Chicken

Domestic chickens are descended from wild Red Junglefowl, and potentially Grey Junglefowl. It is difficult to place exactly when and where chickens were domesticated, but it was at least 7,000 years ago. A fixture of farm life, chickens come in a range of sizes and shapes. There are over 60 breeds recognized by the American Poultry Association and hundreds of breeds recognized worldwide.

Chickens are omnivores, eating all types of food. Outdoors, they eat seeds, insects, grubs, worms and small animals such as mice and lizards. On large farms today, chickens eat a commercial diet packed with protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals. Chickens drink lots of water. They require 2-3 times as much water as feed per day.

Chickens live wherever humans do. People have developed different breeds to fit different environments. Some breeds, such as Plymouth Rock, are good foragers. Others, such as Araucanas, are well-adapted to living indoors. In urban areas, backyard chickens are growing in popularity.

Chickens are social, flock animals, with several hens living with one or more roosters. Hens spend their days laying eggs, pecking for food, or resting on a roost. Although chickens are birds, they do not have extended periods of flight like other birds. Their flight ability is typically limited to a few feet due to their small wing size and large, heavy bodies. Regardless of poor flying ability, domestic chickens are still able to get high into trees or homemade roosts for sleeping.

Because they are important to people, chickens are not in danger of extinction. However, some breeds of domestic chicken are rare, such as the Modern Game, the Campine, the Ayam Cemani and others.