Chicken Wallpapers

Chicken Animals - photo wallpapers; Megawallpapers.org: Chicken - Alternate uses: Chicken (disambiguation). Habits: In the wild, junglefowl sleep in trees. Chickens are omnivores and will feed on small seeds, herbs and leaves, grubs, insects and even small mammals like mice, if they can get them. [br]story. The first pictures of chickens in Europe are found on Corinthian pottery of the 7th century BC. The poet Kratinos (middle of the 5th century BC, Athenaios 374d) calls the chicken "the Persian alarm". In Aristophanes's comedy The Birds (414 BC) a chicken is called "the Median bird", which points to an introduction from the East. Pictures of chickens are found on Greek red figured and black figured pottery. (Gr: órnis, hen; alektryón, cock). An early domestication of chickens in New Guinea is probable, since the word for domestic chicken (*manuk) is part of the reconstructed Proto-Austronesian language (see Austronesian languages). Chickens, together with dogs and pigs, were the domestic animals of the Lapita culture, the first Neolithic culture of Oceania. Chickens were spread by Polynesian seafarers and reached Easter Island in the 12th century AD, where they were the only domestic animal, with the possible exception of the Polynesian Rat (Rattus exulans). They were housed in extremely solid chicken coops built from stone. Traveling as cargo on trading boats, they reached the Asian continent via the islands of Indonesia and from there spread west to Europe and western Asia. Since they have become so widespread, they are now considered the most common bird in the world. The population in 2003 was 24 billion, according to the Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds. Going broody: Chickens are gregarious birds and live together as a flock. They have a communial approach to the incubation of eggs and raising of young. Chickens will try to lay in nests that already contain eggs, and have been known to move eggs from neighbouring nests into their own. Some farmers use fake eggs made from plastic or stone to encourage hens to lay in a particular location. The result of this behaviour is that a flock will use only a few preferred locations, rather than having a different nest for every bird. Hens can be extremely stubborn when it comes to always laying in the same location. It's not unknown for two (or more) hens to try and share the same nest at the same time. If the nest is small, or one of the hens is particularly determined, this may result in chickens trying to lay on top of each other. Sometimes a hen will stop laying and instead will focus on the incubation of eggs, a state that is commonly known as going broody. A broody chicken will sit fast on the nest, and protest if disturbed or removed, and will rarely leave the nest to eat, drink, or dust bathe. While broody, the hen keeps the eggs at a constant temperature and humidity, as well as turning the eggs regularly. As the end of the incubation period, the eggs (if fertilised) will hatch, and the broody hen will take care of her young. If the eggs are not fertilised, the hen will eventually grow tired of being broody and leave the nest. Modern egg-laying breeds rarely go broody, and those that do will often stop part-way through the incubation cycle. Some breeds, such as the Cochin regularly go broody, and make excellent mothers. Chicken breeding: Chicken EggsThe Roman author Columella gives advice on chicken breeding in his 8th book of his treatise on agriculture. He identifies Tanagrian, Rhodic, Chalkidic and Median (commonly misidentified as Melian) breeds, which have an impressive appearance, a quarrelsome nature and were used for cockfighting by the Greeks. For farming, native (Roman) chickens are to be preferred, or a cross between native hens and Greek cocks. Dwarf chickens are nice to watch because of their size but have no other advantages. [br]The ideal flock consists of 200 birds, which can be supervised by one person if a boy or an industrious older woman is watching for stray animals. White chickens should be avoided as they are not very fertile and are easily caught by eagles or goshawks. One cock should be kept for five hens. In the case of Rhodian and Median cocks that are very heavy and therefore not much inclined to sex, only three hens are kept per cock. The hens of heavy fowls are not much inclined to brood; therefore their eggs are best hatched by normal hens. A hen can hatch no more than 15-23 eggs, depending on the time of year, and supervise no more than 30 hatchlings. Eggs that are long and pointed give more male, rounded eggs mainly female hatchlings. Hen with newly hatched chicksChicken coops should face southeast and lie adjacent to the kitchen, as smoke is beneficial for the animals. Coops should consist of three rooms and possess a hearth. Dry dust or ash should be provided for dust-baths. According to Columella, chicken should be fed on barley groats, small chick-peas, millet and wheat bran, if they are cheap. Wheat itself should be avoided, it is harmful to the birds. Boiled ryegrass (Lollium sp.) and the leaves and seeds of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) can be used as well. Grape marc can be used, but only when the hens stop laying eggs, that is, about the middle of November; otherwise eggs are small and few. When feeding grape marc, it should be supplemented with some bran. Hens start to lay eggs after the winter solstice, in warm places around the first of January, in colder areas in the middle of February. Parboiled barley increases their fertility; this should be mixed with alfalfa leaves and seeds, or vetches or millet if alfalfa is not at hand. Free-ranging chickens should receive two cups of barley daily. Columella advises farmers to slaughter hens that are older than three years, because they no longer produce sufficient eggs. Capons were produced by burning out their spurs with a hot iron. The wound was treated with potter's chalk. For the use of poultry and eggs in the kitchens of ancient Rome see Roman eating and drinking. In modern agriculture, "free-range" chickens are given a sizable area to move around in, while other chickens are raised in close quarters in "concentrated animal feeding operations" or "factory farms". [br]From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [br]

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Chicken Wallpapers @ Mega Wallpapers (08 Edition)
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