Chicken Terms

Rooster

Adult male chicken

Hen

Adult female chicken

Chick

Baby chicken

Yolk

Nutrient rich inner mass of a reptile or bird egg

Embryo

Organism in earliest stage of development

Humidity

Amount of water vapor in the air

Setting eggs

Placing fertile eggs in an incubator or under a broody hen to begin incubation

Incubator

Device for maintaining optimal conditions for nurturing organisms

Dipping

Placing a newly hatched chick’s beak into water to ensure it hydrates and learns to find the water source

Brooder

A heated space used to raise young chicks, poultry, or other animals by providing warmth

Candling

Shining a light source behind an egg shell in a dark room to observe its interior

Germinal disk

Small white spot on surface of egg yolk containing female genetic material

Chalaza

Strand of protein that suspends the yolk in the center of the egg white

Egg white (Albumen)

Clear liquid surrounding the yolk in a chicken egg

Air cell

Small pocket of air located between the inner and outer membranes at the blunt end of the egg

Shell

Hard, porous, outermost layer of an egg