Terms Used in Poultry Production

Hen: A matured female chicken generally above 20 weeks of age.

Cock: A matured male chicken above 20 weeks of age.

Pullet: A young female chicken from 9 to 20 weeks of age.

Cockerel: A young male chicken from 5-8 months of age.

Chick: A young male or female fowl below S weeks of age.

Day-old chick: Hatched out chick is called as day-old-chick up to 24 hours.

Grower: A young chick of 9lh week of 20lh week of age of either sex.

Brood: A group of chicks of same age raised in one batch is called as a brood.

Brooding: The process of rearing the young chick from day old stage to 4 to 6 weeks of
age during which, heat is to be provided to keep them warm.

Brooder: A device for providing artificial heat to the chicks.

Broiler: They are the hybrid chicks having rapid growth and attaining about 1.5 kg weight
during the period of 6 weeks of age. Sold for table purpose within 8 to 10 weeks period.
They possess a very tender and delicious meat.

Capon: It is a young male birds of which testicle are removed.

Layer: An egg laying female chicken up to one year after starting the laying of eggs.

Broody: A hen which has stopped laying eggs temporarily.

Clutch: The number of eggs laid by a bird on consecutive days. A clutch of 3-4 eggs is
preferred.

Moulting: The process of shading old feathers and growth of new feather in their place
moulting normally occurs once in a year.

Culling: Removal of unwanted bird from the flock is known as culling e.g. old non-laying
birds, sick birds and masculine hens are removed.

Pause: It is the period between two clutches in which eggs are not laid by hen.

Hen-day-production: This is arrived by dividing total eggs laid in the season by the
average number of birds in the house.

Hen-housed-average: This is arrived at by dividing the total number of eggs laid in the
season by the number of birds originally placed in the house. No deductions are made for
any losses from the flocks.