This is a comprehensive glossary of terms related to Poultry Husbandry, organized alphabetically from A to Z. Each term is briefly defined to cover the broad scope of poultry farming, management, health, breeding, and related practices. This glossary aims to include all relevant terminology associated with poultry husbandry.
A
- Addled Egg: An egg that is rotten or infertile, often detected during candling.
- Albumen: The egg white, primarily composed of water and proteins, providing nutrition to the embryo.
- All-in, All-out: A management system where all birds are brought into a facility at the same time and removed together to prevent disease spread.
- Anticoccidial: A drug or feed additive used to prevent or treat coccidiosis, a parasitic disease in poultry.
- Avian: Pertaining to birds, specifically poultry in this context.
- Aviary System: A housing system allowing birds to move freely in an enclosed area, often with perches and nests.
B
- Bantam: A small breed of chicken, often kept for ornamental purposes or small-scale egg production.
- Battery Cage: A small, wire cage used to house laying hens, typically in intensive egg production systems.
- Beak Trimming: The process of trimming a bird’s beak to prevent feather pecking or cannibalism.
- Bedding: Material (e.g., wood shavings, straw) used on poultry house floors to absorb moisture and provide comfort.
- Biosecurity: Measures taken to prevent the introduction or spread of diseases in poultry flocks.
- Bleaching: The fading of pigment in a hen’s vent, beak, and shanks as egg production progresses.
- Broiler: A chicken bred specifically for meat production, typically slaughtered at 6–8 weeks.
- Brooding: The care and management of young chicks, providing warmth, food, and water during early life stages.
- Broody Hen: A hen that exhibits a strong instinct to sit on eggs and hatch them.
- Bursa of Fabricius: An organ in young birds critical for immune system development.
C
- Cage-Free System: A housing system where hens are not confined to cages and can move freely within a barn or aviary.
- Candle: To examine an egg’s contents by holding it up to a light source to check fertility or embryo development.
- Cannibalism: Aggressive behavior where poultry peck and consume parts of other birds.
- Capons: Castrated male chickens raised for meat, known for tender and flavorful flesh.
- Chalaza: The twisted, cord-like structure in an egg that anchors the yolk in place.
- Chick: A newly hatched bird, typically under 6 weeks old.
- Clutch: A group of eggs laid by a hen over consecutive days before she pauses or goes broody.
- Coccidiosis: A parasitic disease caused by protozoa (coccidia), affecting the intestinal tract of poultry.
- Comb: The fleshy crest on a chicken’s head, used for thermoregulation and as an indicator of health.
- Coop: A small enclosure or house for keeping poultry, typically for backyard flocks.
- Crop: A pouch in a bird’s esophagus where food is temporarily stored before digestion.
- Culling: The removal of sick, unproductive, or undesirable birds from a flock.
D
- Day-Old Chick: A chick within 24 hours of hatching, often shipped to farms for raising.
- Debeaking: Another term for beak trimming, often used interchangeably.
- Deep Litter System: A floor-based housing system where bedding is allowed to build up over time, composting naturally.
- Dewormer: A medication used to treat internal parasitic worms in poultry.
- Dual-Purpose Breed: A chicken breed raised for both egg and meat production (e.g., Rhode Island Red).
- Dust Bathing: A natural behavior where poultry roll in dust or sand to clean feathers and deter parasites.
E
- Egg Binding: A condition where a hen is unable to lay an egg due to it being stuck in the oviduct.
- Egg Tooth: A small, sharp structure on a chick’s beak used to break through the eggshell during hatching.
- Embryo: The developing chick inside a fertilized egg.
- Enriched Cage: A modified battery cage with additional space, perches, and nesting areas for hen welfare.
- Enteritis: Inflammation of the intestines, often caused by bacterial or parasitic infections.
- Evisceration: The process of removing internal organs during poultry slaughter.
F
- Feather Pecking: A behavioral issue where birds peck at and pull out each other’s feathers.
- Fertile Egg: An egg containing an embryo, capable of developing into a chick if incubated.
- Flock: A group of poultry kept together for management purposes.
- Forced Molting: Inducing molting in laying hens by manipulating light or feed to extend their productive life.
- Free-Range: A system where poultry have access to outdoor areas for foraging and movement.
- Fryer: A young chicken raised for meat, typically slaughtered at a lighter weight than broilers.
G
- Gizzard: A muscular part of a bird’s stomach that grinds food, often with the aid of ingested grit.
- Grit: Small stones or coarse sand consumed by poultry to aid in digestion within the gizzard.
- Grow-Out: The phase of raising poultry from chicks to market weight or maturity.
H
- Hatchery: A facility where eggs are incubated and chicks are hatched, often for commercial distribution.
- Hen: An adult female chicken, typically over one year old, used for egg production or breeding.
- Hock: The joint in a bird’s leg between the thigh and shank, analogous to the human ankle.
- Husbandry: The practice of breeding, raising, and caring for poultry.
I
- Incubation: The process of keeping eggs at controlled temperature and humidity to allow embryo development.
- Infectious Bronchitis: A highly contagious viral respiratory disease affecting poultry.
- Infrared Beak Trimming: A method using infrared light to trim beaks, reducing trauma compared to traditional methods.
- In ovo Vaccination: Administering vaccines to embryos inside eggs before hatching.
J
- Juvenile: A young bird that has not yet reached sexual maturity.
K
- Keel: The breastbone of a bird, used as an indicator of body condition in meat birds.
- Keratin: The protein that forms feathers, beaks, and claws in poultry.
L
- Layer: A hen bred and raised specifically for egg production.
- Litter: The bedding material used in poultry houses to absorb moisture and manure.
- Lice: External parasites that live on poultry, causing irritation and reduced productivity.
M
- Marek’s Disease: A viral disease causing tumors and paralysis in poultry, preventable by vaccination.
- Mites: Tiny external parasites that feed on poultry blood or skin, causing irritation and disease.
- Molting: The natural process where birds shed and regrow feathers, often accompanied by a pause in egg laying.
- Mortality Rate: The percentage of birds in a flock that die during a given period.
N
- Nesting Box: A designated area where hens lay eggs, often lined with bedding for comfort.
- Newcastle Disease: A contagious viral disease affecting poultry, causing respiratory and neurological symptoms.
- Nipple Drinker: A water delivery system that releases water when pecked, reducing waste and contamination.
O
- Oocyst: The infectious stage of coccidia parasites, shed in poultry feces.
- Oviduct: The organ in hens where eggs are formed and laid.
- Organic Poultry: Poultry raised under organic standards, avoiding synthetic chemicals and antibiotics.
P
- Pasting: A condition in chicks where feces stick to the vent, potentially causing blockage.
- Pecking Order: The social hierarchy within a flock, determining access to food, water, and space.
- Perch: A raised structure where poultry rest or roost.
- Pullet: A young female chicken under one year old, not yet in full egg production.
- Poultry: Domesticated birds raised for eggs, meat, or feathers (e.g., chickens, turkeys, ducks).
Q
- Quarantine: Isolating new or sick birds to prevent disease spread within a flock.
R
- Ration: The daily feed allowance formulated to meet poultry nutritional needs.
- Rooster: An adult male chicken, often kept for breeding or protection of the flock.
- Roost: A perch or elevated area where poultry sleep.
S
- Scaly Leg Mite: A parasite that burrows under leg scales, causing irritation and deformity.
- Sexing: Determining the gender of chicks, often through vent sexing or feather sexing.
- Shank: The lower part of a bird’s leg, between the hock and foot.
- Spent Hen: A laying hen that is no longer economically productive for egg production.
- Starter Feed: A high-protein feed formulated for young chicks to support early growth.
- Strain: A specific genetic line within a poultry breed, selected for particular traits.
T
- Thermoneutral Zone: The temperature range where poultry maintain body temperature without extra energy expenditure.
- Toe Punching: A method of marking chicks by removing a small portion of the toe web for identification.
- Turkeys: Large poultry species raised for meat, distinct from chickens.
U
- Uropygial Gland: A gland near the base of a bird’s tail that secretes oil for feather preening.
V
- Vaccination: Administering vaccines to protect poultry from diseases like Marek’s or Newcastle.
- Vent: The external opening of a bird’s cloaca, used for egg laying and waste elimination.
- Ventilation: The process of providing fresh air to poultry houses to maintain air quality and temperature.
W
- Wattle: The fleshy, red lobes hanging below a chicken’s beak, used for thermoregulation.
- Weaning: The transition of chicks from starter feed to grower feed.
- Worming: Treating poultry for internal parasites using dewormers.
X
- Xenobiotic: A foreign chemical substance, such as a pesticide, that may affect poultry health.
Y
- Yolk: The nutrient-rich part of an egg that nourishes the developing embryo.
- Yolk Sac: A membrane in chicks that provides nutrients immediately after hatching.
Z
Zoonosis: A disease that can be transmitted from poultry to humans, such as avian influenza.