The attack of the
cuccos isn't indigenous to
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The
cucco first appeared in the 1993
Super NES title
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past as a cute little 2D
chicken. They tended to travel in small packs and clucked their way around
Kakariko Village. They could be lifted, but doing so served no real purpose. Attacking a
cucco repeatedly results in a massive swarm of
cuccos charging at
Link from all directions, each one slashing off a little bit of energy repeatedly until death.
The cucco returned in the Game Boy Zelda adventures The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX, The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages, and The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures where they serve the same basic purpose: being in the way until provoked to swarm.
In Ocarina it should be known that another way to avoid the cucco death squad is to be riding Epona the horse when the swarm hits. It would seem that cuccos cannot hurt Link when he is on horseback. This somehow seems fair as Epona can easily trample three cuccos in a single gallop, resulting in the attack of the chickens from hell.