AMERICAN CROCODILE

Nothing embodies the Everglades of Florida quite like crocodilians. The American crocodile is a
crocodile living in the shores of the Americas, from Northern South America through the Caribbean,
Mexico, and Southern Florida in the northern end of its range. This massive reptile can grow to be about
15 feet long and weigh up to 2,000 pounds, about the weight of ten refrigerators.

An American crocodile relaxes in the sun in Costa Rica

Although many people go for an afternoon at the beach in Florida, the American crocodile prefers a more
swampy habitat. It lives in brackish waters, a mixture of saltwater and freshwater on the coast, as well as
mangrove swamps, lagoons, rivers, and estuaries.

The swamps of the Everglades are a favorite habitat of the American crocodile

During the day crocodiles can be seen basking on river banks. Like other reptiles they are ectothermic,
meaning they use ambient heat to regulate their body temperature. Basking in the sun warms them after a
cool night. If you see a crocodile with an open mouth, don't take it as a sign of aggression. This
characteristic stance is actually a method of regulating their body temperature.
CHICKENS

Chickens come in many sizes and colors. They lay eggs which can range in color
from pure white, to dark brown, to olive green, to speckled. The number of eggs an
adult female lays in a year varies from none to 365, or one a day. The typical country
chicken which has had no breed improvement usually will lay between 25 and 100
eggs per year, depending mostly on conditions such as feed, exposure to disease and
predators, weather, and others. Layers usually start producing eggs between six and
eight months of age, depending upon their health and the time of the year. The
improved breeds start laying at five to six months of age, and under good conditions
will lay between 180 and 365 eggs yearly, with an average flock of 100 birds
producing 240 to 280 eggs per layer. There also are improved breeds which are
intended specifically for meat production. Chickens from such breeds can weigh over
2 kg at only seven to eight weeks of age.

Chickens hatch from fertilized eggs after 21 days of incubation. In poultry

production, incubation can either be by natural means (a broody hen) or by artificial
means (an incubator). Before hatching, chicks absorb the yolk of their egg into their
lower body in the yolk sac. This yolk supplies them with enough food and water for
up to two days, at which time they must begin drinking and eating on their own.
Chicks hatch by breaking through an air cell in the large end of the shell. Using their
upper beaks, chicks peck a hole through the shell, then continue to peck at it until the
shell is weakened enough so that it can be entirely broken open. This process is called
pipping.

At hatching, chicks are wet. Within a few hours they dry out and are covered with a
soft down. The first feathers appear within a week on the wing tips and tail; other
feathers grow in later.

Chickens mature at different rates, depending on breed, nutrition and environmental

factors. Most will be mature by six months of age. Males are called cockerels until
they reach maturity, when they are called roosters or cocks. Before reaching maturity,
female chickens are called pullets, once they begin laying, they are called hens. Some
farmers will refer to a whole flock of female chickens as pullets until the entire flock
reaches full egg production.