Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-n9wrp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-21T06:28:50.988Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

An index of feather cover

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

G. D. Macleod
Affiliation:
University of Nottingham, School of Agriculture, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, LE12 5RD
J. A. Clark
Affiliation:
University of Nottingham, School of Agriculture, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, LE12 5RD

Summary

An index of feather cover is described and applied to assess the coats of various birds. Feather area indices were calculated, by analogy with the leaf area index used by crop ecologists, as the projected area of feathers above unit area of skin. Measurements were made on samples from chickens, turkeys, pheasants, sparrows and herring gulls. The index was calculated for feather tracts on six areas of the body. An overall area index was also calculated, based on the feather cover of at least 60% of the bird's body surface. Intra- and interspecific differences were large. Between species there was a positive correlation between feather index and body weight, while within species, for poultry at least, the opposite was found. This characterization of the feather coat is discussed in terms of its possible use as an index of the insulation of feathers.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1980

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Brody, S. & Campbell, J. (1938). Growth and development 508 – Relation between body weight, amount of wool or feathers, and temperature regulation. Missouri Agricultural Experiment Research Bulletin, 287.Google Scholar
Cena, K. & Monteith, J. L. (1975 a). Transfer processes in animal coats. I. Radiative transfer. Proceedings of the Royal Society, London B 188, 377393.Google Scholar
Cena, K. & Monteith, J. L. (1975 b). Transfer processes in animal coats. II. Conduction and convection. Proceedings of the Royal Society, London B 188, 395411.Google ScholarPubMed
Cena, K. & Monteith, J. L. (1975 c). Transfer processes in animal coats. III. Water vapour diffusion. Proceedings of the Royal Society, London B 188, 413423.Google ScholarPubMed
Herreid, C. F. & Kessel, B. (1967). Thermal conductance in birds and mammals. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology 21, 405414.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hutchinson, J. C. D. (1954). Heat regulation in birds. In Progress in the Physiology of Farm Animals 1 (ed. Hammond, J.), pp. 299362. London: Butterworths Scientific Publications.Google Scholar
Lucas, A. M. & Stettenheim, P. R. (1972). Avian anatomy, integument 1. Agriculture Handbook, p. 362. Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Monteith, J. L. (1973). Principles of Environmental Physics. London: Edward Arnold.Google Scholar
O'Neill, S. J. B., Balnave, D. & Jackson, N. (1971). The influence of feathering and environmental temperature on the heat production and efficiency of utilization of metabolizable energy by the mature cockerel. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 77, 293305.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perek, M. & Sulman, P. (1945). Basal metabolic rate in laying and moulting hens. Endocrinology 36, 240245.Google Scholar