The first in a series of dragon guide books that goes deeper into the know information about the dragons of Calluncia. Published in the year 1958 D.E. (Dragonotic Era) this book is considerably old, however is the only guide about dragons.
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The chicken-serpent dragon is a strange species. First off it looks like a chicken had a baby with a snake and ended up with a slightly larger creature. Roughly larger than a chicken, this pesky dragon uses it's looks to blend in with large flocks of chickens. How they do this is simply tucking in their serpent-like necks and tails and puffing a few of their feathers up. The difference other than these two features are it's toothy beak and the fact that their combs are really a single horn on their head. While it's main diet is meat, mainly poultry, it can eat corn and seeds (which is the majority of what chicken feed is made of.) between long periods without hunting. It is the behavior of this dragon that makes it a major pest to chicken farmers.
Coloration is something of a flaw. "Wyrms" as they are called for their snake-like trickery, can come in any color and pattern... of a chicken. If there are Rogue Island Red chickens (Rhode Island Red) there's Rogue Island Red Wyrms, Praymoth Stone chickens (Plymouth Rock) then theres Praymoth Stone Wyrms. Same goes for the Silkie, Sussex, Homnan (Houdan), Pure White, and even Whisker (Araucana). Yep, these pesky beasts have a variety of breeds to it's name. What else it that their eggs are similar in appearance to the chickens they mimic, making it even harder to detect an intruder's egg from the chicken, larger and cruder markings are what separate the chicken and dragon eggs.
The lifecycle of this particular species begins when a Wyrm hen sneaks into a coop of the breed she is mimicking, making sure it is a breeding coop rather than a regular one. Her intrusion may be noticed by the other hens, as an inexperienced female will have to learn the pecking order, but once things settle she will begin to work on her plan. First she takes out one of the other hens when they least expect it. After killing and... Disposing, the dead poultry, she will lay her own clutch among the other eggs laid by the nest's previous occupant. The eggs incubate for three and a half weeks, a little longer than that of a chicken and shorter than most dragons. The hatchlings are perfect duplicates to the host coops chicks, their necks and tails still stubby and short. Their beaks however are jagged, for they're growing their first set.
The hatchlings are too young to eat meat and chicken feed (mainly the corn and seeds in the feed) as well as mother's "stew" are all they can eat at this moment. They stay with the flock for an entire year, having been visited by their father once a month to offer fresh meat to the female, before escaping in the night and into the wilds of the nearest forests. This is where they will stay with dad while mom starts the cycle over again for two more years. Once they are three years old they set out on their own, starting flocks for themselves.
Tips!: Wyrms, despite being pests, are a favorite pet for anyone. Dragon mages identify the dragons in a farmer's coop, taking the eggs and giving them as offerings to nobles and even the king. Otherwise a stroke of luck will ensure just about anyone the ability to keep these dragons, for they are easily tamed. In places where they are no chickens, the Wyrm will lay their eggs in wild bird nests, stealing the hatchlings after they hatch and eating the nest's occupants. While their favorite food is poultry, these dragons are not shy of eating rodents, frogs, spiders, and small reptiles.
