The Fear Of Chickens Is Called Alektorophobia

Updated February 9, 2024

Poultry is the theme for March 19th as it is National Poultry Day. No fowl moods or ruffled feathers. However, there may be some quackers and gobbling going on.

Poultry refers to domestic birds that are raised for meat and eggs. These birds include chicken, turkey, ducks, geese, quail, and pheasant. Poultry is farmed in large numbers with chickens being the most numerous.

• 16th Century – It is believed that chicken was introduced to American soil by European explorers in the 16th century.
• 1800s – Chicken meat was a delicacy and eggs were considered a luxury until the 1900s because flocks failed to thrive due to poor nutrition and Vitamin D deficiency during winter months due to lack of sunlight.
• 1847 – The earliest known printing of “Why did the chicken cross the road?” was in 1847 in a New York Magazine.
• 1849 – The first Poultry Exhibition in the US took place Nov. 14, 1849
• 1923 – The first confined housing of birds for meat in Delaware and the introduction of cage systems for hens in California became catalysts for poultry farming’s shift from small family enterprises to the industrial age.
• 1928 – Vitamin D supplements increase the winter survival rate of flocks, revolutionizing the chicken meat and egg industries.
• 1935 – During World War II, due to a shortage of beef and pork, chicken stepped in to fill the protein need.
• 1964 – Chicken wings used to be considered undesirable and sometimes thrown out, until 1964 when a restaurant owner barbecued and served them in 1964 and called them Buffalo wings. They were named after the city they were first made in, Buffalo, New York.
• 1992 – American chicken consumption surpasses beef for the first time.
• Estimates place production at around 9 billion chickens in the United States. Chicken and turkey are lower in fats and cholesterol than other meats.
• While a group of chickens is called either a brood or peep, if they are chicks we call them a clutch or chattering.
• When it comes to ducks and geese, their collective nouns depend on where they are in relation to the Earth. A group of ducks in flight is called a flock, but once they land on the ground their collective nouns change. We call them either a brace or a badling. If they take to water they could be called a raft, team or paddling.
• Whether geese are in the air, ground or on the water, we generally use the collective noun flock. However, in flight, they can be called a skein, too. Once they land, though, they can be a gaggle, herd or corps.
• Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers.
• Poultry comes from the French/Norman word, poule, itself derived from the Latin word Pullus, which means small animal.
• Poultry is the second most widely eaten meat in the world, accounting for about 30% of meat production worldwide, after pork at 38%.
• In Ancient China, a goose was given as a wedding present to represent faithfulness.
• The oldest duck ever to have lived in the United Kingdom was a female mallard duck called Desi owned by Ingrid Raphael from Maidenhead, Berkshire, UK that lived to be 20 years 3 months and 16 days old before she died in August 2002.
• Chickens have a panoramic vision of about 300°
• Chickens and other birds are thought to have descended from dinosaurs.
• There are more chickens on earth than people – 25 billion. There are also more chickens than any other bird species.
• Chickens can remember over 100 different faces of people or animals.
• A mother hen turns her eggs about 50 times per day, and can lay more than 300 eggs per year.
• In Gainesville, Florida, you have to eat fried chicken with your bare hands. Eating it by any other method is illegal.
• In South Korea, there are more fried chicken restaurants than there are McDonald’s restaurants worldwide.
• Americans consume 8 billion chickens per year which is more chicken than beef; at 80 pounds of chicken per capita compared to 63 pounds of beef per capita.
• When a chicken gets its head cut off, it can run the length of a football field before dropping dead.
• The fear of chickens is called Alektorophobia.
• If chickens listen to classical music, they can lay bigger and heavier eggs.
• Chickens can run up to 9 miles per hour!
• The average turkey has 3,500 feathers.
• Only tom turkeys “gobble” Hens “cluck”.
•  When excited, a male turkey’s head turns blue, when ready to fight it turns red.

Sources:

National Day Calendar

Mobile-Cuisine

The Factsite

MNAgMag