Chicken anatomy

Question 1

What is the red bit on the head of the chicken? What about beneath the beak?

Answer 1

Comb - with base and points

Wattle

Question 2

What order do chickens belong to? What other birds are in this order?

Answer 2

Galliformes

Turkeys

Question 3

What is the name of the top and bottom beak of a chicken?

Answer 3

Rhinotheca - top

Gnathotheca - bottom

Question 4

Below the hock, what is the metatarsals called? What is the metatarsopharyngeal joint called?

Answer 4

Shank

Spur

Question 5

What is the other name for the breastbone, where the pectoral muscles can be palpated? What is this used for?

Answer 5

Keel

Used to BCS

Question 6

What are the 2 main feather types

Answer 6

Plumulaceous - soft/downy

Pennaceous - stiffer

Question 7

What is the centre of a feather called?
What is the outer curve called?
What is each part of the feather called?
What is the soft fluffy part of the bottom of a feather called?
What is the hollow shaft of the feather called?

Answer 7

Rachis
Vane
Barb
Afterfeather
Calamus

Question 8

How many eyelids do chickens have?

Answer 8

3

Question 9

Do chickens have a cere?

Answer 9

No - budgies, owls, birds of prey only

Question 10

The choana and choanal papillae are a useful site for?

Answer 10

Swabbing for respiratory disease

Question 11

Caudal to the choana there is a secondary slit. What does this open to?

Answer 11

Middle ear

Question 12

When the bird is resting, what fits into the choanal slit? What does this create?

Answer 12

Glottis slits into choanal slit

Creates closed passage from nostrils to trachea

Question 13

On which side of the neck is the crop located? What does this do?

Answer 13

Right

Food store - muscular sac

Question 14

What are 2 common problems with the crop?

Answer 14

Crop impaction - blocked crop, unable to empty

Sour crop - yeast infection

Question 15

What is special about the pigeon crop?

Answer 15

Produces crop milk

Regurgitated and fed to young

Question 16

What is the name of the preen gland? Where is it located? What should this do to feathers?

Answer 16

Uropygial gland
Base of tail
Waterproofs feathers

Question 17

Any incision in the abdomen leads to invasion of an air sac cavity. This causes anaesthetic to leak from the incision site. How can this be reduced?

Answer 17

Cannulate the abdominal air sac on the contralateral side

Or pack the site with moistened swabs (don’t drown!!)

Question 18

How many air sacs do birds have? Name them

Answer 18

9
1 interclavicular
2 cervical
2 anterior thoracic
2 posterior thoracic
2 abdominal

Question 19

Do chickens have a gall bladder?

Answer 19

Yes

Question 20

A transverse coeliotomy (incision into abdomen) gives access to the largest area of the abdomen. A left lateral incision gives good access to…

Answer 20

Proventriculus
Ventriculus
Female repro tract
Left kidney

Question 21

A ventral midline incision gives good access to…

Answer 21

Both sides of the coelomic cavity - SI, liver, repro tract, cloaca

Question 22

In which birds should you not give a pectoral IM injections?

Answer 22

Nestlings

None flight birds

Question 23

How many chambers does the heart have? What is unusual about heart size in birds?

Answer 23

4

Heart size is inversely proportional to body size

Question 24

What is unusual about birds RBCs?

Answer 24

Nucleated

Question 25

Air sacs are hard to identify once the chicken is opened up. What can be used to identify them?

Answer 25

Muco-serous membrane

Question 26

Do birds have a diaphragm?

Answer 26

No

Question 27

Describe the passage of air during inspiration of a bird

Answer 27

Air enters through trachea | Goes into posterior air sacs, lungs and then anterior sacs

Question 28

Describe the passage of air during expiration

Answer 28

Air leaves the anterior sacs and posterior sacs and enters the lung, where it is exhaled into the trachea

Question 29

What is the function of the proventriculus and ventriculus?

Answer 29

Pro - glandular stomach (enzymes for digestion) | Ventriculus - muscular stomach (mechanical digestion)

Question 30

Where is the pancreas located in the chicken?

Answer 30

Within the duodenal loop

Question 31

Ceca are well developed in the chicken but the size is dietary dependent. What are the ceca?

Answer 31

2 blind sacs | Microbial fermentation

Question 32

How many lobes do the kidneys of birds have?

Answer 32

3 - cranial, middle, caudal

Question 33

What type of nephrons do chickens have?

Answer 33

Mix of mammalian and reptilian

Question 34

What is the end product of metabolism in birds?

Answer 34

Uric acid

Question 35

Which side of the reproduction tract develops?

Answer 35

Left

Question 36

The ovary contains what looks like many 'yolks'. What are these?

Answer 36

Follicles

Question 37

Eggs are received into the urodeum where they are then laid. What are the functional regions of the female bird repro tract and what happens in each?

Answer 37

Ovary - follicles develop Infundibulum - receives ovulated follicle, fertilisation takes place here Magnum - albumin formation Isthmus - Shell membranes added Uterus/shell gland - outer, calcified shell forms Vagina - adds cuticle to prevent bacteria entering pores of egg

Question 38

What separates the urodeum and coprodeum?

Answer 38

Coprodeal fold

Question 39

What is the bursa of fabrics? Where is it? What takes place here?

Answer 39

Small lymphatic organ in dorsal cloaca | Site of haematopoiesis

Question 40

What is a common problem in the laying tract of some birds?

Answer 40

Follicular stasis - follicles mature but do't ovulate

Question 41

What is different between the male repro tract in birds and mammals?

Answer 41

Short epididymis - less sperm storage Internal testes in abdo No accessory sex glands May have intermittent phallus, non-intromittent phallus or no phallus

Question 42

Which birds have a non-intromittent phallus?

Answer 42

Ducks, geese, ratites

Question 43

Which birds have no phallus?

Answer 43

Psittacines (parrot)

Question 44

Which lympahatic organs are rudimentary or absent in adult birds?

Answer 44

Bursa of fabricus | Thymus

Question 45

Where are the paired testes located in the abdomen cavity?

Answer 45

Above the kidneys