Gamebirds and Poultry

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  1.   1.  Types
    1.   1.1  Chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus)
    2.   1.2  Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)
    3.   1.3  Geese (Anser anser domesticus)
    4.   1.4  Duck
  2.   2.  Speech
  3.   3.  Uses
    1.   3.1  Meat
  4.   4.  More
  5.   5.  'Souls
Icon(s) none
Feral Rooster -- John Went@geograph.org
Wild Turkey in breeding season -- Wikimedia Commons
Domestic Embden goose -- Noodle snacks@Wikimedia Commons
Canada Goose -- Dcoetzee@Wikimedia Commons
Mallard ducks: female (left), male (right) -- Richard Bartz@Wikimedia Commons

Poultry is a category of domesticated birds kept for the purpose of collecting their eggs, or killing for their meat and/or feathers.

1.  Types

1.1  Chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus)

Chickens are omnivores. They often scratch at the soil to search for seeds, insects and even larger animals such as lizards or young mice. Chickens may live for five to ten years. Domestic chickens are not capable of long distance flight, although lighter birds are generally capable of flying for short distances, such as over fences or into trees (where they would naturally roost).

Roosters can usually be differentiated from hens by their striking plumage of long flowing tails and shiny, pointed feathers on their necks (hackles) and backs (saddle) which are typically of brighter, bolder colours than those of females of the same breed.

Behavior

Chickens are gregarious birds and live together in flocks. Individual chickens in a flock will dominate others, establishing a "pecking order". Dust-bathing is a common behavior. Roosters crowing (a loud and sometimes shrill call) is a territorial signal to other roosters. However, crowing may also result from sudden disturbances within their surroundings. Hens cluck loudly after laying an egg, and also to call their chicks.

Nesting

Hems have a communal approach to the incubation of eggs and raising of young. Hens will often try to lay in nests that already contain eggs and have been known to move eggs from neighboring nests into their own. Some farmers use fake eggs made from plastic or stone (or golf balls) to encourage hens to lay in a particular location.

Under natural conditions, most birds lay only until a clutch is complete (a full clutch is usually about 12 eggs), and they will then incubate. Many domestic hens will also do this–and are then said to "go broody". She will "sit" or "set" on the nest, protesting or pecking in defense, and rarely leaving. At the end of the incubation period (about 21 days), the eggs, if fertile, will hatch.

1.2  Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)

A large poultry bird, usually with a brown, gray, or black body, mottled with various colors.

Behavior

Young domestic turkeys readily fly short distances, perch and roost. These behaviours become less frequent as the birds mature, but adults will readily climb on objects such as bales of straw. Young birds perform spontaneous, frivolous running ('frolicking') which has all the appearance of play.

Turkeys are highly vocal, and 'social tension' within the group can be monitored by the birds’ vocalisations. A high-pitched trill indicates the birds are becoming aggressive which can develop into intense sparring where opponents leap at each other with the large, sharp talons, and try to peck or grasp the head of each other. Aggression increases in frequency and severity as the birds mature.

1.3  Geese (Anser anser domesticus)

Domestic geese were larger than wild cousins; it is likely this trait persists to some extent, though not in excess. Another trait to persist is fecundity -- female domestic geese laid up to 50 eggs per year, compared to 5–12 eggs for a wild goose. One of the major changes to the domestic geese is the body structure: the former domestic goose had a fatty bottom and upright posture, hindering flight; wild geese are horizontal with slimmer bodies, and thus the existing landrace will more likely resemble the wild goose.

1.4  Duck

They are not as popular as the chicken, because chickens have much more white lean meat and are easier to keep confined. Ducks are farmed for their meat, eggs, and down. Ducks can be kept free range, in cages, in barns, or in batteries. To be healthy, ducks should be allowed access to water. They will often eat insects and slugs.

The females of many breeds of domestic ducks are unreliable at sitting their eggs and raising their young -- though this trait is unlikely to persist, it was custom on human farms to put duck eggs under hens. Though many domestic ducks were unable to fly, it is highly unlikely this trait persisted in the landrace formed by former domestic varieties.

Dark brown, white, tawny, gold, black, and many other color varieties are observed -- drab brown is the color of most wild geese, and would be the most prevalent coloration in the landrace.

Wild Varieties

2.  Speech

According to our Speech Guide, this creature speaks Low Speech naturally. It is therefore not able to communicate with Luperci. This creature is listed as having the ability to learn some limited comprehension of high speech, but generally will never be able to speak it.

3.  Uses

  • Eggs
    • Goose: They can be used in cooking just like chicken's eggs, though they have proportionally more yolk, and this cooks to a slightly denser consistency. The taste is much the same as that of a chicken egg, but more gamey.
    • Turkey: Turkeys have lower output of eggs as compared with other fowl and are not as viable for egg farming.
  • Feathers, down (especially ducks and geese)

3.1  Meat

The meatiest parts of a bird are the flight muscles on its chest, called breast meat, and the walking muscles on the first and second segments of its legs, called the thigh and drumstick, respectively. The wings are also eaten. Dark meat, which avian myologists refer to as "red muscle," is used for sustained activity—chiefly walking, in the case of a chicken. White muscle, in contrast, is suitable only for short, ineffectual bursts of activity such as, for chickens, flying. Thus the chicken's leg and thigh meat are dark while its breast meat (which makes up the primary flight muscles) is white. Other birds with breast muscle more suitable for sustained flight, such as ducks and geese, have red muscle (and therefore dark meat) throughout.

4.  More

5.  'Souls

  • Something!


Categories: Fauna | Resources