Turacos are birds used as status symbols in certain African cultures. Despite this cultural value, turacos are increasingly threatened by habitat loss and illegal hunting. We tested the hypothesis that the high cultural value associated with turacos means local people are willing to conserve them and their habitats. To this end, we examined the traditional uses of turacos and how their cultural value could facilitate conservation interventions. We administered an open-ended questionnaire to 180 households during January 2017–November 2019. We found the feathers of three species of turacos to be associated with qualities such as social esteem and power: Bannerman's turaco Tauraco bannermani (categorized as Endangered on the IUCN Red List), green turaco Tauraco persa (Least Concern) and great blue turaco Corythaeola cristata (Least Concern). People were generally supportive of efforts to protect turacos because of a strong connection between these birds and the local culture, supporting our hypothesis. This particularly applied to people of high social standing such as chiefs and village elders who use turaco feathers to gain public distinction. Feathers were also used by herbalists for traditional medicine, and hunters used the birds’ calls as a time indicator. Feathers are generally obtained through opportunistic collection and a sustainable, traditional hunting system, but we also found that some people hunt turacos to sell them as pets. We recommend that conservation interventions make use of the cultural values associated with these iconic species, together with implementing alternative sources of livelihoods, to promote behaviours that help achieve conservation objectives in the area.

Poor uniformity in a broiler operation reduces revenue and increases waste. Uniformity in body weight at harvest is influenced by variation in genotype, environment and feed composition and form. Variation in growth in broilers within each sex is usually relatively small, but increases markedly when a poor quality feed is given. In attempting to grow to meet their potential when fed a diet low in protein, birds need to overconsume energy and then release excessive amounts of heat to the environment, although this ability is constrained by both feather cover and the ability to fatten. Consequently, as broiler genotypes have become faster growing and leaner, there is an increased need to feed higher levels of balanced protein in a cooler environment as a means of improving uniformity. Separating the sexes and reducing the range in day-old body weights will assist in achieving better uniformity at harvest.

The present review focuses on three avian DNA viruses and two retroviruses; the DNA viruses are Marek's disease, chicken anaemia and fowlpox virus. The two avian retroviruses, reticuloendotheliosis and avian leucosis virus subgroup J were detected in theirproviral DNA form in the feathertip extracts, thus resembling DNA viruses. Whereas most previous reports focused on experimentally-infected chickens, in the present study we analysed naturally-infected commercial flocks.

We review now the presence of various viruses in the chicken feathers, showing the efficacy of feathers for research and diagnosis alongside with other organs. Data on the relative ability to detect viruses on feathers over prolonged periods of time is also provided. We also analysed the efficacy of feather testing for the assessment of environmental infection in poultry houses. The data obtained by the differential diagnosis of various viruses in conjunction with the analysis of organs from the same chickens, showed that the feathers were very effective for diagnosis and deserve more attention.

Feather growth, structure and patterns of moulting are important characteristics of poultry in commercial environments. As the market age for broilers continues to decline, the “maturity” of feather cover becomes even more important for protection of the skin and underlying tissue. Feather growth begins at around day 5 of incubation while keratinisation is complete 2 – 3 d prior to hatch. Feathers do not grow randomly over the skin surface, but rather in distinct tracts, which cover at most 75% of the skin surface. Broiler chickens will have about 50 g of feathers by market age, although at this early age some feathers will have already been lost by sequential moulting. Although most modern strains of poultry have white or brown feathers, there are various colour schemes that are again dictated during embryo development. In a subsequent paper, we will detail factors affecting feather growth, moulting and the Occurrence of various abnormalities.

In commercial production, there is often concern about the quantity and/or quality of feathering in both broilers and layers. For broilers, the concern is adequacy of protective feather cover, while in layers it is usually the necessary degree of feathering needed to optimise feed efficiency. Feather development is under the control of hormones such as thyroxine and oestrogen and indirectly by testosterone. Environmental or nutritional status that influences such hormonal output will indirectly affect feathering. In broilers, rate of feathering is influenced by genetics, since some 20 years ago there was a conscious decision to introduce slow (K) vs. fast (k) feathering as a means of sexing day-old chicks. With the relative “immaturity” of modern broilers, these genes influence feather cover well into the production cycle. In White Leghorn crosses, initial problems with apparent Leukosis susceptibility of the progeny of slow feathering dams had to be overcome by eradication of Leukosis before feather sexing could be generally introduced. Nutrition can influence rate of feathering as well as feather structure, colour and moulting. Amino acid balance and especially deficiencies of TSAA and branched chain amino acids will influence feathering in young birds. Deficiency of vitamins and certain trace minerals also induce characteristic feather abnormalities, as does the presence of dietary mycotoxins. A number of viruses, bacteria and mycoplasma can infect the feather follicle and so influence feather development. Feather pecking and feather licking are behavioural abnormalities, although these conditions can be induced by changes in environmental conditions or nutritional adequacy of the diet.