Large numbers of birds, wild mammals and domestic stock from a variety of localities within the Republic of South Africa were examined for infestation with the ixodid ticks Amblyomma hebraeum and Amblyomma marmoreum. Every warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus), Burchell's zebra (Equus burchelli), impala (Aepyceros melampus) and kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) from the Kruger National Park in the n...

Background: Foreign body in esophagus in birds is rarely reported in literature. Most common site of foreign body in birds is proventriculus and ventriculus. The purpose of this study is to discuss the diagnosis of a large sharp foreign body in the distal third of the neck by plain radiography and its retrieval through esophagotomy and subsequent survival of the fowl. C...

The world's most numerous bird, the domestic chicken, and their wild ancestor, the red junglefowl, have long been used as model species for animal behaviour research. Recently, this research has advanced our understanding of the social behaviour, personality, and cognition of fowl, and demonstrated their sophisticated behaviour and cognitive skills. Here, we overview some of this research, star...

The members of the genus Eimeria infect a wide range of vertebrate hosts, such as swine, cattle, goats, sheep, rabbits, turkeys and chickens. It is now generally accepted that seven Eimeria species are recognised to parasitize the intestinal tract of the domestic fowl (Gallus gallus domesticus). Of all the Eimeria species that infect domestic fowl, Eimeria maxima is the most immunogenic species...

The present study was designed to establish a model of rotational behavior and its reversal through the use of neural grafting in the domestic fowl. Young sexually mature males of the chicken breed Black Silkie were utilized in this study. An initial experiment was conducted in order to select the appropriate drug for the induction of locomotor activity. Apomorphine induced locomotor activity i...

R. A. FISHER (1930) developed a phylogenetic and statistical theory of dominance of wild type over mutants involving a selection of modifiers that shift the phenotype of the heterozygous mutant toward the wild type. The wild type has a selective advantage which also is conferred upon heterozygotes. FISHER (1 934,1935,1938) noted that many common mutations in the domestic fowl were dominant in c...

Pupil responses triggered by specific stimulus attributes such as spatial structure, colour and light flux changes were measured in eight domestic fowl. Comparative experiments were also carried out in human subjects. The results were unexpected in that large increments in light flux caused only small constrictions of the pupil. A red stimulus, on the other hand, caused a relatively large pupil...