Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Parts of a Chicken Head
The chicken's head will tell you a lot about their overall health.
Comb: This is the fleshy appendage that grows on top of the bird's head. It is sometimes a
regular comb, or a rose comb and is sometimes absent in some breeds of a hen. They are
usually red or pink. Roosters have more prominent combs.
Beak: It is usually predominantly yellow; with some breeds like the illustration above has
some black markings. It is of medium length and sturdy as the chicken is an omnivore.
Eye: A healthy bird will have prominent bright eyes. A chicken will need to pivot its head to
see things from the side. This is why a chicken will often look at you with its head slightly
tilted. Chickens see well as long as it is daylight but do not see well at night. This means that
they need a secure place to sleep at night.
Ear: Birds do not have external ears like mammals, but have internal ears. They have two
ear lobes, one on each side of the head. Some breeds will have little tufts of feathers around
this area.
Wattles: These are two appendages that will hang below the beak on each side of the face.
They are fleshy like the comb and will be pink or red according to the comb of the bird.
Crop: All birds will have this on the throat above the breast. This acts as the teeth of the
chicken and requires grit or little stones to help grind down the food for the bird.
