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Chicken Help

We found 50 results for category 'Glossary'

Q: What is NPIP and why should I purchase only from NPIP breeders?

A: NPIP stands for National Poultry Improvement Plan, and it's a voluntary certification system that poultry breeders and hatcheries can participate in.... read more

Q: Why is it necessary that my chickens have grit?

A: "Scarce as hens' teeth." Have you ever heard that expression before? Of course, chickens don't have teeth... and that's a problem, since their diet... read more

Q: What is the deep litter method of coop bedding management, and how does it work?

A: The traditional way to manage bedding in the coop is to put a light layer of bedding down--for bedding recommendations, see the related questions... read more

Q: What is an apron fence, and why is it helpful?

A: An apron fence is a fence that helps to keep out digging predators. But it isn't normally a special type of fence that you buy; it's more of a... read more

Q: What is a chicken's crop? What is a gizzard?

A: A chicken's crop is a part of her digestive system, and is located on her breast. You see it in the illustration below, closest to the front. When it... read more

Q: What are a chicken's hackles?

A: A chicken's hackle feathers are the feathers around the neck. These feathers can sometimes be showy in roosters. People that "fly tie" (for trout... read more

Q: What are bantam chickens?

A: Bantams chickens are miniature chickens. Regular-sized chickens are often called "standards," but in reality the correct term for the larger chickens... read more

Q: What is a chicken's spur?

A: A spur is a horny growth on a chicken's legs, right above the toes. In most breeds, roosters are the only ones who grow spurs. Roosters use their... read more

Q: What is bedding or litter?

A: Bedding or litter is the material added to the coop floor and nest box in order to absorb odor and droppings and provide a soft surface for your... read more

Q: What is the "bloom" of an egg?

A: The bloom, cuticle, or cuticula is a natural protective covering of an that helps keep bacteria from invading the porous shell.

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Q: What is candling?

A: Candling is the process of shining a bright light into an egg to have a look at the contents. It used to be done with a candle in a dark room, but... read more

Q: What is fancy feathering in chickens?

A: "Fancy feathering" refers to unusual feathering that some varieties of chickens have. There are different types of fancy feathering.... read more

Q: What is a droppings tray?

A: A droppings tray is a great coop feature, if yo're lucky enough to have it! It's like a shallow drawer in your coop that can be pulled out and dumped... read more

Q: What is a feeder for my pet chickens?

A: A feeder is the item you use to dispense feed for your flock. Of course, you could always just dispense feed on the ground or in a dish, but there... read more

Q: What is a roost?

A: A roost is a perch for a chicken---what s/he sleeps on, usually a branch, pole, or board that is elevated. It also refers to the act of resting on... read more

Q: What is a fertilized chicken egg?

A: Fertile eggs are those that contain both ova and sperm, and will develop into a baby chick if incubated. If you have nothing but hens in your flock,... read more

Q: What is the Latin name for chicken?

A: The Latin name for chicken is Gallus gallus domesticus.

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Q: What is pecking order?

A: "Pecking order" is the social hierarchy of the chicken flock. Those at the top of the pecking order get the best nesting spots and roosting spots,... read more

Q: What is wire gauge, and why should I care about it?

A: When you're looking at fencing... read more

Q: Why do chicken combs look so different from one another, and what is a comb?

A: A comb is the fleshy (usually) red erectile tissue on top of a chicken's head. Different breeds have different combs. There are a few main comb... read more

Q: What are wattles? Are they they same thing as earlobes?

A: Wattles are the red flaps of tissue that hang down beneath a chicken's throat.

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Q: What are shanks and spurs?

A: A chicken's shank is the bottom part of her leg, above the foot, but below the hock. The spur is the chicken's chief weapon, and grows out of the... read more

Q: What is a chicken's vent? Fluff? Wheezer? Cloaca?

A: Prepare yourself for this: a chicken's vent is the opening where she expels waste AND the opening from which she lays her eggs. It's all one... read more

Q: What are hackles, sickles, and saddles?

A: Hackles, sickles, saddles: these are all terms referring to different types of chicken feathers.

"Hackles" are the feathers around the... read more

Q: What is debeaking or "beak trimming" and do your chickens come that way?

A: No. Our chickens and chicks are not debeaked or "beak trimmed." Our birds have their full, natural beaks.

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Q: What is an overhatch and why do you advertise it?

A: Well, let's start with the idea that we literally count our chickens before they've hatched. :) The exhortation against doing that is pretty good... read more

Q: How much space should my chickens have inside their coop?

A: A chicken coop is any structure in which your chickens shelter. In most areas of the country, a chicken coop is an enclosed space, but in warmer... read more

Q: What is a chicken coop?

A: The word "coop" simply refers to the structure that your chickens live in. A run refers to the enclosed part of the chickens' area that is outside,... read more

Q: What is a chicken run?

A: A chicken run is the fenced or enclosed outdoor space you provide for your chickens. The coop is the indoor space---where they go to sleep on their... read more

Q: What is incubation?

A: Incubation is similar to "gestation" in animals that give live birth. It's the process in which the embryo in a fertilized egg develops into a baby... read more

Q: What is a wormer?

A: A "wormer" is a medication used to help rid your chickens of infestations of internal parasites like round worms or other worms, the same way you... read more

Q: What is a waterer?

A: A waterer is simply the vessel or system you use to provide water for your birds. Waterers may be basic and made from plastic or metal.

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Q: What is the difference between different types of chicken feeds like starter, grower, finisher, layer, and developer?

A: Starter, grower, finisher, layer, and developer are all considered "complete feeds" to offer your chickens, but they come in different... read more

Q: What are "reportable diseases" when it comes to chickens?

A: Reportable diseases are chicken illnesses that are serious and communicable enough that in the U.S., you (and your vet) are required to report... read more

Q: What is a poultry show?

A: A Poultry Show or exhibition is very much like a dog show. Breeders and fanciers---often 4-Hers---bring their best chickens to show them at the... read more

Q: What is sexing, autosexing, and sex-linked?

A: The word "sexing" simply refers to the process by which chicks are sorted into males and females. Chicks are not easy to tell apart because they... read more

Q: What is a nest box?

A: A nest box, also called a nesting box, is an enclosed area meant to give chickens a place they feel comfortable laying their eggs.

Chickens... read more

Q: What is a dual-purpose chicken?

A: In the modern day, factory farm chickens are kept for laying or meat production. Laying breeds, or "layers," tend to produce impressive... read more

Q: What is molting?

A: Molting occurs once a year in adult birds older than one year, normally in late summer or autumn. During this time, birds will lose their feathers... read more

Q: What is quarantine and when should I quarantine my flock?

A: In your backyard flock, quarantine is the act of isolating a chicken or chickens who has been potentially or actually exposed to contagious illness... read more

Q: What are frizzles, sizzles, and frazzles?

Frizzles and sizzles are not breeds of chickens so much as they are words describing three very showy feather types that chickens can exhibit.... read more

Q: There are so many different terms for chickens--juvenile, cockerel, pullet, chick, hen, rooster, peep, biddy, started pullet, point-of-lay pullet, broody, brood, flock---what do they all mean?

There ARE a lot of different terms for chicken, aren't there? It can be a little confusing, especially when you're just starting out. So let's... read more

Q: What is a dust bath, and do my chickens need one?

A: A dust bath is essentially a "bath" your birds will take in dry dirt. They'll flop around looking as if they're dying. But don't be alarmed! They're... read more

Q: What does "straight run" mean?

A: Straight run chicks are an "as hatched" mix of male and female chicks.

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Q: What does BBS stand for with chickens?

A: BBS stands for "Blue-Black-Splash." But that doesn't tell you a whole lot, either, if you don't know how the genetics of blue plumage colors works!... read more

Q: What does the word "broody" mean?

A: When a hen is broody, that means she wants to hatch her eggs and raise chicks.

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Q: What is a setter and what is a non-setter in chickens?

A: A setter is a hen who will hatch her eggs. A non-setter is a hen who will not hatch eggs.

The vast majority of chicken breeds will... read more

Q: What's the difference between Breeds, Designer Chicken Breeds, and Varieties of chicken?

Let's talk about Designer Chicken Breeds, Breeds, and Varieties, so you'll understand the differences in... read more

Q: What is a "heritage" chicken breed?

A: The definition of "heritage" in relation to chicken breeds is a bit flexible, but when we use the word, we're referring to breeds that have been... read more

Q: What is a lash egg?

A: A lash egg is less of an egg than it is a roughly egg- or sausage-shaped exudate, consisting of thickened pus and other materials. It is probably read more