A domestic chicken standing in a bird park in Germany.

Domestic chicken at Bird Park Steinen, Germany.

Creator: H. Zell

Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

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Species record

Chicken

Gallus gallus domesticus

Explore the Chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) species record in The Ark Is Earth, including classification, habitat, distribution, conservation information, and sources.

Summary

The Chicken is a domesticated fowl descended chiefly from the Red Junglefowl, Gallus gallus. Chickens are managed in coops, farms, and backyards worldwide for eggs, meat, feathers, and companionship. They scratch the ground for food and use many calls and visual signals within their social groups.

Classification in this archive

  1. Kingdom: Animals
  2. Phylum: Chordates
  3. Subphylum: Vertebrates
  4. Class: Birds
  5. Order: Galliformes
  6. Family: Phasianidae
  7. Genus: Gallus
  8. Species: Gallus gallus

Habitat and distribution

Selected documented locations — not a complete species range.

Habitat
coops, farms, backyards
Selected regions
Asia, North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Oceania
Selected countries
China, India, United States, Brazil

Conservation status

The Ark records: Not evaluated.

Did you know?

  • Chickens dust-bathe to clean their feathers and help control parasites.
  • Hens can recognize individual birds in their social group.

More images

A domestic chicken running.

Chicken.

Creator: Alvesgaspar

Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

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Sources and attribution