THE MAJOR PARTS OF A CHICKEN
Farmers should know the various parts of a chicken and their functions.
1. Beak – The chicken’s beak serves three functions. First, it is the chicken’s mouth. Second, it is used for fighting and protection. And third, it functions as the teeth of the chicken, enabling the bird to break foods into pieces small enough to swallow.
2. Comb– The soft, tall red points on top of a chicken’s head is called the comb. The comb helps the chicken to regulate their body temperature in the heat. As the comb sticks up, away from their head blood flows into the comb and cools. A Comb that changes colour can indicate illness.
3. Wattles– Found under the beak, the wattles are the fleshy red lobes of skin. Just like the comb, they aid in regulating body temperature. Colour changes, shrunken wattles, or changes in the wattle appearance can indicate health issues.
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4. Hackles– The group of feathers around your chicken’s neck. These are often highly decorative
5. Ear lobes – The lobes are a fleshy skin located under the ear hole and the side of the head.The ear lobes of chickens serve hearing and other ear functions.
6. Eyes – The eyeball of a chicken is stationary; thus, a chicken must move its head to vary the range of vision.
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7. Feathers – Feathers provide insulation and buffer extremes of heat and cold.
8. Wings –Three different types of feathers cover a chickens wing. Large feathers are called the primaries, the long middle feathers are the primaries, and the small feathers are the coverts. They can flap their wings sufficiently to raise themselves about three meters off the ground.
9. Toe – The majority of chickens have three toes with a claw projecting backwards. Scaled skin covers the feet
10. Cloaca/Vent – The Cloaca is an orifice used for urinating, defecating and also for mating. Not only is the Cloaca the end of the digestive tract, but it also shifts and folds back to release eggs without allowing the eggs to become contaminated by faecal matter.
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