Copy of `AFS Poultry - Chicken terms`

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AFS Poultry - Chicken terms Category: Agriculture and Industry > Poultry farming Date & country: 20/01/2014, UK Words: 335

Zoonosis
a disease transmissible from an animal to a human (plural = zoonoses)

Zoning
laws regulating or restricting the use of land for a particular purpuse such as raising poultry

Yolk sac
the membrane that surrounds the yolk in the incubating egg

Wry tail
tail that lays to the left or gith side and is not symmetrical with the body line

Xanthophylls
the yellow pigments found in leaves, grasses and green plants that are added as pigment to avian skin as well as providing the yellow color of egg yolks

Yolk
the round yellow mass upon which the genetic material of the female (and male if the egg is fertilized) is located and that provides nutrients for the devloping embryo

Wattles
the flap of skin under the chin of a chicken or turkey

Web
the network of interlocking parts that give a feather its smooth appearance; a part of the feet of waterfowl

Wet-blub thermometer
a thermometer used to measure the amount of moisture or water vapor in the air (humidity)

Wing clipping
a procedure in which the primary wing feathers of one wing are cut to prevent flight

Vulture hock
feather-legged breeds where the feathers grow off the shank and touch the ground

Vitelline membrane
the thin membrane that surrounds the yolk

Virulence
the level at which a disease-causing organism is able to cause a disease

Vertebrae
bones in the spinal column

Verticle transmission
disease transmitted from parent to offspring through hatching eggs

Uterus
the section of the female avian reproductive tract where the shell is added to the egg (also known as the 'shell gland')

Vagina
the section of the female avian reproductive tract where the bloom/cutlicle is added to the egg just prior to being laid

Variety
subdivision of a breed, according to plumage color, comb type, etc.

Vector
the means by which a disease is spread

Vent
the common outside opening of the cloaca in birds through which the digestive, excretory and reproductive tracts empty

Uropygial gland
large oil gland on the back and at the base of the tail of birds providing oil for the birds to preen their feathers (also called the preen or oil gland)

Trachea
the windpipe

Trio
a male with two females of the same species, breed and variety

Type
the size and shape of a chicken that tells you what breed it is

Unsexed
day-old chicks that have not been sorted by sex (also called straight-run)

Urates
uric acid (the avian form of pee)

Uremia
poisoning caused by accumulated wastes in the body, typically due to kidney failure

Syndrome
a group of symptoms that occur in combination in a particular disease

Synergistic
working in cooperation

Testes
the male reproductive glands (located internally in birds)

Tin hen
slang for an incubator

Tom
an adult male turkey (also referred to as a 'gobbler')

Torticollis
twisted or wry neck

Toxin
a poison produced by microorganisms

Squeaker
a young pigeon still in the nest

Squirrel tail
tail that has more than a 90 degree angle

Starve-out
a chick that has not eaten

Straight-run (chicks)
day-old chicks that have not been sorted by sex (also called unsexed)

Strain
a group of birds within a variety of a breed that has been bred by one person or company for generations

Stub
down on the shank or toe of a clean-legged chcken

Squab
a young (baby) pigeon that has not yet left the nest; also refers to pigeon meat since pigeons are usually marketed before they leave the nest

Spur
the sharp horny protrusion from the back of a bird's shank (typically larger in males than in females)

Splayed legs
the legs are positioned such that the bird is unable to stand up (also called 'spraddle legs')

Sickles
long, curved tail feathers of some roosters

Side sprig
projection from the side of a single comb (a disqualification when showing single-comb breeds of chickens)

Snood
the flap of skin that hangs over the turkey's beak

Spent (as in a spent hen)
a hen that is no longer laying eggs

Sperm
the male reproductive cells capable of fertilizing the ova from the female

Spike
round extension found at the end of a rose comb

Shell gland
the portion of the female avian reproductive tract where the shell is added to the egg (also called the 'uterus')

Shaft
part of the feather where the barbs are attached

Shank
the part of a bird's leg between the foot and the hock

Sex-linked
an inherited factor linked to the sex chromosomes and used in developing specific crosses to make sexing day-old chicks easier

Sexed chicks
day-old chicks that are separated into separate groups of male and female chicks

Sex-feather
the curled feather on the tail of male ducks

Sex feathers
rounded hackle, saddle, and tail feathers on a hen; pointed hackle, saddle and tail feathers on a rooster

Rumpless
genetic trait in some chicken breeds where they have no tail

Saddle
a part of a bird's back just before the tail

Sanitize
to clean and disinfect in order to kill germs

Scales
small, hard, overlapping plates that cover a chicken's shanks and toes.

Scratch
the habit of chickens to scrape there claws against the ground to dig up food items; also a term used for any whole grains fed to chickens

Rooster
adult male chicken (also referred to as a cock)

Renal
pertaining to the kidneys

Render
the process by which slaughter by-product are treated to convert them into protein products for use in animal feeds

Rigor mortis
stiffness following death

Roach back
deformed, hunched back (a disqualification when showing poultry)

Roaster
a meat-type chicken raised to a size that makes them suitable for roasting

Roost
a place where chickens can get off the floor (also called a perch)

Ratite
a type of domestic bird that does not have a keel bone and includes ostriches, emus and rheas

Pubic bones
two bones that end in front of the vent of birds

Pullet
immature female bird (used with several species of birds, but most commonly with chickens)

Purebred
offspring from a hen and rooster of the same breed

Rales
any abnormal sounds coming from the airways of birds

Ration
a combination of feed ingredients formulated to meet a bird's nutritional requirements

Poultry
a term for domestic fowl raised for meat, eggs, feathers, work or entertainment

Preen gland
an oil sack on the back and near the base of the tail of birds providing oil used in preening (also called the oil or uropygial gland)

Preening
to straighten and clean feathers, typically with oil

Prolapse
when there is vent damage, typically caused by laying an very large egg (also referred to as a blowout)

Proventriculus
the true stomach of birds where pepsin and acid are produced

Pin feathers
a developing feather on a bird

Pip
when a chick breaks through the shell

Pipping
breaking through the shell prior to hatch

Plumage
the total set of feathers covering a bird

Post
to conduct a postmortem (after death) examination

Poult
young (baby) turkey or pheasant

Pick out
vent damage caused by other chickens' pecking

Pigeon milk
a cottage-cheese looking crop substance produced by both the male and female pigeon to feed the young from hatch till about 10 days of age

Pigmentation
the color of a chicken's beak, shanks and vent

Pin bones
pubic bones

Penicled
crosswise lines or bars on feathers that form a pattern

Perch
a place where chickens can get off the floor (also called a roost)

Perch
the area above the ground where birds will sit, primarily for sleeping at night (also called roosts)

Perosis
malformation of the hock joint

Persistency of lay
the ability of a hen to lay eggs steadily over a long period of time

pH
a number that indicates acidity or alkanity (7 is neutral, above 7 is alkaline and below 7 is acid)

Pendulous crop
a crop that is impacted and enlarged and hangs down in an abnormal manner

Peachick
a young (baby) peafowl

Peacock
an adult make peafowl

Peahen
an adult female peafowl

Pecking order
the social rank of individuals within a flock