Editing v0.34:Chicken

{{Quality|Exceptional|21:17, 1 November 2013 (UTC)}}
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|bone=4
|meat=6
|fat=6
|intestine=1
|skull=1
|skin=hide
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'''Chickens''' are common domestic poultry known for their eggs and meat. Male chickens are known as roosters, and female chickens are known as hens. Young chickens are known as chicks.

Hens will lay between 4 and 15 eggs when provided with a [[nest box]]. A rooster is required to fertilize the eggs, however fertilization is not guaranteed. Once hatched, chicks will grow into adults in 1 year.

Economically speaking, [[egg]]s are a very good source of food (1 egg = 1 meal) - starting out with 5 hens and rooster on embark is an easy way to keep a new fortress fed until larger scale food production can be established. Long-term, [[egg production]] remains a viable food industry, though other domestic birds (such as [[turkey]]s) produce more eggs and meat.

Most fortresses will collect the eggs as fast as they are laid but this will prevent expanding your chicken population.  To deliberately expand the population (and provide chickens for a [[meat industry]]), simply forbid one or more stacks of eggs by pressing {{key|t}}, select a nest box in use and press {{key|f}} to forbid the eggs from being collected.

Be warned that large groups of chickens will require a significant amount of space for them to roam, otherwise they will quickly get into [[overcrowding|fights]]; additionally, failing to collect eggs may rapidly lead to a [[catsplosion#Birdsplosion|chickensplosion]].

{{D for Dwarf}}
For some reason, roosters give a skull more often than anything else. This may be because the butcher holds it by the throat when cut. It's a well known fact that chickens can run even after being beheaded. For more info see [[Domestic_animal|domestic animals' page]]

[[Image:Snow cocks.jpg|thumb|400px|left|Enjoyed for their ''clucking'' and ''scratching'']]

== See also ==

* [[Domestic_animal#Comparison_of_domestic_poultry|Comparison of domestic poultry]]

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{{Creatures}}
{{Category|Animals}}