Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Average total time for the process is somewhat breed dependent but generally runs
22 to 25 hours.
The Nervous System
The nervous system is divided into the central nervous system, of the brain and spinal
cord, and the peripheral nervous system, which includes the cranial and spinal nerves. It
works similarly to that of humans with only a few exceptions.
Vision
The avian eye is similar to other vertebrate eyes but has many superior abilities. Birds
are considered to have the finest ocular organs of the animal world. Most birds focus
across a range that is twice that of the average 20-year-old human, and their peak color
vision in the orange-red portion of the spectrum. They also have both monocular and
binocular vision with fields of view of around 300 degrees. Birds can see almost all the
way around them, which is why it is hard to sneak up on them.
Hearing
Birds have a keen sense of hearing and excellent equilibrium. They also have a remark-
able ability to imitate sounds.
BLOOD SPOTS AND MEAT SPOTS:
NOT SIGNS OF DEVELOPING EMBRYOS
A
blood spot
in your egg does not mean that the egg has started to develop; stress to
the hen creates this problem. For example, constant spooking of laying hens or other
kinds of trauma often leads to eggs with blood spots. Blood spots appear in various
sizes on the yolk of the egg and in most cases can be avoided with management.
Another harmless condition, sometimes called
meat spots,
occurs when an egg
contains a hard lump that looks kind of like a dark, red-brown piece of meat. This
seems to be a genetically inherited tendency within certain breeds. Meat spots do not
appear on the surface of the yolk but in the white near the yolk. Like blood spots,
meat spots are not evidence of developing embryos from partial incubation, but rather
a condition indicating that the ovaries are not working ideally.
