Poultry Glossary
Poultry Definitions
- Bantam - A small, miniature chicken known as a Bantie / Banty.
- Breed - A group of birds having distinctive features in common.
- Broiler - A young chicken raised for it’s meat which is usually 9 - 12 weeks of age.
- Brooder - An enclosed area with a heat lamp for raising young chicks.
- Clutch - A set of eggs laid in a nest by one or more hens.
- Cockerel - A male chicken under one year of age.
- Coccidiosis - A disease which can kill chicks.
- Casque - The helmet on a guinea fowl’s head.
- Guinea Cock - An adult male guinea fowl one year or older.
- Guinea Hen - An adult female guinea fowl one year or older.
- Hen - A female chicken one year or older.
- Keet - A baby guinea fowl of either gender aged from birth to 12 weeks old.
- Layers - Mature female chickens kept for egg production.
- Litter -The bedding used in the hut or run, such as straw.
- Mites - Very tiny parasites that live on chickens.
- Nest Egg - A natural or artificial egg placed in the nest to encourage the hen to lay her eggs in the nest.
- Pipped Egg - A pipped egg is one that has been cracked by the chick at hatching time.
- Poultry - Domestic birds raised for meat or eggs.
- Pullet - A female chicken under one year of age.
- Shanks - The legs on a bird.
- Wattles - The fleshy red cheek appendages that hang under the bird’s beak.
Thanks for this Sara. I’ve often wondered what the definition of a Pullet and Boiler were. Now I know! Jane
Comment by Jane — March 26, 2008 @ 5:22 pm
I don’t think I realized how young broilers were! And it doesn’t matter whether they’re male or female, I guess.
Comment by nikkipolani — March 27, 2008 @ 12:57 pm
What a lot of interesting names and terms, some of which I would have got wrong - casque, keet, broiler and bantam - had I been asked what they were…and my mum was a farmer’s daughter
Comment by wildlifegardener — April 1, 2008 @ 1:49 pm