Antimicrobials used in poultry production have the potential to bioaccumulate in poultry feathers but available data are scarce. Following poultry slaughter, feathers are converted by rendering into feather meal and sold as fertilizer and animal feed, thereby providing a potential pathway for reentry of drugs into the human food supply. We analyzed feather meal (n = 12 samples) for 59 pharmaceu...

Sonic hedgehog is involved in vertebrate tissue interactions during development. During early feather development, Sonic hedgehog appears very early in epithelial placodes. During late feather development, Sonic hedgehog expression precedes the development of the marginal plates and is specifically localized in the marginal plate epithelium, which will later undergo cell death. By using retrovi...

Feathers have complex forms and are an excellent model to study the development and evolution of morphologies. Existing chicken feather mutants are especially useful for identifying genetic determinants of feather formation. This study focused on the gene F, underlying the frizzle feather trait that has a characteristic curled feather rachis and barbs in domestic chickens. Our developmental bio...

Blocks of 12.5- or 13.5-day embryonic mouse upper-lip dermis were introduced under the ectoderm of the extra-embryonic area of 2- to 3-day chick or duck embryos. Two kinds of ectopic cutaneous appendages were produced: either arrested feathers alone, or arrested feathers and full-grown feathers. The former developed in the ectoderm overlying the implanted mouse dermal cells, the latter formed i...

UNLABELLED The flying feathers of birds are keratinous appendages designed for maximum performance with a minimum weight penalty. Thus, their design contains ingenious combinations of components that optimize lift, stiffness, aerodynamics, and damage resistance. This design involves two main parts: a central shaft that prescribes stiffness and lateral vanes which allows for the capture of air. ...

Feather pecking in laying hens is a serious behavioral problem that is often associated with feather eating. The intake of feathers may influence the gut microbiota and its metabolism. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of 2 different diets, with or without 5% ground feathers, on the gut microbiota and the resulting microbial fermentation products and to identify keratin-degradin...

various cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have suggested that synthetic bedding is associated with asthma, allergic rhinitis and eczema while feather bedding seems to be protective. synthetic bedding items have higher house dust mite allergen levels than feather bedding items. this is possibly the mechanism involved although fungal and bacterial proinflammatory compounds and volatile org...

We present a model for geometric modeling and rendering of individual feathers for computer graphics purposes. The model represents the feather structure with a collection of parameterized Bézier curves. This parametrization allows easy generation of the existent types of feather structures with biologically-motivated parameters. Once the feather structure is defined, the feathers can be render...

Feathers are byproduct waste of poultry processing plant and produced in large amount. A small percentage of feather waste is steamed, chemically treated, ground, to form feather meal a dietary protein supplement for animals. Alternatively, keratin can be biodegraded by some Keratinolytic bacteria and in this study Keratinase producing bacteria and their Keratinolytic enzyme production was inve...

In the process of organogenesis, different cell types form organized tissues and tissues are integrated into an organ. Most organs form in the developmental stage, but new organs can also form in physiological states or following injuries during adulthood. Feathers are a good model to study post-natal organogenesis because they regenerate episodically under physiological conditions and in respo...