Definitions Related to Poultry
| Avian |
Of, relating to, or characteristic of
birds; derived from birds. |
| Bantam |
A small miniature chicken, usually one-fourth
to one-fifth the size of regular chickens; frequently
called "bantie." Most, but not all, bantams
are the likeness of a larger variety of domestic chickens. |
| Breed |
A group of chickens within a class having
a distinctive body shape and the same general features
and weight. |
| Broiler |
A young meat-type chicken, usually 9 to
12 weeks of age, of either sex, that can be cooked tender
by broiling or frying, usually weighing between 2 1/2
and 3 1/2 pounds. |
| Class |
A group of chickens that has been developed
in a particular region of the world. |
| Cock |
A male chicken over one year of age; also
called cock bird and old rooster. |
| Cockerel |
A male chicken under one year of age;
also called young rooster. |
| Crossbred |
The offspring of parents of
different varieties or breeds. |
| Gallus domesticus |
The domestic chicken. |
| Gallus Gallus |
The Red Jungle Fowl; also called gallus
bankiva. |
| Genus |
A group of closely related animals or
plants which differ from one another in only slight
characteristics. |
| Hen |
A female chicken over one year or age.
|
| Inbred |
The offspring of closely related parents;
resulting from inbreeding. |
| Incrosbred |
The offspring from crossing inbred parents
of the same or different breeds. |
| Layers |
Mature female chickens kept
for egg production; also called laying hens. |
| Pullet |
A female chicken under one year of age.
|
| Purebred |
The offspring of purebred parents that
are of the same class, breed, and variety. |
| Roaster |
A young meat-type chicken, usually 3 to
5 months of age, of either sex, that can be cooked tender
by roasting, and usually weighing 4 pounds or over.
|
| Sexed chickens |
Day-old chicks with the males and females
separated. |
| Started pullets |
Female chickens that are partially grown,
usually to point of lay that is about 20 weeks of age,
by specialized growers for sale to egg farmers. |
| Straight-run chicks |
Day-old chicks that have not been separated
according to sexes. |
| Strain |
A group of birds within a variety that
has been bred by one person or firm for some time and
has more or less uniform characteristics and capabilities.
|
| Strain cross |
The offspring of parents of two or more
different strains belonging to the same variety. |
| Stewing chickens |
A mature female chicken, usually more
than 10 months of age; that requires moist, pressurized,
or extended cooking; also called hen or fowl. |
| Variety |
A subdivision of a breed, distingushed
by color, color pattern, or kind of comb. |
Definitions related to the anatomy
of chickens
| Beak |
The bird's bill; the protruding mouthpart
of a bird. |
| Cloaca |
The vent or common opening in birds through
which the intestinal, urinary, and reproductive tracts
empty. |
| Comb |
The fleshy, red outgrowth on top of a
chicken's head; there are eight types of combs. |
| Earlobes |
The fleshy patch of bare skin below the
ears varying in size and shape with the color red, white,
blue, or purple, according to the breed. |
| Gizzard |
An internal organ of birds. It has thick
muscular walls and a tough lining. It crushes and grinds
foods by muscular action and with pebbles or grit. |
| Infundibulum |
The funnel end of the oviduct that picks
up the yolk when it is released from the ovary; the
area in which fertilization of the true egg takes place;
also called funnel. |
| Isthmus |
The section of the oviduct next to the
magnum where the water and mineral salts are deposited
and the inner and outer shell membranes are formed.
|
| Magnum |
The section of the oviduct next to the
infundibulum; the area in which the thick white is deposited
and the shape is formed. |
| Ovary |
The organ of the female which holds the
true eggs and produces the yolks on which the true eggs
are located. |
| Oviduct |
The organ of the female birds that puts
the albumen, shell membranes, and the shell of the avian
egg around the yolk. |
| Ovum |
The female germ cell; plural form is ova.
|
| Pituitary Gland |
A small kidney-shaped gland located at
the base of the brain that produces hormones involved
in sexual maturity, the maturation and release of yolks,
and egg laying. |
| Uterus |
The section of the oviduct next to the
isthmus where final portions of the white and minerals
are deposited and shell and shell pigment are added. |
| Vagina |
The section of the oviduct next to the
uterus in which the cuticle is deposited on the shell
and the eggs are turned completely around on its long
axis so that the large end is laid first. |
| Wattles |
The fleshy, red growths that hang from
the side and base of the chicken's beak. |
| Yolk Sac |
The follicle where an ovum
and its surrounding yolk are held until the yolk matures
and is released. |
Definitions related to the Avian Egg
| Air Cell |
The air space between the two shell membranes,
usually at the large end of the egg, that can be plainly
seen when an egg is candled. |
| Albumen |
The white of an egg, consisting of outer
thin, firm, inner thin, and chalaziferous layers. |
| Avian egg |
The mass of material constituting the
bird egg - the shell, shell membranes, albumen, and
yolk - that is designed by nature to nourish and protect
the true egg. |
| Blastoderm |
A fertilized true egg. |
| Blastodisc |
A true egg that was not fertilized. |
| Chalazae |
The two whitish cords on opposite sides
of the yolk that hold the yolk in the center of the
albumen and serve as a rotating axis to keep the germ
cell on the top side of the yolk and next to the heat
of the hen's body. |
| Cuticle |
A secretion of the uterus consisting mainly
of protein that serves to partially seal the pores in
the egg's shell and acts as a lubricant when the egg
is laid; commonly called the bloom. |
| Egg |
The microscopic cell of the female; the
true egg; the female germ cell. |
| Fertile |
An egg that is fertilized; the capability
of an egg to develop into a chick. |
| Fertilization |
The act or process of making or becoming
fertile; the union of a male cell with a female cell.
|
| Infertile |
An egg that is not fertilized, will not
hatch. |
| Shell |
The hard outer surface of an egg made
up largely of calcium carbonate; the shell has pores
allowing loss of carbon dioxide and moisture from the
egg. |
| Shell membranes |
Two thin membranes next to the shell and
surrounding the albumen and yolk; known as inner and
outer shell membranes; they are one of the egg's chief
defenses against bacterial invasion. |
| Sperm |
The microscopic cell of the male; the
male germ cell. |
| Yolk |
The round yellow mass upon
which the true egg is located and that provides nutrients
for the developing embryo. |
Definitions related to Incubation and
Embryology
| Allantois |
A sac connected to the emrbyo's abdomen
making respiration by the embryo possible; it also stores
excretions, absorbs albumen used for food by the embryo,
and absorbs calcium from the egg shell for the structural
needs of the embryo. |
| Amnion |
A transparent sac, filled with colorless
fluid, surrounding the embryo; the amnion and amniotic
fluid protect the developing embryo from shock and permit
it to exercise. |
| Broody hen |
A hen that through hormonal changes has
undergone marked changes in behavior and physiology,
including cessation of laying and development of the
maternal instincts. A hen that wants to sit on eggs
to hatch them and to brood chicks. |
| Chick tooth |
A tiny, sharp, horny projection on the
end of the chick's beak used by the chick to peck holes
in the shell. Also known as egg tooth. |
| Chocion |
A membrane that surrounds both the yolk
sac and the amnion; It has no apparent initial function
but later fuses with the allantois to form the chorio-
allantois membrane. |
| Down |
Soft, fine, hair-like feathers on young
birds. |
| Embryo |
The developing chick within the egg. |
| Embryology |
The study of the formation and development
of embryos. |
| Extra embryonic
membranes |
Membranes outside the embryo's
body that make respiration, nutrition, and secretion
possible and provide protection; they include the yolk
sac, amnion, allantois, and chorion. |
| Fertility |
The quality or state of being fertile. |
| Hatchability |
The quality or state of being hatchable.
|
| Humidity |
The amount of moisture in the air in the
incubator; 50 to 55 percent relative humidity is ideal
the first 18 days of incubation and about 65 percent
the last three days. |
| Incubation |
The process of applying heat, either naturally
or artificially, to eggs to cause them to hatch. |
| Incubator |
An artificially heated container for hatching
eggs. In a still-air incubator the air is not circulated
mechanically. Forced-air incubators have a fan or fans
to circulate the air. |
| Pip |
To break through or peck holes in the
shell by the chick. |
| Primitive streak |
A vertical, opaque line where the embryo
begins to grow and develop. |
| Set |
To put eggs under a broody hen or in an
incubator to hatch them. |
| Temperature |
The level of heat in the incubator; can
vary from 99 degrees to 103 degrees F. 100.5 degrees
F is optimum for a still-air incubator. |
| Turn |
The act of changing the position of eggs
being incubated to prevent the embryos from sticking
to the shell membranes |
Courtesy: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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