Kinomics, the study of kinase enzymes within an organism, is a rapidly growing field of proteomics. The use of high-throughput technology to study the kinome has enabled researchers to conduct studies of the global signaling environment within an organism. The problem arises when researchers interested in non-human, non-mouse, species attempt to use these latest techniques for their species of interest. A recent advancement which has overcome this species problem is the species-specific peptide array. Custom tailored to the species of interest this high-throughput kinome technology allows researchers to study global cellular signaling events in nearly any organism that uses phosphorylation-mediated signal transduction. Specific to this review is the study of the chicken which has never been more important or relevant research species. There are a number of basic biological questions about chickens that can be answered through new experimental techniques. In addition, zoonotic diseases, like avian influenza and Salmonella, which can infect humans through interaction with infected animals, have shown avians to be an important infectious vector. While the significant limitations to the mouse model have become more and more apparent, researchers have turned to alternative species such as chicken which are relatively easy to care for, inexpensive and are suited to large scale studies. The chicken is an ideal candidate for in ovo developmental studies as well as models for certain infectious agents. Finally issues of food safety and agricultural antibiotic use are ever present in the media and public policy discussions. The development of research tools to find safer means of animal production and alternatives to antibiotics are going to be increasingly important research objectives in the years to come.