental
- Friesian (Holstein)
- Galloway
- Gelbvieh
- Guernsey
- Heck Cattle or "recreated aurochs"
- Hereford
- Highland Cattle
- Holstein (Friesian)
- Hungarian Grey
- Hybridmaster
- Irish Moiled
- Jersey
- Lakenvelder (Dutch Belted)
- Kerry
- Limousin
- Lincoln Red
- Maine Anjou
- Marchigiana
- Milking Shorthorn
- Miniature
- Montbéliarde
- Murray Grey
- Nelore
- Nguni
- Normande
- Piedmontese
- Pinzgauer
- Polled Hereford
- Randall
- Red Angus
- Red Brangus
- Red Poll
- Romagnola
- Salers
- Santa Gertrudis cattle
- Senepol
- Shorthorn
- Simbrah
- Simmental
- South Devon
- Spanish bull
- Sussex cattle
- Tarentaise
- Texas Longhorn
- Tuli
- Vechur cow
- Wagyu
- Watusi
- Zebu
- Żubroń, a cross-breed between Wisent and domestic cattle
See also
- Age of cattle
- Barbed wire
- Bullfighting
- Bull-baiting
- Cow tipping
- Dairy Cattle
- Factory farming
- Grass fed beef
- List of domesticated animals
- Yak
- Ox (Zodiac)
References
- Cattle Today
- Mahabharata, Book 13-Anusasana Parva, Section LXXVI
- Kane, J., Anzovin, S., & Podell, J. (1997). Famous First Facts. New York, NY: H.W. Wilson. ISBN 0824209303.
External links
- Cattle Breeds website - Oklahoma State University
- PBS Nature: Holy Cow (about cows in general)
- UK Lincoln Red Cattle Society
- SearchCattle.com - Specialized Cattle Search Engine
- Prairie Ox Drovers -Information, help, and encouragement to get started with oxen.
Other meanings of cow, bull, etc.
- Bull (mythology)
- Groupe Bull
- Cows (a movie by Julio Medem)
- Irish bull (an incongruent statement)
- Papal bull
- surat al-Baqara (The Cow) in the Qur'an
Wikipedia-Article "Chicken"
- For other uses, see Chicken (disambiguation).
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Chickens Conservation status: Domesticated |
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| Gallus gallus (Linnaeus, 1758) |
A chicken (Gallus gallus) is a type of domesticated bird which is often raised as a type of poultry. It is believed to be descended from the wild Asian Red Junglefowl.
Chickens are the most common bird in the world. The population in 2003 was 24 billion, according to the Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds.
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General biology and habitat
Male chickens are known as roosters (in the U.S., Canada and Australia), cockerels, or cocks. Female chickens are known as hens, or 'chooks' in Australasian English. Roosters can be differentiated from hens by their striking plumage, marked by long flowing tails and bright pointed feathers on their necks. Both the male and female have distinctive wattles and combs. These organs help to cool the bird by redirecting bloodflow to the skin. In males, the combs are often more prominent, though this is not the case in all varieties.
Chickens are omnivores and will feed on small seeds, herbs and leaves, grubs, insects and even small mammals like mice, if they can get them. Domestic chickens are typically fed commercially prepared feed that includes a protein source as well as grains. Chickens often scratch at the soil to get at adult insects and larva or seed. Incidents of cannibalism can occur when a curious bird pecks at a pre-existing wound or from over-crowding. This is exacerbated in close quarters. In commercial production this is controlled with chick "de-beaking" (removal of 2/3 of the top half and 1/3 of the lower half of the beak). This "de-beaking" process is very painful for the chicken because their beaks are filled with nerve endings.
Domestic chickens are not capable of flying for long distances, although they are generally capable of flying for short distances such as over fences. Chickens will sometimes fly simply in order to explore their surroundings, but will especially fly in an attempt to flee when they perceive danger. Because of the risk of flight, chickens raised in the open air generally have one of their wings clipped by the breeder — the tips of the longest feathers on one of the wings are cut, resulting in unbalanced flight which the bird cannot sustain for more than a few meters. (more on wing clipping)
Chickens are gregarious birds and live together as a flock. They have a communal approach to the incubation of eggs and raising of young. Individual chickens in a flock will dominate others, establishing a "pecking order", with dominant individuals having priority for access to food and nesting locations. Removing hens or roosters from a flock causes a temporary disruption to this social order until a new pecking order is established.
Chickens will try to lay in nests that already contain eggs, and have been known to move eggs from neighbouring nests into their own. Some farmers use fake eggs made from plastic or stone to encourage hens to lay in a particular location. The result of this behaviour is that a flock will use only a few preferred locations, rather than having a different nest for every bird.
Hens can also be extremely stubborn about always laying in the same location. It is not unknown for two (or more) hens to try to share the same nest at the same time. If the nest is small, or one of the hens is particularly determined, this may result in chickens trying to lay on top of each other.
Contrary to popular belief, roosters may crow at anytime of the day. Their crowing - a loud and sometimes shrill call - is a territorial signal to other roosters.
Chickens are domesticated descendents of the red junglefowl, which is biologically classified as the same species.
Courting
When a rooster finds food he may call the other chickens to eat it first. He does this by clucking in a high pitch as well as picking up and dropping the food. This is part of chicken courting ritual. When a hen is used to coming to his "call" the rooster may mount the hen and fertilize her egg.
Going broody
Sometimes a hen will stop laying and instead will focus on the incubation of eggs, a state that is commonly known as going broody. A broody chicken will sit fast on the nest, and protest if disturbed or removed, and will rarely leave the nest to eat, drink, or dust bathe. While broody, the hen keeps the eggs at a constant temperature and humidity, as well as turning the eggs regularly.
At the end of the incubation period, which is an average of 21 days, the eggs (if fertilized) will hatch, and the broody hen will take care of her young. Since individual eggs do not all hatch at exactly the same time, (The chicken can only lay one egg approximately every 25 hours), the hen will usually stay on the nest for about two days after the first egg hatches. During this time, the newly-hatched chicks live off the egg yolk they absorb just before hatching. The hen can hear the chicks peeping inside the eggs, and will gently cluck to encourage them to break out of their shells. If the eggs are not fertilized and do not hatch, the hen will eventually grow tired of being broody and leave the nest.
Modern egg-laying breeds rarely go broody, and those that do often stop part-way through the incubation cycle. Some breeds, such as the Cochin, Cornish and Silkie, regularly go broody and make excellent mothers.
Artificial incubation
Chicken egg incubation can successfully occur artificially as well. Nearly all chicken eggs will hatch after 21 days of good conditions - 98-100 degrees fahrenheit (38°C) and around 65% relative humidity (may decrease to 55% in the last three days of incubation.) Many commercial incubators are industrial sized with shelves holding tens of thousands of eggs at a time, with rotation of the eggs a fully automated process.
Home incubators are usually small boxes (styrofoam incubators are popular) and hold 50 eggs. Eggs must be turned three to five times each day, rotating at least 90 degrees. If eggs aren't turned, the embryo inside will stick to the shell and likely will be born with physical defects. This process is natural: hens will stand up three to five times a day and shift the eggs around with their beak.
Chickens as food
Chickens serve as one of the most common meats in the world, and are frequently prepared as food in a large number of ways. There is significant variation in cooking methods amongst cultures; historically common methods include roasting, baking, and frying. Today, chickens are also cooked by deep frying and prepared as fast food such as chicken nuggets. Modern varieties of chicken, such as the Cornish Cross, are bred specifically for meat production, with an emphasis placed on the ratio of feed to meat produced by the animal. In Chinese culinary culture, chicken is highly-valued, as in the phrase "無雞不歡" (roughly translates as 'no chicken, no satisfaction').
Chickens raised specifically for meat are called broilers. In the United States, broilers are typically butchered at a young age. Modern Cornish Cross hybrids, for example, are butchered as early as 8 weeks for fryers and 12 weeks for roasting birds. Typically, the muscle tissue (breast, legs, thigh, etc), livers, and gizzard are processed for food. Chicken feet are less commonly eaten. The head, internal organs such as the lungs and intestines, and feathers are typically discarded or ground into a protein meal for inclusion in other animal feeds, although Chinese cuisines may retain the whole bird on the dish (with the head), depending on the dish.
Capons (castrated cocks) produce more and fattier meat than normal cocks. For this reason, they are considered a delicacy and were particularly popular in the Middle Ages. Caponizing a cock, unlike castrating a steer or pig, requires delicate surgery and is an art almost lost today. The cock's testicles lie within its body cavity. To remove them requires special equipment and skill. The person caponizing the rooster must make precise and specialized cuts within the abdomen of the rooster. Infection and potential damage to the bird are possible should an unskilled individual perform the surgery.
Chicken eggs, produced by pullets and laying hens, are also very commonly eaten. The chicken egg is the most commonly eaten bird egg in the world. Hens may lay fertile or infertile eggs. Hens will continue to lay even if a rooster is not present, though these will not be viable. There is no difference in the nutritional value between a fertilized and unfertilized egg. Modern breeding techniques focusing on feed-to-egg conversion ratios have increased the number of eggs a hen can lay. Modern egg chickens are typically derived from the early Leghorn varieties. When the egg is laid, the egg is not soft but has a hard shell. This shell protects the egg's contents, making it a food source that is easily transported and stored. Nutritionally, the egg provides a rich source of protein and vitamins. Recent concerns over cholesterol, however, have caused many to question the place of eggs in the human diet.
Some chicken breeds are raised for both meat and egg production. Typically heavy breeds, these are primarily grown by small farmers or hobbyists. These include breeds such as the Wyandotte, Brahma, or Barred Rock.
Chickens as pets
In Asia, chickens with striking plumage have long been kept for ornamental purposes, including feather-footed varieties such as the Cochin and Silkie from China and the extremely long-tailed (Phoenix) from Japan. Asian ornamental varieties were imported into the United States and Great Britain in the late 1800s. Poultry fanciers then began keeping these ornamental birds for exhibition, a practice that continues today. From these Asian breeds, distinctive American varieties of chickens have been developed.
Today, some cities in the United States still allow residents to keep live chickens as pets, although the practice is quickly disappearing. Individuals in rural communities commonly keep chickens for both ornamental and practical value. Some communities ban only roosters, allowing the quieter hens. Many zoos use chickens instead of insecticides to control insect populations.
Growing chickens can easily be tamed by feeding them a special treat such as wet oatmeal in the palm of one's hand.
Chickens in agriculture
In the United States, chickens were once raised primarily on the family farm. Prior to about 1930, chicken was served for primarily on special occasions or on Sunday as the birds were typically more valued for their eggs than meat. Excess roosters or non-productive hens would be culled from the flock first for butchering. As cities developed and markets sprung up across the nation, live chickens from local farms could often be seen for sale in crates outside the market, to be butchered and cleaned onsite by the butcher.
With the advent of refrigeration, poultry production changed dramatically. Large farms and packing plants emerged that could grow birds by the thousands. Adult chickens could be sent to factories for butchering and processing into pre-packaged commercial products to be frozen or shipped fresh to markets or wholesalers. Large farms or factories could be established devoted solely to egg production and packaging. Once a meat consumed only occasionally, the common availability has made chicken a common and significant meat product within developed nations. Growing concerns over cholesterol in the 1980s and 1990s further resulted in increased consumption.
Similarly, egg production also changed with the development of automation and refrigeration. Today, eggs are grown on factory farms in highly controlled settings. Special varieties of chickens are fed special diets high in calcium and protein to stimulate maximum egg production. Chickens are exposed to artificial light cycles to stimulate egg production year-round. In addition, it is a common practice to force chickens to molt through the careful manipulation of light and the amount of food they receive in order to further increase egg production.
Issues with mass production
Many animal advocates object to killing chickens for food or object to the factory farm conditions under which they are raised. Commercial chicken production often involves raising the birds in large crowded rearing sheds that prevent the chickens from engaging in many of their natural behaviours.
Another animal welfare issue is the use of genetic selection to create heavy large-breasted birds, which can lead to crippling leg disorders and heart failure for some of the birds. In addition, many scientists have raised concerns that companies growing one variety of bird for eggs or meat are much more susceptible to potentially devastating disease. For this reason, many scientists are promoting the conservation of heritage breeds to retain genetic diversity in the species.
Slaughter is another important animal welfare issue. Based on USDA figures, it is estimated that due to ineffectual stunning, millions of chickens enter the scalding tanks every year while still alive. Many chickens also suffer broken bones caused by rough handling before and during slaughter. In the United States, chickens are exempt from the Humane Slaughter Act.
In response to these concerns various companies now raise free range birds. Some believe they taste better due to the effects of the exercise and the less stressful environment under which they are raised. Another method is the use of chicken "tractors". These are portable coops that moved through pastures through the year, allowing the birds to eat herbaceous vegetation and insects without depleting the vegetation at a single spot.
Another issue is the killing of newly hatched male chicken using a baby chick blender in egg-producing facilities.
Cockfighting
- Main article: Cockfight
Male chickens are known as cocks (in most countries), cockerels (if younger than one year) or roosters (primarily in the US and Canada). Their natural inclination to fight has been exploited in staged fights, sometimes with a metal spike added to or replacing the natural spurs. Most countries have banned cockfighting, but it is still legal in two U.S. states, New Mexico and Louisiana, and is common in Southeast Asia.
Cockfighting was popular in ancient Greece. According to tradition, it was introduced in Athens by Themistokles as a public spectacle. Fighting roosters were fed garlic and onions to increase their aggression. In ancient Greece, the gift of a fighting rooster among men is said to have been a common way to initiate a homosexual relationship. Gems often show a rooster combined with Eros, the god of love.
Sometimes it has a religious significance, as in Bali, where the shed blood is seen as cleansing.
Chicken diseases
- Aspergillosis
- Avian influenza (bird flu)
- Blackhead disease
- Botulism
- Cage Layer Fatigue
- Coccidiosis
- Colds
- Crop bound
- Egg bound
- Erysipelas
- Fatty Liver Hemorrhagic Syndrome
- Fowl Cholera
- Fowl pox
- Fowl Typhoid
- Gapeworms
- Infectious Bronchitis
- Infectious Bursal Disease (Gumboro)
- Infectious Coryza
- Lymphoid Leucosis
- Marek's disease
- Moniliasis
- Mycoplasmas
- Newcastle disease
- Necrotic Enteritis
- Omphalitis (Mushy chick disease)
- Psittacosis
- Pullorum (Salmonella)
- Scaly leg
- Squamous cell carcinoma
- Tibial dyschondroplasia
- Toxoplasmosis
- Ulcerative Enteritis
Chickens are also susceptible to parasites, including lice, mites, ticks, fleas, and intestinal Worms.
Chickenpox is a disease of humans, not chickens.
Chickens in religion
In Indonesia the chicken has great significance during the Hindu cremation ceremony. A chicken is a channel for evil spirits which may be present during the ceremony. A chicken is tethered by the leg and kept present at the ceremony for the duration to ensure that any evil spirits present during the ceremony go into the chicken and not the family members present. The chicken is then taken home and returns to its normal life. It is not treated in any special way or slaughtered after the ceremony.
In ancient Greece, the chicken was not normally used for sacrifices, perhaps because it was still considered an exotic animal. Because of its valour, cocks are found as attributes of Ares, Heracles and Athena. The Greeks believed that even lions were afraid of cocks. Several of Aesop's Fables reference this belief.
In the cult of Mithras, the cock was a symbol of the divine light and a guardian against evil.
In the Bible, Jesus prophesied the betrayal by Peter: "And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me." (Luke 22:43) Thus it happened (Luke 22:61), and Peter cried bitterly. This made the cock a symbol for both vigilance and betrayal.
Earlier, Jesus compares himself to a mother hen, when talking about Jerusalem: "How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" (Matthew 23:37; also Luke 13:34).
In many Central European folk tales, the devil is believed to flee at the first crowing of a cock.
In some sects of Orthodox Judaism a chicken is slaughtered on the afternoon before Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) in a ceremony called kappores. Although not actually a sacrifice in the biblical sense, the death of the chicken reminds the penitent sinner that his or her life is in God's hands. A woman brings a hen to be slaughtered, a man brings a rooster. The meat is donated to the poor.
The Talmud speaks of learning "courtesy toward one's mate" from the rooster. This might refer to the fact that, when a rooster finds something good to eat, he calls his hens to eat first.
The chicken is one of the Zodiac symbols of the Chinese calendar. Also in Chinese religion a cooked chicken has always been used as an religious offering (later being eaten) to the ancestor worship, Buddha (ironically Buddism is vegetarian) or lady Buddha Guan Yin. Chicken offering is used during "serious" praying and worship, (while roasted pork is used for celebration).
History
The first pictures of chickens in Europe are found on Corinthian pottery of the 7th century BC. The poet Cratinus (mid-5th century BC, according to the later Greek author Athenaeus) calls the chicken "the Persian alarm". In Aristophanes's comedy The Birds (414 BC) a chicken is called "the Median bird", which points to an introduction from the East. Pictures of chickens are found on Greek red figure and black-figure pottery.
In ancient Greece, chickens were still rare and were a rather prestigious food for symposia. Delos seems to have been a centre of chicken breeding.
An early domestication of chickens in Southeast Asia is probable, since the word for domestic chicken (*manuk) is part of the reconstructed Proto-Austronesian language (see Austronesian languages). Chickens, together with dogs and pigs, were the domestic animals of the Lapita culture, the first Neolithic culture of Oceania.
Chickens were spread by Polynesian seafarers and reached Easter Island in the 12th century AD, where they were the only domestic animal, with the possible exception of the Polynesian Rat (Rattus exulans). They were housed in extremely solid chicken coops built from stone. Traveling as cargo on trading boats, they reached the Asian continent via the islands of Indonesia and from there spread west to Europe and western Asia.
Chickens in Ancient Rome
The Romans used chickens for oracles, both when flying ("ex avibus") and when feeding ("auspicium ex tripudiis"). The hen ("gallina") gave a favourable omen ("auspicium ratum"), when appearing from the left (Cic.,de Div. ii.26), like the crow and the owl.
For the oracle "ex tripudiis" according to Cicero (Cic. de Div. ii.34), any bird could be used, but normally only chickens ("pulli") were consulted. The chickens were cared for by the pullarius, who opened their cage and fed them pulses or a special kind of soft cake when an augury was needed. If the chickens stayed in their cage, made noises ("occinerent"), beat their wings or flew away, the omen was bad; if they ate greedily, the omen was good.
In 249 BC, the Roman general Publius Claudius Pulcher had his chickens thrown overboard when they refused to feed before the battle of Drepana, saying "If they won't eat, perhaps they will drink." He promptly lost the battle against the Carthaginians and 93 Roman ships were sunk. Back in Rome, he was tried for impiety and heavily fined.
In 161 BC a law was passed in Rome that forbade the consumption of fattened chickens. It was renewed a number of times, but does not seem to have been successful. Fattening chickens with bread soaked in milk was thought to give especially delicious results. The Roman gourmet Apicius offers 17 recipes for chicken, mainly boiled chicken with a sauce. All parts of the animal are used: the recipes include the stomach, liver, testicles and even the pygostyle (the fatty "tail" of the chicken where the tail feathers attach).
The Roman author Columella gives advice on chicken breeding in his 8th book of his treatise on agriculture. He identifies Tanagrian, Rhodic, Chalkidic and Median (commonly misidentified as Melian) breeds, which have an impressive appearance, a quarrelsome nature and were used for cockfighting by the Greeks. For farming, native (Roman) chickens are to be preferred, or a cross between native hens and Greek cocks. Dwarf chickens are nice to watch because of their size but have no other advantages.
Per Columella, the ideal flock consists of 200 birds, which can be supervised by one person if someone is watching for stray animals. White chickens should be avoided as they are not very fertile and are easily caught by eagles or goshawks. One cock should be kept for five hens. In the case of Rhodian and Median cocks that are very heavy and therefore not much inclined to sex, only three hens are kept per cock. The hens of heavy fowls are not much inclined to brood; therefore their eggs are best hatched by normal hens. A hen can hatch no more than 15-23 eggs, depending on the time of year, and supervise no more than 30 hatchlings. Eggs that are long and pointed give more male, rounded eggs mainly female hatchlings.
Per Columella, Chicken coops should face southeast and lie adjacent to the kitchen, as smoke is beneficial for the animals. Coops should consist of three rooms and possess a hearth. Dry dust or ash should be provided for dust-baths.
According to Columella, chicken should be fed on barley groats, small chick-peas, millet and wheat bran, if they are cheap. Wheat itself should be avoided, it is harmful to the birds. Boiled ryegrass (Lollium sp.) and the leaves and seeds of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) can be used as well. Grape marc can be used, but only when the hens stop laying eggs, that is, about the middle of November; otherwise eggs are small and few. When feeding grape marc, it should be supplemented with some bran. Hens start to lay eggs after the winter solstice, in warm places around the first of January, in colder areas in the middle of February. Parboiled barley increases their fertility; this should be mixed with alfalfa leaves and seeds, or vetches or millet if alfalfa is not at hand. Free-ranging chickens should receive two cups of barley daily.
Columella advises farmers to slaughter hens that are older than three years, because they no longer produce sufficient eggs. Capons were produced by burning out their spurs with a hot iron. The wound was treated with potter's chalk.
For the use of poultry and eggs in the kitchens of ancient Rome see Roman eating and drinking.
Famous chickens
Real chickens
Fictional chickens
- Alecto and Galina in: Clemens Brentano, The Tale of Gockel, Hinkel, and Gackeleia (New York Random House 1961), (1838).
- Billina the talking hen from L. Frank Baum's Ozma of Oz