Lecture 32 Flashcards
Why did we domesticate poultry?
5pts
- Food source
- Meat, eggs - Clothing
- Feathers - Other
- Companionship
- Ornamental
- Fighting
What are the sexual preferences of avian species?
2 pts
Differs:
* Polygamous
- chickens, turkeys, pheasants, ostriches, reas
* Monogamous
- Geese, quail, emu, pigeons, ducks, partridges, grouse, guinea fowl
What is the group structure like in avian species?
2pts
Large groups for at least part of the year (don’t stay in groups during breeding to avoid inbreeding)
* ostrich
Solitary (come together during breeding)
* Pheasants
How does incubation and guarding of offspring differ between avian species?
3 pts
Males
* Emus, rhea
Male and female
* Ostriches, bobwhite quail, geese
Female
* Chickens, mallard ducks, grouse
What bird were our chickens domesticated from?
1 pt
Red Jungle Fowl
What is the Red Jungle Fowls social structure like?
3 pts
A lot like horses
* Harem polygynous species with a dominant male to defend the boundaries
* May be small all-male flocks in the wild
What is the social structure like in chickens?
3 pts
Dominant male
* Tolerant of other young males
* NOT tolerant of oler males (because of competition and injury
Females in the flock
* Cominance hierarchy (suppression)
What are the behaviours exhibited by chickens during breeding season?
3 pts
Males attempt to intimidate males and attract females
* Males - wings flapping, preening, tail wagging, tit-biting/cornering, waltzing
* Females - crouching
What are the winter months like for wild turkeys?
4 pts
- Either sex separate or mixed sexfamily groups
- male flocks - siblings that remain together for their lifetime
- female flocks - from various groups - Dominance hierarchies both male and female groups
What happens during breeding season all the time and sometimes in wild turkeys?
4 pts
Usually:
* Males compete to gain dominance
* Mate with females which gather at central area
* Dominant gets the most matings
Sometimes:
* May have a harem polygenous mating system where one male has 4 to 6 females
What does space in the wild depend on?
3 pts
- resources
- group size
- shelter
How far can the jungle fowl, turkeys, and quails travel?
3 pts
- Jungle fowl - 50km
- Turkeys - 8-16kn, up to 32km in winter
- Quail - 80 km in winter
How is vision important in chickens?
2 pts
- better than human vision
- avoiding predators
What does commercial production have to consider with the vision of chickens?
3 pts
- Daylength
- Light intensity
- Light colour
What signals do chickens use to communicate?
3 pts
- Postures - display threat and submission
- vocalization - 31 calls in chickens
- crowing - territorial control (only dominant male)
- crowing frequency correlated with comb length
- males use crowing to asses dominance of other males
What are the morphological features of chickens, quail, and turkeys?
3 pts
- Chickens - comb size
- Quail - large numbers of sexually dimorphic feathers around head and neck
- Turkeys - necks are featherless, snood (grows when female is near), caruncles, colour, puff up feathers
Why do chicken and turkeys cohabitate?
4 pts
- Could be habitat - roosting sites, food sources
- Relationship between conspecifics
- chickens stay close to cominant male (non-breeding season - female to female relationships close)
- Turkeys - appears to be the sibling male relationships that maintain group cohesion
What are interactions between groups of wild turkeys and jungle fowl?
3 pts
- If food is scarce, 2 or 3 turkey groups may join
- Jungle fowl - territories - tend to stay in those
- most interaction occurs at the start of the breeding season
What are interactions within a group like for turkeys and jungle fowl for male to male?
2 pts
- Jungle fowl: dominance hierarchy; dominant fowl often attacks subordinate that attempts to crow
- Turkey - male siblings co-operate with each other; dominant breeds the most, but all have the opportunity
What are interactions within a group like for turkeys and jungle fowl for male to female?
3 pts
- Often elaborate courtships by males
- JF - plumage color not important, but comb size is
- Turkey - longer snoods and wider heads
What are interactions within a group like for turkeys and jungle fowl for parent - offspring?
3 pts
Embryonic calls
* To parent to tell her to turn the eggs or return to nest
* Hen calls may be important in maternal call recognition
What are interactions within a group like for turkeys and jungle fowl for siblings (embryos)?
5 pts
Hatching synchrony in precocial birds
* Low frequency delays
* Clicking advantages
Chicks can recognize their parents as well as their siblings
* Later, prefer mates that are slightly different than siblings (avoid inbreeding)
What are social groupings like for laying hens?
1 pt
Primarily housed in groups of 3-60 in cages, or barns with 1000’s of birds in one open area
What are social groupings like for meat birds?
1 pt
kept in floor pens
