- Old Goats in Transition, from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History (NMNH)
- Exploring the history of human interaction with plants and animals, from NMNH
Adopt a Farm! Celebrate the saving of the Kids’ Farm by bringing home a farm of your own. This special package includes three animals: cow, donkey, and alpaca, a cute garden trowel, and pack of seeds to start your own garden!
Adopt a farm.
Taxonomy
Class: Aves
Order: Galliformes
Family: Phasianidae
Genus/species: Gallus domesticus
Wild cousins
Many scientists believe that the red jungle fowl from
Thailand is the ancestor of all domestic chickens. At
the National Zoo, you can see hundreds
of birds from around the world.
Chickens are the world's most common domestic animal. There are more chickens on Earth than people (6 billion).
Do You Know Chickens?
What is the fleshy crown on the head called?
Comb
One of the chicken’s unique features is the fleshy skin on top of the head, known as the comb. The comb is usually larger on the male than on the female. The comb can have names such as buttercup, cushion, pea, rose, single, and strawberry.
What is the pointy mouth called?
Beak
Chicken have a beak and no teeth. Chickens will spend much of their day foraging for food. They eat insects, grain, fruit, and seeds.
What does a chicken use to dust itself in dirt?
Wing
The process is similar to water bathing and in the preening that follows they remove any moisture or excess oil that trapped the dust. Dust bathing is also a way of ridding the bird of feather parasites.
What is the fleshy skin that hangs from the chin?
Wattle
Chickens have wattles, two fleshy appendages under the chin. They serve no functional purpose other than identifying varieties and breeds.
What part is hidden on the head?
Ear
A chicken's ears can be found just behind the eye and are usually covered by feathers. Chickens have great hearing and use their ears to listen for predators or other chickens. The Kids' Farm chickens are trained to come to the sound of a whistle.
What does a chicken lose and grow each year?
Feathers
Feathers separate birds from all other animals. Feathers perform four important functions for birds: insulation, flight (for most species), camouflage/display, and sun protection. Feathers are formed from a protein called keratin. Keratin is the same material that makes up hair, scales, and fingernails.
What does a chicken use to scratch the ground?
Feet
Chickens may have four or five toes, depending on the breed. The claws in chickens are relatively short and slightly curved. Perching birds, such as chickens, can hold onto a branch tightly even when sleeping. The lower parts of the legs are controlled by a pulley system of tendons from the top of the leg. When the bird sits down onto its foot, a tendon is tightened over the joint and pulls in the toes.
