Grace Hong's MSc Defence

Domestic chicken are bipedal birds that are capable of terrestrial and aerial locomotion. As flapping flight is energetically costly, chickens may use a combination of their hindlimbs and wings to loco-mote; however, little is known about the relationship between the keel bone, the flight muscles that anchor to it and the chickens’ ability to navigate their environment. Therefore, this thesis investigat-ed the effects of feather loss (Chapter 2) and exercise using inclines on flight muscle architecture, keel bone fractures (Chapter 3) and flight kinematics (Chapter 4). Altogether, the results of this the-sis address gaps in knowledge on flight muscle architecture in laying hens. Although exercise did not influence flight muscle properties and subsequently had little effect on keel fracture prevalence, it did benefit the hindlimbs, producing faster take-off velocities and allowed white-feathered birds to decelerate faster, contributing to more efficient transitions to the air and safer landings.