• 16 parts
  • Checked September 2026

Parts of a Chicken

A rooster side-on, with the names poultry shows use.

Parts of a Chicken

Name Date

Tap any part to read, rename or leave it out

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Comb
  2. Beak
  3. Wattles
  4. Earlobe
  5. Hackles
  6. Saddle
  7. Sickles
  8. Main tail feathers
  9. Wing bow
  10. Wing bar
  11. Primaries
  12. Breast
  13. Thigh
  14. Shank
  15. Spur
  16. Toes

Drawn for this site by script, 2026-09-27. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: the parts of a pig

All 16 parts on the diagram

Show the list

Start here: 8 main parts 8

  1. Comb The fleshy red crest on top of the head. Hens have one too, but a rooster's comb is bigger.
  2. Beak The hard, pointed mouth, also called the bill.
  3. Wattles The flaps of red skin that hang under the beak. There is one on each side. They are bigger on a rooster.
  4. Hackles The long feathers down the back and sides of the neck. A chicken can raise them.
  5. Sickles The tail's two longest curved feathers. Only roosters have them.
  6. Breast The round front of the body, below the neck.
  7. Shank The bare part of the leg between the thigh and toes. It is covered in small scales.
  8. Toes They are at the end of each leg. The chicken stands on them.

Head: 4 1

  1. Earlobe A small fleshy patch on the side of the head. It sits below the ear. With the comb and wattles, it is one of the chicken's fleshy growths.

Feathers: 7 5

  1. Saddle The feathers covering the back in front of the tail. On a rooster they are long and pointed.
  2. Main tail feathers The long, straight feathers that form the tail, under the sickles.
  3. Wing bow The short feathers on the top front of the folded wing. Sometimes called the shoulder.
  4. Wing bar The short feathers across the middle of the folded wing. They cover the base of the flight feathers.
  5. Primaries The wing's longest, outermost feathers, the main flight feathers. On a folded wing they lie at the back.

Body and legs: 5 2

  1. Thigh The feathered top of the leg, under the body.
  2. Spur A pointed growth of bone covered in horn. It is on the back of the shank.

How this list was compiled: Read 2026-09-27. (1) Wikipedia, List of poultry feathers (after the British Poultry Standards, 6th and 7th editions, pp. 13-14), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_poultry_feathers : hackles, saddle feathers (long and pointed in cocks), sickles (the two longest curved tail feathers, only in cocks), main tail feathers, wing bow coverts, wing bar, primaries. (2) The plate it shows, A Silver Wyandotte Male, from J. E. Hodgins and T. H. Haskett, The Veterinary Science (Detroit, c. 1907), p. 550, public domain: beak or bill, wattles, breast, thigh, shank, toes, saddle, sickle, flight of the wing, wing bow or shoulder, hackle, ear lobe, comb, spur. (3) Wikipedia, Comb (anatomy), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comb_(anatomy) : the comb, wattles and earlobes are the fleshy growths on a chicken's head; Rooster, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooster : both sexes have a comb and wattles, more prominent in males; Hackles, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackles : erectile feathers on the back and side of the neck; Spur (zoology), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spur_(zoology) : an outgrowth of bone covered in a sheath of horn. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site by script, 2026-09-27. Own work, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

These are the parts of a chicken as poultry keepers and shows name them, on a rooster standing side-on. Start with the 8 main parts, then the head, the feathers, and the body and legs.

Read the full guide

Head and neck

The red comb sits on top of the head and the wattles hang under the beak. The earlobe is the small patch on the side of the face. The hackles are the long feathers down the neck.

Wing, tail and legs

On the folded wing the bow is at the top front, the bar crosses the middle and the primaries lie at the back. The saddle covers the back, and the two curved sickles arch over the main tail feathers. Below the feathered thigh is the bare, scaly shank, with the spur on its back.

  • To tell a rooster from a hen, look at the tail: only a rooster has sickles, and his saddle feathers are long and pointed.

Questions and answers

What is the red thing on a chicken's head called?

The red crest on top is the comb, and the two red flaps under the beak are the wattles. Hens and roosters both have them, but they are bigger on a rooster.

What is the difference between a rooster and a hen?

A rooster has sickles, the two long curved feathers over the tail, and long pointed saddle feathers on his back. His comb and wattles are also bigger than a hen's.

What are hackle feathers?

The long feathers along the back and sides of a chicken's neck. A chicken can raise them.

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