bones of a hen

[navi]

Are these sentences correct:
1) He used bones of a hen to make an amulet.
2) He used bones of hens to make amulets.

How are the different from:
1a) He used the bones of a hen to make an amulet.
2a) He used the bones of hens to make amulets.

Gratefully,
Navi

[Phil White]

They all seem okay to me.

In reality, there is no difference between 1 and 1a or 2 and 2a. Sentences 1a and 2a do not imply that all the bones were used (which you may expect in other contexts).

In all cases, it would probably be more natural to say "hens' bones" or "a hen's bones".

[Erik_Kowal]

To my mind, "bones from a chicken" or "chicken bones" would be the most obvious formulations, unless the construction of the amulet specifically required bones from a hen rather than from a cockerel.

In my experience, the bones from a chicken (of either sex) are insufficiently durable for amulets. I've found the teeth of hens to be more hard-wearing than those of cockerels, and I have found the teeth of both sexes to be a lot more hard-wearing than their bones. So I would strongly recommend hens' teeth the next time you need to construct an amulet. (Tip: You'll need an HSS drill bit or diamond-tipped bit to drill into a hen's tooth -- assuming you intend to string them together. Regular wood-boring bits just aren't up to the job.)

[Bobinwales]

He made amulets out of hens' bones.