Chooks????

[Michigan Chickman]

I'm sorry, but I have to ask. I'm new to chickens this year and I keep seeing people refer to their chickens as "chooks". I assume this is just an affectionate term for chickens. Am I correct? Where did it come from? Does it have some historic connotation or did a newbie like me just make it up?

 

[hoosier]

I was told that it started in Australia, but I haven't really looked into the origin of the word.

 

[WriterofWords]

I was curious about that myself,,, maybe pronounced with an accent?

 

[d.k]

* It is an Australian term for chicken. In my case, though, it's what we named my girl, "Miss Timex Chook". "Miss Chook", or just "Chook" for short.

 

[Jarhead]

When I watch TV programs or listen to podcasts from Australia (which oddly enough is pretty often). They always refer to them as Chooks. At first (before I had chickens) I was baffled by the term not really sure what they were talking about. Not sure why they use the term though (that one and many others), but who knows why anybody uses certain terms.

 

[miss_jayne]

probably because it's the sound chickens make!

 

[Michigan Chickman]

Thank you all for your insight. I love the word "Chook", it's just fun to say, I just want to use it right

Anyone else have an affectionate name for their feathered friends?

 

[Jarhead]

sometimes my wife calls them little s**ts

 

[miss_jayne]

Quote:
yep...'hey you guyyyyyyyys!' ( you should say this with meaning and your outside voice is the appropriate volume.)

(thanks to Hot Fudge tv show from childhood...Hot Fugde, comin' atcha now!)

 

[Pupsnpullets]

Being from downunder and a farm girl, we'd call the baby chicks (peeps as they are called here) chickens, and the adults chooks. The inbetweens are called pullets if they're female.
A chicken coop was/is the 'chook house'. It's very common to abbreviate words in NZ or Oz. If the multiple syllable word could be shortened to one syllable it would be.