Chicken

Chickens are omnivores. In the wild, they often scratch at the soil to search for seeds, insects and even larger animals such as lizards or young mice.Domestic chickens are not capable of long distance flight, although lighter birds are generally capable of flying for short distances, such as over fences or into trees (where they would naturally roost).Chickens are gregarious birds and live together in flocks. They have a communal approach to the incubation of eggs and raising of young. Individual chickens in a flock will dominate others, establishing a “pecking order”, with dominant individuals having priority for food access and nesting locations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken

The chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird.

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Galliformes

Family: Phasianidae

Genus: Gallus

Species: Gallus gallus

Subspecies:

Gallus gallus

domesticus

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Classification

Skeleton of a Chicken

1

2

3

45

67

89

10

11

12

13

14

15

1. Maxilla2. Eye socket3. Cranium4. Mandible (bones of the hyobranchial apparatus are

shown to be protruding below the mandible)5. Atlas6. Axis7. Cervical vertebrae8. Radius9. Ulna10. Humerus11. Femur12. Patella13. Fibula14. Tarsus15. Sesamoid bone (ossified tibial cartilage) in hock joint16. Tarsometatarsal joint17. Scapula18. Coracoid bone19. Ribs20. Sternum21. Keel22. Ilium23. Caudal vertebrae24. Ischium25. Pubis

16

16d

17

18

2021

2223

24

25

16a

16c16b

19

Text book of Veterinary anatomy, third edition, Dyce et al

Chicken Skull

1. Premaxilla2. Nasal aperture3. Nasal bone4. Lacrimal Bone5. Orbit6. Frontal Bone7. Parietal Bone8. Tympanic cavity with cochlear and

vestibular windows9. Quadrate Bone10. Articular Bone11. Maxilla12. Zygomatic arch13. Mandible

1

2

3

4

5

6 7

89

10

11

13

12

Text book of Veterinary anatomy, third edition, Dyce et al