From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
| Domestic Chicken | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| Species | ||||||||||||
|
Gallus gallus
Gallus lafayetii Gallus sonneratii Gallus varius Reference: 176085 as of 2002-08-17 | ||||||||||||
A chicken is a type of domesticated bird which is usually raised as a type of poultry. It is believed to be descended from the wild Asian Red Junglefowl, Gallus gallus.
An early domestication of chicken in New Guinea is probable, the word for domestic chicken (*manuk) is part of the reconstructed proto Austranesian language. Chicken, together with dogs and pigs were the domestic animals of the Lapita culture, the first Neolithic culture of remote Oceania.
Chicken were spread by Polynesian seafarers and reached the Easter-Island in the 12th century AD, where they represented the only domestic animal, with the possible exception of the Polynesian rat (Rattus excelsior). They were housed in extremely solid chicken-coops built from stone.
The Romans used chicken for oracles, both in when flying (ex avibus) and when feeding ("auspicium ex tripudiis"). The hen (gallina) gave a favourable omen (auspicium ratum), when appearing from the left (Cic.,de Div. ii.26), like the crow and the owl.
For the oracle 'ex tripudiis' according to Cicero ((Cic. de Div. ii.34) any bird could be used, but normally only chicken (pulli) were consulted. The chicken were cared for by the pullarius, who opened their cage and fed them pulses or a special kind of soft cake when an augury was needed. If the chicken stayed in their cage, made noises ('occinerent'), beat their wings or flew away, the omen was bad, if they ate greedily, the omen was good.
In 249 BC, the Roman general Publius Claudius Pulcher had the chicken thrown overboard when they refused to feed before the battle of Drepana, saying " If they won't eat, perhaps they will drink". He promptly lost the battle against the Carthagians, 93 Roman ships were sunk. Back in Rome he was tried for impiety and heavily fined.
In the cult of Mithras, originally a Persian God Mithra the cock was a symbol of the divine light and a guardian against evil.
In the Bible, Luke 22, 43 Jesus prophesies the betrayal by Petrus "And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me." And thus it happened (Luke 22, 61), and Petrus cried bitterly. This made the cock a symbol both for vigilance and betrayal.
In many Central European folk tales, the devil is believed to flee at the first crowing of a cock.
Sometimes cock-fighting has a religious significance as well, as in Bali, where the shed blood is seen as cleansing.
In ancient Greece, where chicken were still rare, they were a rather prestigious food for symposia, like hare or wildfowl. Castrated cocks (capons), that produced more and fatter meat than normal chicken were already known. Delos seems to have been a centre of chicken-breeding.
In 161 BC a law was in Rome passed that forbade the consumption of fattened chicken. It was renewed a number of times, but does not seem to have been successful. Fattening chicken with bread soaked in milk was thought to give especially delicious results.
The Roman gourmet Apicius offers 17 recipes for chicken, mainly boiled chicken with a sauce. All parts of the animal are used, the recipes mention even the stomach, liver, the balls and even the parson's nose.
Columella advises to slaughter hens that are older than three years, because they do not produce sufficient eggs any more.
In the middle ages, capons where considered a delicacy.
Habits
In the wild, chicken sleep in trees. Chicken feed on small seeds, grubs, bugs and even small mammals like mice, if they can get themHistory
The first pictures of chicken in Europe are found on Korinthian pottery of the 7th century. The Poet Kratinos (middle of the 5th century, Athenaios 374d) calls the chicken 'the Persian alarm', in Aristophanes' comedy "The Birds" (705-707) a chicken is called 'the Median bird', which points to an introduction from the East.
Pictures of chicken are found on Greek red figured and black figured pottery.
(gr: órnis, hen, alektryón cock)Cockfighting
Male chicken, known as cockerels (if younger than one year old) or roosters, are common symbols of masculinity, and their natural inclination to fight has been exploited in staged cockfights, sometimes with a metal spike added to or replacing the natural spurs. Most countries have banned cockfighting, but it is still common in South-East Asia.
Cock-fighing was popular in ancient Greece. According to tradition, It was introduced in Athens by Themistokles as a public spectacle. Fighting-cocks were fed with garlic and onions to increase their aggression.
In ancient Greece, the gift of a fighting cock among men was a common way to initiate a homosexual relationship. Gems often show a cock combined with Eros, the God of love.
Chickens in Religion
In ancient Greece, the chicken was not normally used for sacrifices, perhaps because it was still considered an exotic animal. Because of its valour, cocks are found as attributes of Ares, Heracles and Athena. The Greeks believed that even lions were afraid of cocks.
''Chickens, IndonesiaChickens as Food
Chicken can be prepared as food in a large number of ways. Common traditional European/North-American methods include roasting, baking, and frying. Their eggs are also eaten.
Chicken Diseases
Chicken are prone to avian influenza, also known as bird flu which can, in rare cases, cross over to man. Vaccination is possible.
Related Topics
Famous Chickens
Mythical Creatures With Chicken-like Anatomy
