Facts about Chicken

Chickens often scratch at the soil to search for insects and seeds.

Chickens will try to lay in nests that already contain eggs, and have been known to move eggs from neighboring nests into their own.

Chickens benefit humans greatly as a source of food, both from their meat and their eggs.

Under some observations, an offering of chicken is presented with "serious" prayer (while roasted pork is offered during a joyous celebration).

A broody chicken will sit fast on the nest, and protest or peck in defense if disturbed or removed, and will rarely leave the nest to eat, drink, or dust bathe.

The chicken is one of the Zodiac symbols of the Chinese calendar.

The chicken also has played roles in Chinese religion, Hindu ceremonies, ancient Greece mythology, ancient Roman oracles, Central European folk tales, and in traditional Jewish practice, and are referred to Biblical passages.

Pictures of chickens are found on Greek red figure and black-figure pottery.

In ancient Greece, the chicken was not normally used for sacrifices, perhaps because it was still considered an exotic animal.

Distinct breeds of chickens arose in different locations.

The chicken (Gallus gallus) is one of humankind's most common and wide-spread domestic animals.

On the other hand, chickens have often been the victims of human cruelty, for instance in the sport of cockfighting and in inhumane practices on modern factory farms.

Domesticated chickens differ from wild junglefowl in several features.

Chickens are gregarious birds and live together as a flock.

The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) reports that China was the top chicken market in 2004 followed by the United States.

Throughout history, chickens, although very common, have almost always been of secondary importance in farming communities.

Growing concerns over the cholesterol content of red meat in the 1980s and 1990s further resulted in increased consumption of chicken.

A chicken is considered a channel for evil spirits, which may be present during the ceremony.

Conditions in intensive chicken farms may be unsanitary, allowing the proliferation of diseases such as salmonella and E. coli.

Males of the egg-type breeds have little commercial value at any age, and all those not used for breeding (roughly fifty percent of all egg-type chickens) are killed soon after hatching.

Small flocks were kept on farms, and chicken meat and eggs were often an important source of family food or extra income.

In 249 B.C.E., 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."

E. Coli can be killed by proper cooking times, but there is still some risk associated with it, and its near-ubiquity in commercially-farmed chicken is troubling to some.

The poet Cratinus (mid fifth century B.C.E., according to the later Greek author Athenaeus) calls the chicken "the Persian alarm."

Domestic chickens spread from India east to China about 1400 B.C.E.

Many animal welfare advocates object to killing chickens for food, the "factory farm conditions" under which they are raised, methods of transport, and slaughter.

Individual chickens in a flock will dominate others, establishing a "pecking order," with dominant individuals having priority for access to food and nesting locations.

PETA and other groups have repeatedly conducted undercover investigations at chicken farms and slaughterhouses, which they allege confirm their claims of cruelty.

The sacrifice of the chicken is to receive atonement, for the bird takes on all the person's sins in kapparos.

People in many cultures have admired the good qualities of chickens and have worked to create useful and beautiful breeds.

On average, a chicken lays one egg a day for a number of days (a "clutch"), then does not lay for one or more days, then lays another clutch.

Chickens will sometimes fly to explore their surroundings, but usually do so only to flee perceived danger.

Chickens could be sent to slaughterhouses for butchering and processing into prepackaged commercial products to be frozen or shipped fresh to markets or wholesalers.

The chicken is believed to be descended from the wild Indian and south-east Asian red junglefowl (also Gallus gallus).

The chicken is then taken home and returns to its normal life.

In 2004, 8.9 billion chickens were slaughtered in the United States (USDA 2004).

The first pictures of chickens in Europe are found on Corinthian pottery of the seventh century B.C.E.

Once a meat consumed only occasionally, the common availability and lower cost has made chicken a common meat product within developed nations.

The major milestone in twentieth century poultry production was the discovery of vitamin D, which made it possible to keep chickens in confinement year-round.

ii.34), any bird could be used, but normally only chickens ("pulli") were consulted.

Some nutrients, however, are present in chicken but not in the soybean (FAO 2004).

Before this, chickens did not thrive during the winter (due to lack of sunlight), and egg production, incubation, and meat production in the off-season were all very difficult, making poultry a seasonal and expensive proposition.

Chic's "Le Freak" (1978) became a classic and is heard almost everywhere disco is mentioned; other hits by Chic include the often-sampled "Good Times" (1979) and "Everybody Dance" (1977).

A red silk scarf is placed on the chicken's head and a close relative of the absent bride/groom holds the chicken so the ceremony may proceed.

Traditionally, chicken production was distributed across the entire agricultural sector.

Female chickens over a year old are known as hens.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, little attention was paid in the West to chicken breeding until the 1800s when more productive breeds began to be developed.

Domestic chickens are not capable of long distance flight, although they are generally capable of flying for short distances such as over fences.

Meat-type chickens currently grow to market weight in six to seven weeks whereas only 50 years ago it took three times as long.

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.

Purebred chickens are shown at shows and agricultural fairs.

Irradiation has been proposed as a means of sterilizing chicken meat after butchering; while proper storage, handling, and cooking are always important (USDA 2006).

The American Poultry Association recognizes 113 different chicken breeds.

Distinct breeds of chickens arose in different locations.

The Chinese developed fancy breeds with beautiful and unusual plumage, while the Romans breed white chickens in order to sacrifice them to their gods (Hopf 1982).

According to Consumer Reports, "1.1 million or more Americans sickened each year by undercooked, tainted chicken."

Giving the feed to chickens means the protein reaches humans with a much lower efficiency than through direct consumption of soybean products.

The ancient Romans used chickens for oracles, both when flying ("ex avibus") and when feeding ("auspicium ex tripudiis").

Meat-type chickens currently grow to market weight in six to seven weeks whereas only 50 years ago it took three times as long.

A USDA study discovered E.Coli in 99 percent of supermarket chicken, the result of chicken butchering not being a sterile process.

Chickens used in this capacity are known as utility chickens.

When a rooster finds food, he may call the other chickens to eat it first.

Males of the egg-type breeds have little commercial value at any age, and all those not used for breeding (roughly fifty percent of all egg-type chickens) are killed soon after hatching.