The chicken family tops the list of the most popular bird breeds used in agriculture and industrial poultry farming. This is quite understandable. Chicken meat is known for its he alth benefits, and many pet owners' chicken bones are an essential part of their pet's daily diet.
To this we can add that this bird is the main producer of eggs entering our food market. From the information above, it becomes clear why it has gained such popularity. In this article, we will look at what features chicken bones have.
Chicken Skeleton
This is a musculoskeletal system consisting of bone tissue. It is a support for the entire body of the bird and helps it move in the surrounding space.
What does a chicken skeleton look like? The photo below clearly demonstrates how the musculoskeletal system of these birds works.
Building
The photo below shows a chicken skeleton with the name of the bones.
As you can see, the structure of the musculoskeletal system of a bird is quite complex. According to a photo of a chicken skeleton with a description of the bones, several interesting points can be distinguished.
- This bird has no teeth. In these representatives of the animal world, nature has formed a horny process, which we call a beak. Her two stomachs help her "chew", more precisely, grind her food.
- The whole skeleton can be divided into main parts: head, torso, fore and hind limbs. The head is not particularly pronounced.
- A chicken has 27 vertebrae. The cervical region includes 14 of them, the chest - 7, the tail - 6.
- An unusual part called a keel is located on the chest of the bird skeleton.
- Forelimbs as such are absent. Their role is played by wings.
- The wing is formed by: scapula, clavicle, bones: coracoid radius, ulna and humerus.
- Hind limbs - four-fingered paws with claws. Males have spurs, which are bony outgrowths. Some breeds of the chicken family have three fingers on their hind limbs.
- The hind limbs are attached to the pelvic bones and pass into the lower leg, tibia, thigh and tarsus.
- Females are characterized by the presence of a medullary bone, which is absent in males. This skeletal element is involved in the formation of the eggshell.
Chicken skull
The detailed structure of this part of the skeleton is shown in the photo below.
The bird's skull can be divided into two sections - brain andfacial. The first consists of the lacrimal, ethmoid, frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital, and sphenoid bones.
The second section (facial) is not so pronounced. It is formed by the incisal, nasal, palatine, pterygoid, zygomatic, square, square-zygomatic, maxillary, mandibular and hyoid bones. The opener can also be attributed to them. The entire bird family has no teeth.
The nasal, incisor and maxillary bones form the basis of the upper half of the beak. At the junction with the frontal bone, it is plastic. This provides the beak with little mobility. The square-shaped bone is responsible for the mobility of both halves of the beak, which helps them swallow large pieces of food.
Structure of limbs
The anterior limb (wing) can be divided into three sections:
The humerus has air cavities inside, which are filled with air from a bag located under the collarbone
- Forearm. Formed from the radius and ulna. There is a so-called interosseous space between them.
- The hand consists of four metacarpal bones and four modified fingers. Some species of the chicken family have only three fingers.
The rear limb (leg) consists of the femur, lower leg and foot. There are no separate short bones in the tarsal joint. All of them are fused with the tibia and metatarsal bones.
Torso structure
In the chicken family, the cervical vertebrae are elongated, making up the main partspinal column. The first vertebra of the neck connects to the condyle of the occipital bone, which has a spherical shape. Due to this difference in the occipital joint, the bird's head can move in different directions.
The thoracic region has 7 vertebrae, some of which have fused together and formed one bone. A chicken has as many ribs as thoracic vertebrae.
One rib is formed by the vertebral and sternal bones. There are two types of ribs in chickens:
1. Sternal.
2. Asternal.
In the former, the end is connected to the sternum, while in the latter it is not. All caudal edges of the ribs have hook-like processes that connect them to one another. It is these processes that provide a strong chest bird.
The sternum is well developed. There are many reasons for this:
- It is on it that the muscles that provide flight are attached.
- Inside the chest are the organs responsible for supplying the body with air.
- There is a long keel on the sternum, the size of which depends on the parameters of the bird.
The vertebrae in the region of the belt and the sacrum have grown together, and their edges have joined the pelvic bones. This skeletal feature of the chicken provided a good foundation for limb development.
The tail section consists of 6 vertebrae. They are not particularly mobile, and the last one is elongated. It is called pygostyle or coccyx.
The structure of the chest region
Evolution has caused bird limbs to change to form wings.
The shoulder girdle form:
- Clavicle. Herthe upper part merges with the shoulder blade.
- Coracoid bone. Has a tubular shape. Its upper edge connects to the collarbone and shoulder blade, and the lower one to the sternum.
- Scapula. Its lower edge is connected to the coracoid bone and forms the articular fossa.
Structure of the pelvic region
The pelvis is formed from the pubic, ischium and ilium bones, which are fused with the sacral and lumbar vertebrae. This skeletal feature of the chicken provides an open lower half of the pelvis to facilitate the passage of eggs.
Internal structure of bone
Most of them are hollow inside. These bones are called tubular. Despite their low weight, they are very durable. This feature of the bones of the chicken skeleton is due to the fact that the bird is able to fly, just few people know this. Due to the impressive number of such bones, the total weight of the bird's skeleton does not exceed 10% of the total body weight.
Bone broth
Many doctors recommend drinking rich bone broth instead of the usual coffee, tea or juice after waking up. For its preparation, it is better to take chicken.
If you cook fresh bones correctly, you can get a he althy drink that improves the condition of the human musculoskeletal system. Its composition is rich in vitamins and minerals, which makes this broth an indispensable element in the daily diet of the elderly and patients with diseases of the bones and joints. This drink does not burden the digestive system, it has a calming effect on the intestines.
American researchers studying the effects of foods on the digestive system confirm the benefits of bone broth. But they warn that the best quality product should be chosen for the preparation of the drink.
Bone broth ingredients
When bones are cooked, they release collagen, proline, glucosamine, glycine, glutamine and glycine into boiling water. These substances have the following beneficial properties:
- Collagen - improves the he alth of the digestive system, renews the condition of the skin, promotes wound healing, strengthens bone tissue, nail plates and hair.
- Glycine - regulates the secretion of gastric acid, conducts good prevention against many diseases of the gastric mucosa, helps digest fats, which also affects the condition of other organs of the gastrointestinal tract.
- Glucosamine with glutamine - improves the condition of the joints, reduces pain, maintains a good condition of the intestinal mucosa.
Why dogs shouldn't eat chicken bones
This product is introduced into the daily diet of pet dogs by many owners. Some pet owners believe that bird bones are the most useful and necessary component of a pet's food, so they add them to the dog's bowl at every opportunity. But this opinion is wrong. Chicken bones can seriously injure the internal organs of the animal, even lead to his death.
The most harmless consequences are the injured mucous membranemouth, cracked or broken teeth. The mucosa is able to recover within a day after the injury, and a damaged tooth provokes pain.
Injuries capable of inflicting shrapnel fragments of chicken bones. They are extremely durable and always very sharp. If damage to the trachea or pharynx has occurred, the animal will experience very severe pain. Such injuries can provoke internal bleeding, respiratory failure. If the owner lets this situation get out of control and doesn't get the animal to the vet, it will die.
Sometimes tissue injury occurs in the area of the stomach or intestines. In this case, internal bleeding will begin. If the injury is deep and extensive, gastric juice or feces may enter the abdominal cavity. This situation is very dangerous. The only way to save an animal is if it needs an urgent operation.
In veterinary practice, cases are often observed when chicken bones clog the colon cavity. The consequences can be different: from bloating and intestinal obstruction to profuse blood loss and intoxication of the body, leading to the painful death of the animal.
But the dog can still be helped. Oil enemas will be a good help. If they do not improve the condition of the sick animal, the only thing left is the operation, during which the dead tissue is removed and the he althy one is sutured.
Many veterinarians warn that chicken bones, especially tubular ones, are categorically contraindicated for dogs. They refute the common myth that such food is a valuable source ofcalcium. The animal should receive this important trace element with other products or vitamin complexes.
