Poultry Definitions

Chick- A baby chicken or quail

Duckling- A baby duck

Poult- A baby turkey

Gosling- A baby Goose

Hatched- Birds hatch from eggs. They are not BORN

Pullet-A female chicken less than a year old

Cockerel- A male chicken less than a year old

Cock-A male chicken or quail over a year old

Hen- A female chicken over a year old. Turkey hens. Duck hens.

Drake-A male duck

Jake- A young male turkey

Tom-A male turkey over a year

Gander-A male goose

Sexed Birds- Birds that you know are male or female

Straight Run-unsexed birds

Started Birds- Sexed birds, off heat.

Vent Sex- A method done by professionals to sex chicks. Also a method of sexing quail.

Auto Sex- Birds that can be sexed at hatch by physical characteristics

Sex-Linked- Birds that have been crossed to create a plumage that is feather sexable at hatch

Litter-The bedding of a coop

Bedding- The substrate used in a brooder

Roost-A board used by birds to sleep on

Grit-Rocks used by the gizzard to grind feed

Chicken Wire-hexagonal thin wire used to keep chickens in

Hardware Cloth- metal fabric with varying sizes of squares that offers predator protection

Netting- Rope or nylon net used to cover runs to keep aerial predators out

Starter Feed- Used to start birds

Grower Feed- Used after starter, generally around 8 weeks, to grow birds

Layer Feed- Feed for laying flocks

Brooder-A tub of any type to contain young birds for safety, heat and draft free

Grow Out Pen- Used after a brooder to contain birds in a secure location, safe from mature birds

Coop- A structure that birds can sleep in, lay eggs in and eat in

Run- A fenced area attached to a coop

Free Range- When birds are allowed to roam an area freely

Aviary- A pen used to house birds, typically for smaller birds like quail or button quail

Broody- When a female bird wants to sit on a nest to hatch eggs

Incubator- A machine used to hatch eggs

Nest Box- A box, basket, tub used by a female bird to lay eggs

Cull- To remove a bird from the situation, program, coop, etc

Comb- The red skin on top of a bird’s hed

Beak- The hard lips of a chicken, quail, turkey

Bill- The hard, flat lips of a duck or goose

Pullet Eggs- A small egg laid by a pullet before she lays full size eggs

Plumage- the feathers of a bird

Hackle Feathers- The neck feathers of a bird

Sickle Feathers- The flowy tail feathers of a male bird

SOP- Standard of Perfection- A book printed by the APA describing breeds

APA- the American Poultry Association

ABA- the American Bantam Association

Clubs- Many breeds have clubs to promote the breed and maintain points from shows