Poultry is the class of domesticated fowl (birds) used for food or for their eggs. These most typically are members of the orders Galliformes (such as chickens and turkeys), and Anseriformes (waterfowl such as ducks and geese). The word poultry is often used to refer to the flesh of these birds.
In a more general sense, the word poultry may refer to the flesh of other birds, such as pigeons or doves, or game birds like pheasants.
Types of poultry
| Bird
| Diet
| Wild ancestor
| Domestication
| Uses
|
| chicken
| seeds, insects, plants, rodents,
| red junglefowl
| China, c. 3000 BC
| meat, eggs
|
| duck
| fish, seeds, insects, plants
| various
| various
| meat, feathers, eggs
|
| ostrich
| insects, plants, seeds
| wild ostrich
| Africa
| meat, feathers, labour
|
| turkey
| seeds, insects, plants
| wild turkey
| ?
| meat
|
Poultry is also the name of a street in the City of London, UK where poultry used to be sold. See Cheapside.