Chickens Pictures

Chickens Pictures - Introduction

Picture source: Araucana Breeders

People have been keeping chickens from ancient times. First, chicken keeping was introduced in India. Later the practice spread to China and Middle East. In those times chickens were, in most cases, kept for competitive cockfighting.

There are as many as 175 varieties of chickens. The varieties are grouped in approximately 60 breeds, which, in turn, are distributed among 12 classes. The classes are named after the regions where they were developed. Thereby we have the following classes: American, Asiatic, Bantam, Continental, English, French, Game, Hamburg, Mediterranean, Miscellaneous, Oriental and Polish.

A breed is actually a group of species that has a fixed set of certain physical features. A variety is usually identified by color differences, which may occur in various combinations within a certain breed. Varieties may bear important genetic information and can be referred to when developing a new breed.

Chickens are termed in different ways according to age and sex. Young males are called 'cockerels' and immature females are referred to as 'pullets'. Upon reaching puberty (1 year from birth) the 'cockerels' become 'cocks' or 'roosters', and the female chickens mature into 'hens'.