Poultry Sci- body parts & systems

Body Systems

There are 11 body systems in the animal body.
The 11 systems (in order): Integumentary, Skeletal, Muscular, Respiratory, Circulatory, Immune, Nervous, Endocrine, Excretory, Reproductive, Digestive.

In poultry, the skin and feathers form the integument, the outer protection of the body.
Functions: protect from injury; help maintain a relatively constant body temperature; aid in flight; act as receptors of sensory stimuli.

Skin is thin and relatively free of secretory glands.
Yellow skin (and shanks) in some chickens is due to xanthophylls derived from feed.
Specialized structures exposed on skin: comb, wattles, snood (turkeys), earlobes, beak, claws, spurs.
Preen gland present.

Key external landmarks: comb, head, eye, nostril, neck, beak, ear, ear lobe, wattle, feather coverage, breast, wing, shank, hock, foot/toes, tail.
View includes both roosters and hens; feathers cover the body.

Comb types include: Single, Rose, Pea, Cushion, Buttercup, Strawberry, V-shaped.

Feathers are epidermal outgrowths forming the plumage.
At hatch, birds have down feathers; these are replaced by coarser feathers.
Adults have three feather types:
- Contour feathers
- Plumules
- Filoplume
Contour feathers have four parts: ext{Quill}, ext{Shaft (Rachis)}, ext{Fluff/Undercolor}, ext{Web}; the web is formed by barbs with barbules.
Undercolor is a series of barbs with no barbules.
Plumules form a soft, downy undercoat; rachis is short; barbs and barbules radiate freely.
Filoplume: short, flexible, hairlike rachis with barbules at the apex.
Feathers are distributed on the skin in well-defined tracts.

Contour feather anatomy includes: ext{Quill}, ext{Rachis (shaft)}, ext{Fluff/Undercolor}, ext{Web} with barbs and barbules forming the web.
The feather has superior and inferior umbilicus and calamus regions.