English: Chicken Chicken is one of the birds that have been domesticated for many centuries, the female is called a hen and the male is called a rooster and their offspring are called chicks or chicks. The hen gives man important food from her eggs, and the chicken is an essential source of white meat that is very important to man.
Currently, chickens are raised in private farms to obtain and benefit from their meat and eggs, where they are taken care of to prevent disease.
Chickens are classified into two types according to the breeder’s intention to benefit from their breeding. Either they are laying or carnivorous, and both breeding have special fodder for their type.
In the old divisions of chicken, it was divided into two main parts: A - the ornamental section B - the production section. The production section has been divided into two main groups: 1- Egg production chickens. 2- Dual-purpose chicken.
1- Egg-producing chickens: It is meant for chickens specialized in egg production. These chickens follow: A- Standard types: such as Leghorn, Minorca, Ancona, Andalusian blue. Leghorn is considered one of the most famous standard species in egg production. It matures sexually at the age of 5-6 months and is given 250-300 eggs/year. Egg production in the rest of the species ranges between 200-250 eggs/year. B - Breeds specialized in egg production: Commercial hybrids are called for egg production, such as: Schiffer - Isabrown - High Six - High Line - some of which give brown-shelled eggs and white-shelled eggs, and the average production in these strains ranges from 300-340 eggs/year. These breeds are the ones that give table eggs, while the standard types are the ones that give fertilized eggs that are hatched into small chicks.
In general, the types of egg production are characterized by the following characteristics: 1- The body is triangular in shape. 2 - Light weight, active movement. 3- Do not be inclined to lie down. 4 - withstand high temperatures. 5 - early sexual maturity. 6-Nervous mood. 7 - The ear lobe is white.
2- Dual-purpose chicken: It is the chicken that can be given the production of eggs and the production of meat, as it carries the genetic factors that allow it to do so. The body size ranges between 2.4 - 3.8 kg and the egg production ranges from 150 - 200 eggs / year.
The dual-purpose chicken is characterized by the following: 1 - Oval body shape. 2- Heavy weight and slow movement. 3- Tends to lie down. 4 - It does not tolerate high temperatures. 5- Late sexual maturity. 6- Quiet in nature. 7- The ear lobe is red.
It is worth noting that there are no standard types specialized in the production of meat, but there are hybrids or commercial strains, for example: Hubbards - Lohmann - arborists - Cobb - Ross, which can be marketed at the age of 6 weeks with an average weight of 1.75 - 2.00 kg.