The life span of a chicken varies between 5 \u2013 7 years although there have been cases of chickens living 20 years or so. Some breeds, such as the Cochin, Cornish and Silkie, regularly go broody and make excellent mothers. During this time, the newly-hatched chicks live off the egg yolk they absorb just before hatching. All the time she is sitting in the nest she will regularly turn the eggs keeping them at a constant temperature and humidity.<\/p>\n
Each color variation of this breed represents a specific variety. For instance, a breed like Wyandotte is available in several colors, including silver, laced, Columbian, and white. You can detect a chicken\u2019s variety from its feather color, feather pattern, and comb type. Chickens with the same size, physical characteristics, and shape belong to the same class and breed. Chicken domestication has existed for 7,000 to 10,000 years, specifically in Southeast Asia. Chickens with the same physical features, size, and shape belong to the same breed.<\/p>\n
The concept of dominance, involving pecking, was described in female chickens by Thorleif Schjelderup-Ebbe in 1921 as the “pecking order”. Chickens are gregarious, living in flocks, and incubate eggs and raise young communally. Some breeds have a mutation that causes extra feathering under the face, giving the appearance of a beard. Adult chickens of both sexes have a fleshy crest on their heads called a comb or cockscomb, and hanging flaps of skin on either side under their beaks called wattles; combs and wattles are more prominent in males.<\/p>\n
For most of that period, chickens were a common part of the livestock complement of farms and ranches throughout Eurasia and Africa. Chicken domestication likely occurred more than once in Southeast Asia and possibly India over the most recent 7,400 years, and the first domestications may have been for religious reasons or for the raising of fighting birds. Each flock of chickens develops a social hierarchy that determines access to food, nesting sites, mates, and other resources. Despite the chicken\u2019s close relationship with the red jungle fowl, there is evidence that the gray jungle fowl (G. sonneratii) of southern India and other jungle fowl species, also members of Gallus, may have contributed to the bird\u2019s ancestry. Certain breeds, such as silkies and many bantam varieties, are generally docile and are often recommended as good pets around children with disabilities. This stimulates the hen to lose her feathers but also re-invigorates egg-production.<\/p>\n