hen курица или chicken
One chick, two chicken? Hen?
Savoir
Senior Member
panjandrum
Lapsed Moderator
Chicken is singular.
This is not an example like child, children: brother, brethren: ox, oxen.
Chick is a shortened form of chicken.
SombraPenumbra
Senior Member
Just to add, my understanding of «chick vs» chicken refers to the age of the animal. A younger chicken would be called a «chick.» For example:
«the chickens in the hutch had chicks today»
panjandrum
Lapsed Moderator
Josh_
Senior Member
I don’t know if there is a set age, but maybe you could say when a chick is able to produce offspring it becomes a chicken.
A «hen» is a female chicken and a «rooster» is a male chicken (both adults).
panjandrum
Lapsed Moderator
Savoir
Senior Member
Thanks for opening a new thread for me, and thanks for the explanation. This forum is so good, I wish I had such a forum when I was a student, but it’s never too late/old to learn.
poo333
New Member
Chicken is singular.
This is not an example like child, children: brother, brethren: ox, oxen.
Chick is a shortened form of chicken.
Could you please elaborate on your «exception»? I’m extremely interested!
panjandrum
Lapsed Moderator
The OED (Oxford English Dictionary) lists several examples of chicken (plural), identified as a dialect form. It is not current usage.
1807 CRABBE Par. Reg. I. 195 There pigs and chicken quarrel for a meal.
1829 SOUTHEY Pilgr. Compostella IV, The chicken were her delight.
1875 PARISH Sussex Dial., Chicken, in Mid-Sussex used as the plural of chick.
Other sources note this in the southeast and southwest of England. For example:
. found in the south-western counties and sporadically in the western and south-eastern counties (and, very sparingly, in Lancashire).
Source
Sometimes c.1600-1900 chicken was taken as a plural, chick as a singular (cf. child/children) for the domestic fowl.
Source
panjandrum
Lapsed Moderator
No, quite definitely no. And it’s not that old thing about the English term used for the animal and the French for the meat. Both hen and chicken are English.
Copyright
Senior Member
Rover_KE
Senior Member
I’ve always thought of chicks as being the young of wild birds, or the newly-hatched yellow balls of fluff of the domestic fowl which will become chickens when they’re old enough to be eaten.
Spira
Banned
Would it be true to say that the rooster is the American cousin of the English cock? (no jokes please!)
Rover_KE
Senior Member
Yes to both questions, Spira, with the possible exception of the Cornish game hen, which I have never seen on sale in the UK, but only in America; also coq au vin.
Thomas Tompion
Senior Member
Uncle Bob
Senior Member
I’ve always thought of chicks as being the young of wild birds, or the newly-hatched yellow balls of fluff of the domestic fowl which will become chickens when they’re old enough to be eaten.
andy_westken
Senior Member
Rover_KE
Senior Member
It seems that you’re right, with some technical reservations expressed by certain purists, according to this exchange of views:
Never having fancied buying, cooking or eating these birds, I can’t comment further.
Brioche
Senior Member
Those creatures which lay eggs in factory conditions are called «battery hens», never «battery chickens».
UK legislation on the matter uses only «hen».
The edible products laid by such birds are «hen eggs» or «hen’s eggs» or «hens’ eggs» not «chicken eggs».
Spira
Banned
Never having fancied buying, cooking or eating these birds, I can’t comment further.
Maybe I’m making conclusions that should not be there, but poussin is simply French for baby chicks (which they don’t usually call poulet until it’s on your plate). Given the English delight in according French labels to all things touching la cuisine, isn’t the English poussin just a fancy name for chicken again?
Thomas Tompion
Senior Member
Never having fancied buying, cooking or eating these birds, I can’t comment further.
Maybe I’m making conclusions that should not be there, but poussin is simply French for baby chicks (which they don’t usually call poulet until it’s on your plate). Given the English delight in according French labels to all things touching la cuisine, isn’t the English poussin just a fancy name for chicken again?
I’m afraid not. A poussin in an English shop is a miserable little bird, young perhaps, but usually without flavour.
The suggestion that the French word poulet isn’t the zoological term is misleading. It’s the French word for a young chicken in the farmyard, as well as on the plate.
It’s interesting that the word pullet, derived from it, hasn’t yet been mentioned in this discussion. My parents often used to refer to young chickens as pullets.
В каких случаях говорят chick, а в каких hen?
chicken-цыпленок, hen-курица, но если говорят о пище, то всегда употребляют chicken, fried chicken, chicken with rice, chicken soup- любимые блюда. мы же всегда говорим КУРИЦА, КУРИНЫЙ СУП, и только грузинское блюдо популярное у нас называется ЦЫПЛЕНОК ТАБАКА (строго говоря ТОПАКА)
Chick — это по-английски цыплёнок. То есть детёныш.
Hen — курица. Обычно словом hen называют только самок.
Самца, то есть петуха, на английском языке можно назвать cock или rooster. Если не ошибаюсь, слово rooster характерно для американского варианта английского.
И есть ещё общий термин chicken. Chicken — это и курица, и петух. Данным словом можно назвать абсолютно любого представителя домашних курообразных.
Слово «рукавица» переводится на английский язык как mitten. Соответственно, слово «рукавички» по-английски будет звучать как mittens. Есть еще выражение knitted gloves, которое переводится как «варежки» (дословно вязаные перчатки).
Приветствую! Я сейчас учусь в университете на техническом направлении, информационная безопасность. Часто, когда нам задают какой-то материал, то приходиться искать в интернете. Так вот, каждая книга, относящаяся каким-либо образом к программированию или компьютерам может помочь при поиске ответа на Ваш второй вопрос. В конце русских книжек обычно указывается литература, из которой взят мателиал. Часто берут из иностранных изданий. Так вот, достаточно самой со словарём посидеть и переводить, по несколько раз, Вы и запомните что-то.
Из учебников могу посоветовать только Маркушевскую Л.П.
Кроме этого, можно заходить на иностранные сайты(версии сайтов) по интересующим Вам темам и самой переводить всё и запоминать. Сначала будет сложно, но потом Вы привыкнете.
Hen курица или chicken
A hen is a female chicken.
«Chicken» describes the species as a whole. «Hen» specifies that it’s a female chicken and «rooster» tells us that it’s a male chicken.
I’ve been speaking English my whole life and I still don’t know why we have these distinctions f^-^’) Very confusing for natives sometimes even.
Символ показывает уровень знания интересующего вас языка и вашу подготовку. Выбирая ваш уровень знания языка, вы говорите пользователям как им нужно писать, чтобы вы могли их понять.
Мне трудно понимать даже короткие ответы на данном языке.
Могу задавать простые вопросы и понимаю простые ответы.
Могу формулировать все виды общих вопросов. Понимаю ответы средней длины и сложности.
Понимаю ответы любой длины и сложности.
Решайте свои проблемы проще в приложении!
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Hen vs Chicken – What is The Main Difference
Poultry terminology can be confusing at times. You may see items labeled as chicken, hen, Cornish game hen, or more. The terms chicken and hen are often used interchangeably, and while this isn’t entirely incorrect, it’s also not entirely correct.
There are times when the two words can be referring to the same thing, but this is not always the case. Here, we’ll explain the difference between hens and chickens.
Chicken
A chicken is a species of domesticated fowl, descended from the wild red jungle fowl which is native to southeast Asia. Chickens are one of the most widespread domestic animals on earth and are kept almost exclusively as a food source and very rarely for any other purpose.
Chickens can provide for humans in two ways. First, they can provide eggs which are a valuable source of nutrition. In fact, for most of the history of the domestic chicken, they were kept primarily for their eggs, since allowing the chicken to live and lay eggs for years provided far more food than killing and eating the chicken.
Chicken meat, usually just called chicken, is the other way that chickens provide food. For centuries, almost all the chicken meat that was eaten came from birds that were too old to continue laying eggs. Now, though, that isn’t the case. In fact, there are even distinct breeds of chicken that have been bred for eating, and other breeds that have been bred for egg-laying. Egg-laying chickens produce large numbers of eggs very quickly, and usually year-round. Eating chickens, or broiler chickens, grow more quickly and lay fewer eggs.
Chickens are also playful and intelligent birds, which leads some people to simply keep them as pets. Chickens are omnivores and eat a mixed diet of meat, bugs, plants, and seeds.
As we mentioned earlier, chickens were domesticated from the red jungle fowl, a bird native to Southeast Asia. They may have been one of the earliest domesticated animals, as they were already found in Europe (Greece) by the 5th century BC.
Chickens can be found in nearly every country on earth, and most cultures have their own distinct breeds of chicken, although most of these heritage breeds are now quite rare and have been largely replaced with industrial breeds that grow much faster and put on more weight.
Male chickens over a year old are called roosters or cocks, and male chickens under a year old are called cockerels. A castrated rooster is called a capon, and in some places, these make up the majority of the chickens sold for meat. The meat from capons is considered to be of very high quality, more tender, and flavorful than most chicken.
Hens
A hen is a female chicken over a year old. A female chicken under a year old is a pullet. All hens are chickens, but not all chickens are hens. Hens are mature females and are mainly raised for egg-laying.
The age at which a hen will start laying eggs depends on the breed. Some breeds can start laying eggs as young as 16 weeks old, while others won’t be ready to lay until they are closer to 20 weeks old. In the egg-laying industry, a chicken is considered a hen as soon as she is ready to lay eggs, rather than at one year of age.
Chicks hatched in winter will take longer to develop the ability to lay eggs than chicks hatched in the warmer months. Some hens, once they start laying, will continue to lay eggs every day, while others will only lay eggs every other day. Since this is a natural process, there will be times when the hens don’t stick to that schedule and skip a day or two of laying.
Younger hens lay eggs less often than hens in their prime, and so do older hens. So, you’ll notice that as the hen gets older, the frequency with which she lays her eggs will first increase, and then hold steady for a while, and after about four years will slowly decline until it stops altogether.
Hens do not need a rooster present in order to lay eggs. If you keep a rooster around the hens, there’s a very good chance the eggs will fertilize and hatch new chicks. While this may be desirable if you’re breeding chickens, it’s less so if you want eggs to eat.
Differences Between Chickens and Hens
Simply put, a hen is a mature female chicken. The term chicken applies to both male and female birds, and it applies to birds of any age. The hen is a term specifically for females that are old enough to lay eggs, or that are a year old or older.
If you use the word chicken, you could be referring to a hen, pullet, rooster, cockerel, or capon (or a Cornish game hen, which is simply an immature chicken). Therefore, the hen is a much more specific word. This is especially important to know if you plan on starting a poultry business since you want to be as specific as possible when ordering.
How to Tell if Your Chicken is a Hen
In mature birds, it’s very easy to tell roosters and hens apart. Roosters, even at a very young age, have combs and wattles that are redder, larger, and rougher than those of hens. They also have large spurs on their feet, and larger, longer feathers on their necks and tails. In most breeds, the roosters are also much more colorful than the hens.
Hens typically don’t have spurs, and have duller coloration. Their combs and wattles are much smaller, too. Of course, the most obvious sign that the bird is a hen is when it starts laying eggs.
What are Cornish Hens?
Cornish hens, sometimes labeled Cornish game hens, are not the same thing as hens. They are chickens, though. So, what, exactly, are they?
Cornish hens are a breed of chicken from England that are raised exclusively for meat. They are slaughtered very young, and so they are very small, usually only one or two pounds and serve one person. Many of the birds labeled as “cornish hens” in supermarkets are not actually of the Cornish hen breed but are simply hens of a more common meat breed that are slaughtered small.
Do the Differences Matter?
Where the difference really matters is if you’re planning to raise your own chickens. You’ll want mostly hens, and if you want a rooster you won’t want more than one, since roosters can be very aggressive towards each other. If you want chickens to provide you with eggs, you need hens, not roosters. If you want to raise chickens for meat, you still want hens, not roosters. You really only need roosters if you want to breed your own chickens.
Most people, when they refer to backyard chickens, are talking about hens. They’re either raising them for meat or eggs, but either way, they likely don’t have a rooster, and only have hens.
So, in the supermarket, the term “hen” really isn’t important, but on the industry side, the terminology matters a lot, as it does for those who wish to raise their own chickens.
Conclusion
The simplest way to remember the difference between hens and chickens is that hens are mature female chickens. Therefore, all hens are chickens and not all chickens are hens. If you’re just trying to be sure you buy the right thing at the grocery store, don’t worry: everything will be labeled as chicken but there’s no need to differentiate between chickens and hens for that purpose.
If you’re trying to start your own business or you want backyard chickens to raise for meat or eggs, you’ll want to be very sure that you order hens, not chickens. Chickens is too broad a term and you may not get what you ask for.
Chicken Vs Hen [Here’s Exactly How To Tell The Difference]
When referring to chickens, we often use the words chickens and hens interchangeably when talking about the same bird. Are chickens and hens completely different birds? Do chickens and hens have different attributes? What are the significant differences and similarities between these two? This is what we will be looking to address here today.
So, what are the major differences between a chicken vs hen? Chicken is the broad term for the species as a whole, whereas a hen is an adult female chicken of 6 months and older. The term chicken is therefore all-encompassing and can include roosters, cockerels, hens, and pullets.
If there is any confusion between chickens and hens, let’s clear it up in the following sections.
What Is A Chicken?
A chicken is a variety of domesticated fowl ( Gallus gallus domesticus) and is a subspecies of the red junglefowl ( Gallus gallus).
Chickens are prevalent throughout the world as domestic animals.
Humans keep chickens mainly as a food source; some chickens are kept solely for egg-laying, while others are meat birds.
But some people like to keep them as pets because they are intelligent, playful, and friendly birds.
Chickens are omnivores, which means that they can enjoy a variety of different food sources that include meat, as well as vegetables, insects, and bugs (like worms, ants etc).
All on top of a pelleted feed, where an organic chicken feed is best.
The average lifespan of a chicken, depending on the breed, is five to ten years.
Genetic studies have shown that these birds have maternal origins in East Asia. South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
Common ancestry is found in Europe, America, the Middle East, and Africa.
The domestic chicken that we know today made its way from ancient India to western Asia and finally to Greece by the 5th century BC.
In the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, male chickens over one-year-old are called roosters, whereas, in Ireland and the UK, male chickens over one-year-old are typically known as cocks.
Males less than one-year-old are cockerels. Capons are castrated roosters/cocks.
Roosters/Cocks have different physical attributes to their female counterparts by their striking plumage.
They have brighter, bolder colored feathers, long, shiny tails, and pointed neck feathers. Male and female chicks differ in color.
Both male and female chickens have wattles and combs; however, these tend to be more prominent in males.
Female chickens over one year old are hens, and females less than one-year-old are pullets.
In the egg-laying trade, pullets are considered hens once they begin to lay eggs at around 16 – 20 weeks of age.
What Is A Hen?
Not all chickens are hens; however, all hens are chickens. A hen is a mature female chicken over a year old; unlike the rooster, they lay eggs.
How soon hens are ready to lay eggs depend very much on the breed of chicken and the time of year.
Some of the new breeds, like the Golden comets, are specifically to lay lots of eggs and may begin laying as early as 16 weeks.
Other breeds that lay soon are Barred Rocks, Delawares, and Rhode Island Reds – they lay at 18-20 weeks.
As previously mentioned, the time of year is another determining factor in how soon a hen can lay eggs (later for winter chicks and sooner for spring chicks).
Most hens lay eggs at around six months of age.
Some chickens continue to lay eggs every day or almost every day, some every two days.
Younger hens lay eggs at larger intervals until they develop to maturity.
Backyard hens typically stop laying eggs after four years, again this depends on the individual bird and their particular breed.
You will notice that as they age, the frequency in their egg-laying will begin to decrease.
Hens can lay eggs without a rooster present; however, if a rooster is allowed to mix with hens, there is a good chance that eggs will fertilize.
This will result in chicks being born if the eggs are left to nest under the hen.
Major Chicken Vs Hen Differences
We know that hens are female, as are pullets ( they are young hens). Cockerels are young male chickens and roosters are male but can be any gallinaceous bird.
The chicken is called by many names, and it’s understandable for people to get confused as to what a hen is and what a chicken is.
The best way to understand the difference between a hen and a chicken is that a chicken is a broad term for the bird, whether it’s male or female, or young chicken; whereas, a hen is an adult female chicken.
If a person is talking about a chicken, they could be referring to a hen, a rooster, a pullet, or a capon.
A hen is a female chicken over a year old; some would consider a chicken a hen as soon as she lays eggs, which sometimes is as early as 16 weeks, depending on the breed.
If you are planning to look after chickens, or even start a poultry business, then you must learn the differences between males and females from the time they hatch.
It’s not easy, especially at the beginning, but it gets easier with practice.
You want to ensure that there are no errors when orders are placed.
How Can You Tell The Difference Between A Chicken And A Hen?
It’s much easier to tell the adult male and female chickens apart:
How To Tell If Your Chicken Is Male
How to Tell If Your Chicken Is Female
The Vent Sexing Method
Begin by holding the chick’s head between the baby finger and the third finger; use your other hand to pull the skin around the vent as you hold the chick upside down.
If you see a tiny cloaca, then the chick is a male ( a cloaca is a male bird appendage similar to the penis and is used to urinate, expel waste, and mate).
The Wing Sexing Method
With wing sexing, you are looking at the feather formation of the wings.
Begin by spreading the wings out, if the feathers have a pattern of a long feather followed by a short feather, then a long feather, it’s a female chick.
If the feathers have a uniform length, then it is a male chick. This method is safer than vent sexing as the latter is more likely to harm the baby chick.
Finally
Hopefully, you understand the differences between chickens and hens, and you know what physical traits are unique to males and females.
Learning to distinguish between male and female chicks is tricky at the start, but it is crucial if you are looking to home many chickens or if you are looking at pursuing a poultry-based business venture.
With time and practice, you will be able to tell the difference much more readily, and it will seem like less of a daunting task.
I am a practiced pet owner with decades of experience owning a number of different pets. I am also the main writer and chief editor here at Pet Educate; a site I created to share everything I’ve learned about pet ownership over the years and my extensive research along the way.