chickhoodn.
/ˈtʃɪkhʊd/, U.S. /ˈtʃɪkˌ(h)ʊd/ The state or condition of being a chick or young bird; the early period of a bird's life. Cf. chickenhood n.In quot. 1850 in second chickhood, with the implication of the bird being in its dotage. Cf. second childhood n. 2.
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chickhood1850
1850 Fraser's Mag. Mar. 287/1 Obliged to take to the nest again in his second chickhood.
1854 Fraser's Mag. Jan. 109/2 [She] laid an egg in the home of her chick-hood.
1926 Oelwein (Iowa) Daily Reg. 20 Dec. 4/2 From chick hood up they have all the clean sour milk they will drink, fresh water and sharp sand.
2018 Sunday Times (Nexis) 14 Oct. The skills that will—if all goes well—allow him to survive..and perhaps return to the place of his chickhood and adolescence to raise a brood of his own.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2019; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1850