re your banned word for a male bird, yes a hen bird is always female whereas a c o c k is a male one - hence peacock and peahen (can't wait to see if peacock is disallowed here).
I dont' think there is a difference between chickens and hens except that chicken is the name of the animal regardless of the s e x of it, and hen is the word everyone uses as they are so prolific in our society.
There doesn't seem to be a proper separate word for domesticated junglefowls. A chicken is a youngster of either gender. A hen is a female. A c0ck is a male. A pullet is a young hen. ***** are also known as roosters and cockerels.
There is also a hoard of localised names for various stages of their life.
I prefer to call them chooks, as this includes both sexes and all ages of the birds so can not be taken out of content (except on AB).
Political correctness gone mad. There are a lot more things to worry about in this world than spelling the word for a male bird. Anyone who takes it the wrong way should see a `Quack`
i see chicken and have to answer.. its the chicken madness in me lol x
hen is usually used to refer to a female whereas c ock is obviously for a male.
www.chickenout.tv for all u chicken lovers out there xxxx
CHICKEN OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!