This document summarizes the external body parts of chickens. It describes features such as feathers, beaks, combs and wattles, feet, spurs, skin, and uropygial glands. Specific details are provided on the types of feathers, roles of different parts, how parts change with age and between sexes, and how certain parts can indicate health, breed characteristics, or egg color. The overall goal is to describe the visible physical traits of chickens to aid in identification, selection, disease detection, and understanding differences between breeds and sexes.

1. External Body Parts of
Chicken
Muhammad Arslan Musa
M.Sc.(Hons.) Poultry Science
arslan2062@gmail.com

3. Objectives
• Study breed characteristics
• Breed identification
• Identification of sexes
• Selection and culling
• Disease condition

7. Cock Hen

10. Hackles
Hen Cock

13. Cock

16. Hen

17. Cock Hen

19. Cock Hen

21. Beak
• Chicken have no teeth
• Procuring food
• Defense
• Aggression
• Courtship
• Communication

22. Feathers Covering (Plumage)
• 4-8 % of total body weight
• Mature chicken has approx. 5000 feathers
• Role in thermoregulation
• Prevent from snow and raining
• Attract others from same species
• Help in prevention from predators and aiding in flight

23. • Four types
- Down Feathers (very fine feathers)
- Contour Feathers (outermost feathers on a bird, covering the
wings, tail and body)
- Semiplumes (between contour feathers that cover the body)
- Filoplumes (base of each contour feather)

24. 2 weeks
4-5 weeks
8 weeks
maturity

28. Curled or Frizzled Plumage

29. Vulture Hocks (Rare)

30. Crest Feathers

31. Crest and Beard Feathers

32. Beard and Muff Feathers

33. Ear Tufts

34. Fluff

35. Comb and Wattles
• Chicken lacks sweat glands
• Role in Thermoregulation
• Start to develop after 2 weeks
• Indicator of sexual maturity
• Attract opposite sex
• Health status indication
• (Anemia, Mycotoxins, Fowl pox etc.)

36. Earlobes color and Egg Shell Color
Comb Color Egg shell Color
Red earlobes Brown-Shelled Eggs
White earlobes White-shelled eggs
Exceptions
Dorking and Redcap have red earlobes but lay white-shelled eggs
Araucana and Ameraucana have red earlobes but lay blue-shelled
eggs

39. Feet and Shanks
• Most chicken have 4 but some have 5 toes on each feet
• Covered with scales of various colors

40. Spur
• Extension of shank bone
• Little bony bump at start
• Most hens have rudimentary spur
• Mature Sumatra cocks have three to five spurs
on each shank
• Role in self-defense, fighting, mating

41. Skin
• Cover all the body except uropygial glands
• Color is yellow or white except some areas

43. Uropygial gland (Preen gland)
• Beauty box of birds
• Only gland on skin of birds
• Located on dorsal side of tail
• Secretes of oily wax
• Makes feather water resistant