Summary: College 6 - Poultry

Read the summary and the most important questions on College 6 - Poultry

• 1 Domestication

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• What is the difference in egg production and feather pecking between the modern chicken and its ancestor?

  • Ancestor of the chicken laid about 60 eggs per year, while the modern chicken lays about 300 eggs per year. 
    
  • Feather pecking is the same in both species.

• 2 Genetic selection

• What are the the main traits of laying hens and broilers?

  Laying hens:
  

  • Early onset of egg laying
  • High rate of egg production
  • High egg quality
  • Low feed conversion ratio

  Broilers:
  

  • Fast growth
    
  • Low feed conversion ratio
  • Large breast size and high meat yield.

• 3 Communication

• What is the vision range of the chicken?

  They van see the ultra violet aspect of the color scale and they have a very broad spectrum.

• How do chickens communicate?

  Mainly through visual and vocal signals. They have an acute hearing.

• 4 Postures and displays

• What 3 types of postures do chickens use to communicate?

  • Threats
  • Social submission
  • Courtship behavior

• What are the important features of chickens in communications via postures and displays?

  The most important features are comb size and colour.

• 5 Vocalisations

• Which different types of vocalizations do chickens use?

  • Warning calls
  • Contact calls
  • Signalling threat or submission
  • Food calls
  • Long distance crows as a territorial defense 

• 6 Social dominance/problems

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• How are social hierarchies maintained in chickens?

  They are maintained through aggressive pecks to the head and displays of submissive behavior.

• Why do chickens flock together?

  • Protection against predators
  • Behavioral synchronization (eg dustbathing)
  • Behavioral facilitation

• What happens when the flocks are very large (>100 birds)?

  • Birds won't recognize each other anymore
  • There is a risk of social problems (al vanaf meer dan 30 vogels) like:
    - Bullying in laying hens
    - Feather picking and canibalism