Knowra Domestic chicken Domestic chicken The domesticated form of the red junglefowl, raised worldwide for meat and eggs. Its domestication produced diverse breeds and intensive systems of poultry farming.
Red junglefowl : A pheasant native to South and Southeast Asia and the wild ancestor of the domestic chicken. Genetic and archaeological evidence identifies this species as the chicken’s principal ancestor.
Gallus : A genus of junglefowl in the pheasant family, native to South and Southeast Asia. The domestic chicken belongs to this genus alongside several wild junglefowl species.
Poultry farming : The raising of domesticated birds, especially chickens, for food and other products. Chicken production is the largest and most widespread part of poultry farming.
Chicken egg incubation : The maintenance of suitable warmth and conditions for a fertilized chicken egg to develop and hatch. Incubation turns fertilized eggs into chicks, whether through a hen or a machine.
Animal welfare in poultry farming : The treatment and living conditions of birds raised in commercial poultry systems. High-density production raises questions about movement, injury, stress, and access to natural behavior.
Chicken domestication : The process by which people brought red junglefowl into managed populations and changed their behavior and biology. It explains how a wild bird became a human-managed food animal.
Galliformes : An order of mostly ground-dwelling birds that includes chickens, turkeys, pheasants, and grouse. This broader bird group places chickens among familiar poultry and game birds.
Broiler : A chicken bred and raised primarily for meat production. Broilers embody selection for rapid growth and high meat yield.
Chicken embryonic development : The sequence of growth and organ formation by which a chicken embryo develops inside an egg. Embryonic development explains how the egg’s contents become a hatchling.
Avian influenza : A group of influenza A viruses that infect birds and sometimes other animals, including humans. Domestic flocks can be affected by outbreaks that threaten animal and human health.
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