Sponsors partenaires  du MCF, informations et conditions par mail : CONTACT



GLOSSARY

 

Sloping or drooping wing : loosing wing (withouht pring) low carried. It's a defect in all the heavy and average breeds. In some bantam breeds, the low carried wing is required by the standard. In this precise case, it is directed towards the ground and the back.

Weak wing : wing without spring which doesn't remain folded back and which doesn't ding to the body.

Cut wing : Openig (foramen) between the secondary and primary remexs. It's a serious flaw that we meet a lot in the heavy breed. Let's also see in "genetics" the cut wings.

Alleles : differents forms of an identical gene. So they occupy the same locus. A savage gene and its different mutations are alleles. We also speak of homologous genes.

Silver : It is said of a plumage whose phaeomelanin has been suppressed under the effect of the deminating mutation(s). This last one doesn't affect neither the eumetanin nor the breast saulmon color of the savage hen. That's why we appoint the silver variety of ths one by "silver-salmon".

Autosomal : See the"characteristic linked to sex".

Bantam : genetic name designating the bantam poultries, od appelation still used in some countries to design the bantam poultries.

Bar (of the wing) : formed by the drawing of the whole tectrices when the wing is folded back.

Crossed beak : malformation of the beak mandibles. They cross instead of being one on top of the other.

Hunched back : malformation of the hip bones and the sacrum.

Shield : The whole wing feathers excepts the primary remexs.

Fullness : downing feathers which cover the thighs, the belly and the anal parts in the heavy breeds.

Ear tuft : small feathers protecting the auditory duct.

Wishbone (breastbone) : flat and very right bone which is heel developped and vovered by the very developped pectoral muscles (white flesh). The deviated wishbone (anatomic deformation) constitutes a serious flaw. A slight deviation is tolerated.

Stony : farming term which designs a plumage made up of black with white end feathers. It's due to the recessive (no) gene.

Hackle : neck plumage is made up of long, narrow and highly sharpened feathers which cover the shoulders. It's usualy more developed than in the cock.

Dominating and recessive characteristics : a genetic characteristic is dominating when, by a crossing with a subject which doesn't show this characteeristic. It is observed in at least 50% of the descendance. It's the case of the uniform black characteristic determined by the E gene.

So by the crossing of a subject carrier of this gene at the homozygous (E/E) or heterozygous (E/E+) state with a savage subject, so of the E+/E+ genotype, we will have in the first case 100% and in the second case 50% of uniformly black subjects. We will say that the E uniform black characteristic is dominating in relation with the savage characteristic. The "dominated" characteristic, here, the savage characteristic is said to be recessive.

 We should notice that the E and E+ genes are alleles. That is that they occupy the same locus on an homologus chromosome pair. When the gene effect hides the effect of a gene which occupes others locus, we won't say that this gene is dominating in relation to the second but that it is epistatic. For example, the gene E is epistatic in relation with the first gene which is responsible for the golden characteristic in the sense that the uniform black color hides all trace of phaeomelanin in the plumage. This hiddent gene is called hypostatic.

Hereditary or genetic characteristic : physical or psychic characteristic (we also say feature) of a living being determined by the presence in its genom of one or several genes and therefore transmissible to its descendance. For example, the uniformly black color of the plumage ( i gene). A gene is only observable by the characteristic it leads to.

Characteristic linked to sex : Hereditary characteristic determined by a gene associated at the sexual X chromosome. It is carried in simple or double dose in the cocks ( XX pair) and in simple dose in the hen ( XY pair). It's the case of the cuckoo characteristic which is determined by the dominating B gene.

The unsexual chromosomes are called "autosomes" and the characteristics lead by them are called "autosomic".

Capon : castrated cock with a view to the cramming.

Chromosomes : microscopic structures present in the eucaryot cleus, where the genetic material DNA is associated with some proteins (histons).

These structures unfold at the moment of the cellular division (mitosos). In the somatic cells (all the cells except the gametes), the chromosomes appear under the form of pairs of identical aspect elements, one coming from the father and the other from the mother. The chromosomes of such a pair are said to be homologous. They have the same locus. See the characteristic linked to sex.

A nudge in the good direction : kind of partial hole or slopping comb, as with a nudge in the good direction we had tried to put it on the other side.

Covers (small and medium covers of the wing) : also called small and medium tectrices. The small covers the upper part of the wing. They are followed by the mediums. The whole is designated by the term "the top of the wing".

Tail cover (small rectrixs) : streight feathers which cover the base of the large tail rectrixs.

Wrinckled comb : it is a simple comb which has a double wrinckle in its frontal part. (in the front part of the head). It's a serious flaw.

Simple comb : consists in a flesh strip from the base of the upper mandible of the beak to the back of the head. The upper border is tooth-shaped cut up. The back tip is made of a more or less rounded lobe which comes off at the head back.

It is always straight in the cock but sometimes bent in the hen. The form and the size varied according to the breeds.

Lateral comb(s) : serrated outgrouth on one or the other side of a simple comb.

Back crossing : crossing dedicated to precise the subject's genotype by a crossing with a subjct having a known genotype. When this crossbreeding is realised between F1 hybrids and subject of one or the other parental type, we speak of a back crossing.

Crupper : upper part of the butt stretched from the small of the back to the tail. The sacrum forms its base.

Rump : part of the body on which are implanted the tail feathers.

Wing top : the whole small and medium covers.

Dihybridism : hybridation with two different locus. In this way, when only one locus intervenes, we obtain in F2 a mendelian segregation and we speak of monohybridism. When more than two locus intervene, we speak of polyhybridism.

Digit : lower part of a rear limb, ended by the nail. They are usually four, individually jointed, i e three ahead and one behind.

The last one is called the thumb whereas the other three are called the fore digits which are made up of the internal digit, the medial and the external the thumb and which doesn't rest on the ground.

Hook digit : digit strongly bent instead of being straight.

Golden : plumages where there is phaeomelanin. The adjective is often used to design the savage variety called "golden salmon".

Shoulder : wing part which is at the body's base.

Spur : horned spur implanted on the internal side of the tarsus in the cocks, but also in some hens. It constitutes a defence weapon.

Face : made up of the cheeks and the surround of the eyes. It is made up of a more or less long and bare skin expanse.

Sickle : small and long curved feathers covering the rectrixs in the cock.

Flambé : Farming term designating a feather, having usually a jointed and long form as the rackle feathers, whose central parts along the breast, wear a black mark with a flame form.

Curled feathers : feathers which are partly or entierly twiddled.

Gene : DNA segment containing the piece of information(via the genetic code) necessary for the synthesis of a protein. There is a corresponding gene for each protein.

Dominating and recessive genes (see also dominating and recessive characteristics)

The genes and characteristics that they lead to are represented by 1 or 3 letter symbols. In the case of dominating genes (or characteristics), these symbols begin with a capital letter. In the case of the recessive genes, these symbols begin with a small letter.

To distinguish the savage genes of their mutations, their corresponding symbol has a + as exponent. This symbolic system makes widly easier the genetic language. So, instead of speaking of a recessive gene responsible for the presence of a phaeomelanin in the savage breed plumage, we will simply speak of the (s+) gene. Usually, the symbol used to represent a gene reminds us of a phenotype characteristic lead by it. For example, the dominating mutation responsible for the silver varieties is represented by the capital S letter (first letter of the word "silver"). To simplify the writing, we keep the same letter to represent the corresponding savage and recessive allele but under the form of a small (s+) letter.

Genetype : genetic formula determinating a specific phenotype.

Oil gland : falty gland situated at the rump base and whose secretion helps to oil the plumage.

Throat : part situated on the neck top and under the barb.

Big sickles : the two biggest and highest exceeding the others (in height and width).

Heterosis : genetic phenomenon emerging by the fact that the hybrids show a greater vigor that the pure subjects they come from.

Heterozygous : speaking of an homologous gene pair, it is a subject in which the genes are two different alleles. Speaking of a dominating characteristic, we will also say that the subject is heterozygous in relation with this characteristic when it is determined by  a dominating gene accompanied by a recessive allele.

Homozygous : speaking of an homologous gene pair, it is a subject in which the genes are identical. If we speak of a dominating or recessive characteristic, we will also say that the subject is homozygous in relation with this characteristic when it results from the presence of two identical genes.

F1 hybrids : first generation subject in a crossbreeding. The crossing of them gives subjects called "F2 generation". It leads (if the parents are pure) to only one phonotype.

F2 hybrids : crossing between F1 hybrids. It gives rise to the appearence of different phonotypes by a gene distribution called segregation.

Iris : retractible circular membrane of the eyes. The iris gives the particular color of everyone's eyes. It is orangey-red in the Marans.

Leg (drumstick) : part of the back limb corresponding to the shin and covered with feathers.

Leg in "o" : malformation in which the legs fold up towards the exterior at the knee level.

Leg in "x" : malformation in which the legs fold up towards the interior at the knee level.

Lancets : long, frayed, poointed feathers which are similar to the hactile feathes. They take shape from the waist. They fall on the thighs and cover very often the wing end. Only for the cocks.

Lineage : the whole products of a single subject (male or female).

Border (strip) : a finery whose feathers have a lighter or darker border which edge the outline of them.

Double-bordered feathers : drawing of a feather which offers in addition to the terminal border a second inner border.

Handcuffs : gray of straight feathers which are situated at the tarsus end and which are low and back directed. The handcuffs go hand in hand with the feathered tarsus.

Melanin (eumelanin) : black pigment responsible for the black color accentuation on the skin, the tarsus, the plumage, the back or the tail.

Wing miror : farming term which desgns the buff-colored triangle (in the savage cock) formed by the outer barbs of the secondary remexs when the wing is folded.

Monohybridism : see dihybridism.

Mutation : spontaneous and accidental variation occuring in the individual's descendance and becoming hereditary.

Dominating mutation : mutation expressed by a specific phenotype different from the savage type even at the heterozygous state.

Recessive mutation : mutation which expresses itself by a specific phenotype only at the homozygous state.

Half-dominating mutation : mutation expressed at the heterozygous state by an intermediate phenotype between the mutation phenotype and the savage phenotype.

Sloping-eyes : yellow, oranged or red iris with a black spot, which very often join the pupil.

Vetcheyes : eyes with a dark coloration observed in some domestic hen breeds. It's due to a recessive mutation of the (Br+)gene responsible for the ruby color of the savage breed. The expression originates in the black-brown color of the grain of the fooder plant called vetch.

Fish eyes : eyes without color and which seem to be greenish-white colored.

Numps : fleshy parts which originate under the auditory canal. The form and the color change according to the breeds.

Hen run : group of a cock and several hens. The hens are normally at least three.

Phaeomelanin : feathers pigment which is responsible for the plumage colors from light yellow to dark red.

Phenotype : it is a specific characteristic, the exterior aspect of a subject, in reference to its genotype. Two subjects can have the same phenotype and a different genotype.

So if we speak of the uniform black color of the plumage, we will say that the subjects habng a E/e and E/e+ genotype have the same uniform black genotype.

Pigmentation : coloring substance which soaks some organic scar in the poultries. It influences the color of the plumage, the skin, the tarsus, the beak, the nails and the eyes.

Plastron : the whole feathers which cover the breast upper part.

Comb wrinckle : formed on its frontal part by a simple comb.

Twisting feathers (hackle) : feathers curved towards the exterior instead of falling on the shoulders.

Plumule : very small feathers which appear on the face.

Breast : ribcage and pectoral muscles which cover the wishbone. Its form is always defined by an adjective (large, extenseive, prominent, round).

Wind pommel : small straight feathers from the wing thumb also called "thumb-fetters".

Big toe : denomination given to the back digit.

Protein : macromolecule formed by the amino-acid and constituted in majority by the living matter (about 50%). The enzymes, especially, are proteins.

Tail : the whole sickles and rectrixs from the rump. It directs the flight.

Low tail : tail hold below the horizontal position (meg niff).

Squirrel tail : straight-held tail  in the hen : and hold bent toward the head at more than 90° in the cock (correct tail only in the Nagasaki and dishonored in the other breeds).

Pleasant tail (bent) : the tail is slightly held above the horizontal position (sumatra).

Crooked tail : tail which is constantly held on one side (bent on the right or on the left). It's a due of weakness or rickets.

Cut tail : tail which shows an opening at the rectrix base and so obliges it to be divided in two parts.

Oblique tail : tail which is held at about 45° in relation to the horizontal position.

Put up tail : tail which is quite highly held (about more than 60°).

Rectrixs (or large caudals) : large straight feathers of the tail.

Curled remexs : also called twiddled remexs. The feathers shaft is tendrilled and twisted on its lenght.

Primary remexs : called main remexs, big wing penne and even flight feathers. Large straight feathers which are put on the hand at the wing end. As the wing is fold back, they disappear under the secondary remexs.

Secondary remexs : large straight feathers which begin on the forearm side. They cover the primary remexs.

Atavistic return : it is said when the reappearence (or return) of a latent genetic factor, which has been fleed for a more or less long time in the recessive state in the ancestor's genetic characteristic (i.e their genetype), appear stealthily in the animal descendance.

Golden-salmon : described the plumage characteristic of the savage breed called 'bankiva". The anglo-saxon farmers use the terms "light brown" or "black-red", according to the flambé colored backle (or not).

Saddle : part of the small of the back corresponding to the lumbar vertebra.

Tarsus : hind limb part situated between the leg and the foot. It's a bone part covered with protective scales. It's feathered in the Marans.

Tectrices : large and straight feathers following the small and medium wing covers. They cover the secondary remexs. When they are gathered, they make up the wing bar.

Grooming : to prepare an animal in the view of an exhibition in order to show it in op^timal conditions by the putting out, but in a very limitde way, some undesirable feathers.

Trio :  little farming pen made up of a cock and two hens.

Type : It refers to the exterior aspect of a subject, independently of the plumage colors. The type determines the breed.

Wild type : describes the phenotype, in whatever respect, of the Bankiva wild breed considered as the ancestor of all the domestic breeds. So we say for example that the golden salmon variety corresponds to the wild type.

Variety : farming term which refers to the plumage color harmonization independently of the breed. A given breed can exists in one or especially in several varieties.

Flight (or hand) : wing end made up of the primary remexs.

 

Return main page

see above

© (copyright) MCF 2001/2017
all rights reserved