Chicken

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Research

Creature Name: Chicken

Observations by: Buck Rowen

Creature Type: Animal ((31))

Creature Subtype: Bird

CTS trainable: Yes (compatible with CTS).

Introduction

Chickens are domesticated fowl. They are one of the most common and widespread domestic animals. It is estimated that there are more chickens than any other bird on Negaria. Humans keep chickens primarily as a source of food, consuming both their meat and eggs, and also sometimes as pets.

After the Great War, not long after Jechran was formed, a small tribe of Tyeduans migrated south across the mountains above Galdos, settling in northwest Jechran. They brought with them the worship of their spirit-god, Brakbraak. Brakbraak was a bird spirit; the tribe had originally worshipped penguins and other northern birds. None of those species existed in Jechran, so the tribe soon latched onto the Red Jechran Junglefowl. The tribe was the first to domesticate these birds, not for food but for cockfighting.

As the tribe slowly began to integrate into Jechranian society, they in turn influenced Jechranians by introducing cockfighting to them. Many warrior maidens identified with the breeding and training of the roosters (and in some cases, hens) for battle. Cockfighting spread across the nation, and with it spread the worship of Brakbraak, as trainers would pray to him for good breeding and training as well as victory in cockfighting matches.

Chickens were eventually exported from southern Jechran to the wider world, where they began to be raised for food instead of sport. Due to backlash from foreign visitors, who considered the sport to be barbaric, cockfighting became controversial, and many villages in southern Jechran stopped the practice altogether. Cockfighting is still popular in northern Jechran, however, and Brakbraak is still worshipped in this region, making him a demigod of chickens and other fowl.

Feeding Habits

Chickens are omnivores. In the wild, they eat seeds, insects, small lizards, small snakes, and even small rodents such as mice. Domesticated chickens are usually fed grain bolstered with mashed-up beans. Some farmers have been known to grind up oyster shells and add it to chicken feed, when available, for better eggshells.

Disposition and Social Habits

Chickens are social, intelligent birds, who form themselves into flocks. These flocks have a pecking order, with dominant roosters and hens having priority over food access and nesting locations. Flocks will communally incubate eggs and raise young.

Habitat

Chickens originated in Jechran, where they were domesticated from the Red Jechran Junglefowl. Their ideal climate is temperate to tropical; they are not suited to live in colder climates such as Tyedu.

Fylgia

Most compatible: Hawk

• The chicken, though smaller and less predatory, is a bird like the hawk.

Other notes

Brownies have been known to train chickens as war mounts. The most famous example is Jack the Renegade Brownie, who attempted to take over the city of Mikona.

The infamous gnome known only as Todd claimed to be a “Master of Cock Magic.” He sought to “liberate all domesticated chickens from enslavement.” Todd was known to use enhanced chickens as soldiers in his strange freedom fighting campaign, though some adventurers theorize that these creatures were actually other monsters that had been polymorphed to chicken form. Todd was also known to create homunculi of himself which are made of ten chickens stuffed into robes and a helmet. These homunculi could talk and cast spells. Todd was defeated by the adventuring company known as the Golden Legacy.