The avian reproductive system is heterosexual and requires both a male and a female, each to contribute half of the genetic constitution of the offspring (insert reference).The avian reproductive system is designed to accommodate the risks associated with being a bird. Other than birds of prey (such as hawks, eagles, and falcons), most birds are prey (insert reference). Being close to the bottom of the food chain, birds require unique strategies for reproducing that also allow them to retain the ability to fly. For most birds, these unique strategies include producing many offspring and tending to the needs of the offspring for only a short period of time (insert reference). The amount of time that birds devote to caring for their offspring …show more content…
The oviduct is a twisted tube that is 25 to 27 inches long when fully developed and is divided into five major sections. These sections are the infundibulum, magnum, isthmus, shell gland, and vagina.
Section of oviduct Approximate time egg spends in this section Functions of section of oviduct
1 Funnel (infundibulum) 15 minutes Receives yolk from ovary and is 3 to 4 inches long. If live sperm present, fertilisation occurs here (commercially produced table eggs are not fertilised)
2 Magnum 3 hours At 13 inches long, it is the largest section of the oviduct. Inner and outer shell membranes are added, as are some water and mineral salts
3 Isthmus 1 hour is 4 inches long. Albumen (white) is secreted and layered around the yolk
4 Shell gland (uterus) 21 hours is 4 to 5 inches long. Initially some water is added, making the outer white thinner. Then the shell material (mainly calcium carbonate) is added. Pigments may also be added to make the shell brown. Egg shell formation occurs mostly at night when hens are not eating. Therefore, calcium cannot simply be transferred from the intestines after being absorbed from food to the uterus to be laid down as egg shell. The hen uses a special type of bone called medullary bone to store calcium for several hours until it is time to form an egg shell (Etches,
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It is mainly observed in young layer hens reared in batteries. Affected birds lie down and stopped eating. Egg shells become thin. It is a well-known fact that cage layer fatigue is a syndrome in which demineralization of the bone (osteoporosis) occurs, typically in highly productive caged birds. Rickets and abnormal bones in adult birds are commonly present. In layers under thirty weeks of age, the cause is usually a temporary calcium deficiency when egg production reaches eighty percent or higher. The hen appears to have a neat solution (sounds like you are having a chat with someone- keep it technical- maybe- the hen has a natural ability to redirect calcium for production of shell..’) for the timely supply of calcium for egg shell formation. Problems arise, however, when too little calcium is obtained from the diet to support ongoing egg production. This can happen in various
Imagine never seeing the real sun. You’re stuck in this cage with artificial lighting for your whole life. Until one day you finally get to go outside. Only to be sent to a slaughterhouse. The first day you get to see the sun will sadly the last. This is the shocking reality for most caged hens, not to mention the outrageous conditions they are kept in. These conditions impact on their health majorly. In addition to non-caged eggs actually being better for you. Caged eggs should be one hundred percent outlawed.
The alligator is one of the largest living reptiles today. In North America, they inhabit freshwater swamps or wetlands in the south, from Texas to North Carolina. Distinguishing features include the fourth mandibular tooth, the long, broad snout, and the thick, scaly skin. Like some other reptiles, alligators have temperature-dependent sex determination, which is a non-genetic way of determining the sex ratio of offspring produced. Unlike other reptiles, alligators exhibit parental care; they nest-guard, and even offer evidence of maternal care for juveniles after hatching. Through the reviewing of multiple experiments conducted on Alligator mississippiensis, evidence is provided for the temperature-dependent mode of sexing and maternal
They extend about 4 inches laterally from either sides of the uterus to the ovaries. It is in the fallopian tubes that fertilization normally occurs. The tube transports the ovum, or egg, from an ovary to the uterus, but the tubes do make direct contact with the ovaries.
There are five main egg types that are carried in most grocery stores. These types are based on what environment the hen is being kept in and what type of fed they are being given. The main environments in which a hen is being kept is in battery cages, free run, and free range housing systems. Battery cages or other known
The Female Reproductive System structures are the egg / ovum. Its created and stored inside the ovaries. The vagina is an elastic, muscular tube that connects the cervix of the uterus to the exterior of the body. The uterus is a hollow, muscular, pear-shaped organ located posterior and superior to urinary bladder. The Fallopian tubes are a pair of muscular tubes that extends from the left and right superior corners of the uterus to the edge of the ovaries. The ovaries are a pair of small glands about the size
There are two categories for these birds. Chickens raised for eggs are called “Layers” and those raised for meat are called “Broilers.” A chicken’s fate has a lot to do with its gender. Male chicks have no economic use since they cannot lay eggs and not genetically bred for meat. They are basically waste products and must be removed. “They are crushed, gassed, or discarded in trash bags to suffocate, or simply piled one on top of another, to die from dehydration or asphyxiation” (Compassion Over Killing, 2011). According to People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), more than 100 million of male chicks are killed every year.” (PETA 2011).
The growth in the size of the egg was a passive transport because of the water acrossing the egg membrane. It also couldn't
They inseminate the female eggs, before
stay alive. When the female is ready to lay her eggs, she drops of the
Do you know how you were born? Do you know how you came to be? The reproductive system is the system that made that all possible. Without the reproductive system you wouldn’t have been born. In order to produce offspring, the male and female reproductive systems have to be different. Each system has different parts, problems and care. Each system have different purposes, the male reproductive system’s function is to produce sperm, while the female reproductive system’s function is to produce ova, store ova and house a fertilized egg.
sperm as a superior and the egg as an expelling organ part. Moreover, the features of the egg and
2. Imagine oocytes as pallets of ice creams and the uterus as a freezer. Ice creams need a certain environment to remain solid. Unfortunately, our industrial
Edna has waited a very long time for this day. Even though Spike is only a couple of months old, Edna is 23 years old just like Katie. You see, Edna was created inside of Katie when she was just a fetus. Edna is so very excited because none of her 183 that have left already have had the opportunity to be fertilized and there are still 216 other eggsthat could be fertilized. You see when an egg is ready to be fertilized, it is called ovulation and only 400 of Katie’s 500 thousand eggs will get the opportunity to ovulate. Edna learned that ovulation is a grand experience that happens within a matter of a minute or two. Ovulation is when Edna the egg (aka ovum) is released from Katie’s ovary (Rathus, Nevid, & Fichner-Rathus, 2007, p. 86). What happens is a small part of Katie’s follicle that faces her abdomen bursts and a fluid runs out which is full of millions of cells. Amongst all of these cells is Edna and the cells with her provides nourishment for her. Now that Edna is ready to experience ovulation, Katie’s fallopian tubes are getting signals that they should get ready for Edna to come on down. Edna has experienced ovulation now and is beginning to travel down Katie’s fallopian tubes. Little fingers-like tubules caught Edna as she started down the fallopian tubes. Edna decides to hang out in Katie’s fallopian tubes and get herself ready to meet up with Spike to create another person. Now that Katie is ready, she is waiting for Spike to come through
Much like men, women have external and internal sex organs. However, unlike men women are able to get pregnant and give birth to children due to the composition of their internal sex organs. The external sex organs of women are refereed to as the vulva. The components of the vulva include the mons venerus which is a lump above a woman’s pelvic bone mostly comprised of fat, labia majora which are lips made up of fat that cover or protect the vulva, labia manora which are smaller lips inward from the labia major, and the clitoris which is the external structure that is responsible for female orgasm.
The uterine wall is composed of three main layers, from its lumen outwards these are the endometrium (mucosa), myometrium (smooth muscle layer) and perimetrium (serosa) or adventitia depending on region. The myometrium is far the largest component (Salem and Wilson, 2005).