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Pecking
Pecking is the action of a bird using their beak to search for food or otherwise investigate an object or area by tapping it. Pecking can also be used by a bird to attack or fight another bird. Pecking is frequently observed in chickens and other poultry, and in pigeons.Harris Philip Zeigler, Ralf Jäger, and Adrian G. Palacios, "Sensorimotor mechanisms and pecking in the pigeon", in Harris Philip Zeigler and Hans-Joachim Bischof, ''Vision, Brain, and Behavior in Birds'' (1993), p. 265. Pecking is typically accomplished by movement of the neck. Certain birds, particularly woodpeckers, engage in a specialized kind of pecking, using their beak to drill holes in trees in order to find insects under the bark. Woodpeckers also engage in a kind of pecking called drumming, a less-forceful type of pecking that serves to establish territory and attract mates. Woodpeckers drum on various reverberatory structures on buildings such as gutters, downspouts, chimneys, vents and aluminium sheet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Feather Pecking
Feather pecking is a behavior that occurs most frequently amongst domestic hens reared for egg production,Huber-Eicher, B. and Sebo, F. 2001. The prevalence of feather pecking and development in commercial flocks of laying hens. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 74: 223–231Sherwin, C.M., Richards, G.J and Nicol, C.J. 2010. A comparison of the welfare of layer hens in four housing systems in the UK. British Poultry Science, 51(4): 488-499 although it does occur in other poultry such as pheasants,Butler, D.A. and Davis, C. 2010. Effects of plastic bits on the condition and behaviour of captive-reared pheasants. Veterinary. Record, 166: 398-401 turkeys,Sherwin, C.M., 2010. Turkeys: Behavior, Management and Well-Being. In “The Encyclopaedia of Animal Science”. Wilson G. Pond and Alan W. Bell (Eds). Marcel Dekker. pp. 847-849 ducks,Gustafson, L.A., Cheng, H.W., Garner, J.P., et al. 2007. Effects of bill-trimming Muscovy ducks on behavior, body weight gain, and bill morpho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toe Pecking
Toe pecking, an abnormal behaviour of birds in captivity, occurs when one bird pecks the toes of another using its beak. This behaviour has been reported in hens and ostriches.Bubier N.E., Deeming, C. and Ayres L.L. (1996). Behaviour of ostrich chicks in captivity: An analysis of time budgets. British Poultry Science, 37 (supplement): S13-S14 Studies have shown that hens exposed to toe pecking have significantly enlarged adrenal glands, indicating increased physiological stress. Hens exposed to toe pecking will step off a raised platform more quickly than control hens, possibly suggesting a heightened fear of elevation. They have also been reported to show depressive behaviour (retreating to corner of the pen, not eating and losing weight) when afflicted by toe-pecking. The act of toe pecking leads to open wounds which are viable for infection and disease to develop. In severe forms, toe pecking can be classified as a cannibalistic behaviour and has been reported as a cause ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vent Pecking
Vent pecking is an abnormal behaviour of birds performed primarily by commercial egg-laying hens. It is characterised by pecking damage to the cloaca, the surrounding skin and underlying tissue.Sherwin, C.M., (2010). The welfare and ethical assessment of housing for egg production. In ''The Welfare of Domestic Fowl and Other Captive Birds'', I.J.H. Duncan and P. Hawkins (eds), Springer, pp. 237-258 Vent pecking frequently occurs immediately after an egg has been laid when the cloaca often remains partly everted exposing the mucosa,Potzsch, C.J., Lewis, K., Nicol, C.J. and Green, L.E., (2001). A cross-sectional study of the prevalence of vent pecking in laying hens in alternative systems and its associations with feather pecking, management and disease. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 74: 259-272 red from the physical trauma of oviposition or bleeding if the tissue is torn by her laying an egg. Vent pecking clearly causes pain and distress to the bird being pecked. Tearing of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Woodpeckers
Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar and the extreme polar regions. Most species live in forests or woodland habitats, although a few species are known that live in treeless areas, such as rocky hillsides and deserts, and the Gila woodpecker specializes in exploiting cacti. Members of this family are chiefly known for their characteristic behaviour. They mostly forage for insect prey on the trunks and branches of trees, and often communicate by drumming with their beaks, producing a reverberatory sound that can be heard at some distance. Some species vary their diet with fruits, birds' eggs, small animals, tree sap, human scraps, and carrion. They usually nest and roost in holes that they excavate in tree trunks, and their abandoned holes are of importance to other cavity-nesting birds. They sometimes com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thorleif Schjelderup-Ebbe
Thorleif Schjelderup-Ebbe (12 November 1894 in Kristiania – 8 June 1976 in Oslo) was a Norwegian zoologist and comparative psychologist. He was the first person to describe a pecking order of hens, a discovery that contributed to understanding dominance hierarchies across species and influenced the field of ethology. Biography and education Thorleif Schjelderup-Ebbe was the son of the sculptors (1868–1941) and Menga Schjelderup (1871–1945). He had a sheltered early life with tutors providing his education. From a young age, he showed wide-ranging interests and intellectual capabilities. By age six, he began observing chickens, recording their behaviours—an interest that would define his scientific career. As a child, Schjelderup-Ebbe displayed linguistic abilities and scholarly aptitude. He learned multiple languages, including French, German, and English, and developed a memory for Latin nomenclature of animals and plants, as well as chemical formulas. His fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pecking Order
In the zoological field of ethology, a dominance hierarchy (formerly and colloquially called a pecking order) is a type of social hierarchy that arises when members of animal social groups interact, creating a ranking system. Different types of interactions can result in dominance depending on the species, including ritualized displays of aggression or direct physical violence. In social living groups, members are likely to compete for access to limited resources and mating opportunities. Rather than fighting each time they meet, individuals of the same sex establish a relative rank, with higher-ranking individuals often gaining more access to resources and mates. Based on repetitive interactions, a social order is created that is subject to change each time a dominant animal is challenged by a subordinate one. Definitions Dominance is an individual's preferential access to resources over another based on coercive capacity based on strength, threat, and intimidation, compa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beak
The beak, bill, or rostrum is an external anatomical structure found mostly in birds, but also in turtles, non-avian dinosaurs and a few mammals. A beak is used for pecking, grasping, and holding (in probing for food, eating, manipulating and carrying objects, killing prey, or fighting), preening, courtship, and feeding young. The terms ''beak'' and '' rostrum'' are also used to refer to a similar mouth part in some ornithischians, pterosaurs, cetaceans, dicynodonts, rhynchosaurs, anuran tadpoles, monotremes (i.e. echidnas and platypuses, which have a bill-like structure), sirens, pufferfish, billfishes, and cephalopods. Although beaks vary significantly in size, shape, color and texture, they share a similar underlying structure. Two bony projections–the upper and lower mandibles–are covered with a thin keratinized layer of epidermis known as the rhamphotheca. In most species, two holes called ''nares'' lead to the respiratory system. Etymology Although the wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chicken
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and widespread domesticated animals in the world. Chickens are primarily kept for chicken as food, their meat and egg as food, eggs, though they are also kept as pets. As of 2023, the global chicken population exceeds 26.5 billion, with more than 50 billion birds produced annually for consumption. Specialized breeds such as broilers and laying hens have been developed for meat and egg production, respectively. A hen bred for laying can produce over 300 eggs per year. Chickens are social animals with complex vocalizations and behaviors, and cultural references to chickens, feature prominently in folklore, religion, and literature across many societies. Their economic importance makes them a central component of global animal husbandry and agricu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poultry
Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of harvesting animal products such as meat, Eggs as food, eggs or feathers. The practice of animal husbandry, raising poultry is known as poultry farming. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, quails, and domestic turkey, turkeys). The term also includes waterfowls of the family Anatidae (ducks and geese) but does not include wild birds hunted for food known as game (hunting), game or wild meat, quarry. Recent genomic studies involving the four extant junglefowl species reveals that the domestication of chicken, the most populous poultry species, occurred around 8,000 years ago in Southeast Asia. This was previously believed to have occurred around 5,400 years ago, also in Southeast Asia. The process may have originally occurred as a result of people hatching and rearing young birds from eggs collected from the wild, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight Bird skeleton, skeleton. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the bee hummingbird to the common ostrich. There are over 11,000 living species and they are split into 44 Order (biology), orders. More than half are passerine or "perching" birds. Birds have Bird wing, wings whose development varies according to species; the only known groups without wings are the extinct moa and elephant birds. Wings, which are modified forelimbs, gave birds the ability to fly, although further evolution has led to the Flightless bird, loss of flight in some birds, including ratites, penguins, and diverse endemism, endemic island species. The digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
