Lab 3134
How to Prepare and Mount a Chicken Skeleton
In order to understand, observe, and learn about the chicken skeleton, the feathers,
muscle, fat, and skin must be removed and the parts of the skeleton arranged in their
natural order. When these steps have been completed, the nomenclature of the skeleton
and the function of the different bones can be studied.
OBJECTIVES:
To prepare and mount a chicken skeleton, using a mature chicken.
To arrange the various bones of the skeleton in their natural position.
To learn as much about the nomenclature and function of the chicken bones as possible.
MATERIALS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
One mature chicken (Young chickens do not have completely calcified
bones.) Mature chickens are readily available from any commercial
poultry farm.
Sharp knife.
One tube of quick-drying cement or glue.
One-half pint of clear varnish or semi-gloss white paint.
Clear plastic spray.
Small paint brush.
Wire: about 61.0 cm (2') of #30 aluminum wire; about 91.5 cm (3') of #22
wire; one 40.6 (16") piece of brass galvanized or stainless steel about 1/16
to 3/23 in diameter, No. 14 is adequate; one support rod, 51 cm. (20")
piece of brass or stainless steel approximately 4.8 mm. (3/16") in
diameter.
An old tooth brush.
Small bottle of chlorine bleach.
A piece of hardwood for the base about 18 cm. x 30 cm. x 2.5 cm. (7" x
12" x 1").
PROCEDURE
1.
Obtain the mature bird, one that is several years old.
2.
Kill the bird by cutting the jugular vein at the throat or under proper supervision
use anesthesia (ether, chloroform, or intravenous urethane at the rate of 2 to 3
grams per kilogram of body weight.) Be careful that the bones are not broken.
3.
After all life has left the bird, remove the skin with the feathers, all viscera, comb,
and wattles. Cut the meat off the breast, thighs, legs, etc. Do not cut or damage
the ribs or other bones. Dispose of all parts except the now relatively denuded
carcass. Caution: Care should be taken to prevent cutting poorly calcified portions
of the skeleton. Special care must be taken when cutting in the region of the head,
face, and digits.
4.
Remove the scales from the tarsometatarsus and digits of the feet.
5.
Remove the viscera and be careful not to break the pubic bones. It is not essential
to remove all soft tissue from the skeleton.
6.
Fold the leg wings and neck along the body and tie with a string to make a small
compact mass of intact skeleton.
7.
Put the carcass in a container and cover it with water. Boil the water for at least
two hours, reduce the heat and allow the carcass to simmer for another 4 hours.
Using a pressure cooker will shorten the cooking time. Cool the cooked carcass
and strip off any remaining flesh. Then scrub the bones clean with a toothbrush.
Stringing the bones of the neck and tail with wire will keep them in order and
make the assembly job easier.
8.
After the skeleton has dried at room temperature or baked at 93° C. (200°F.) for
an hour the bones can be bleached by placing them in a solution of 3% hydrogen
peroxide or in a solution of 0.25 liter (1 cup) of chlorine bleach in 3.8 liters (4
quarts) of water for 24 hours.
9.
After drying the skeleton for several days, it is ready to be mounted.
10.
Mounting the skeleton: The piece of hardwood and stiff metal rod will be needed
to support the skeleton.
a.
b.
Split one end of the rod with a fine end metal saw and bend the
two resultant prongs into shape of a U or saddle. Now bend the rod
so that the saddle will fit around the thoracic vertebra between the
ribs no. 2 and 3. Carefully bend the rod (do not bend while it is
attached to the skeleton) until it will pass in the mid saffital plane,
from just below the thoracic vertebra diagonally down to the
caudal tip of the metasternum, then continue the rod ventrally at a
slope of approximately 135°. The lower end of the rod will
eventually be fixed in the center of the wood base. Until this is
done, the rod can be held in a vise.
Push a piece of heavy wire as far as possible inside the neural
canal of the fused vertebra of the back, then bend it in a S shape
curve to resemble the natural curve of the neck of the bird. Put the
first thoracic vertebra in place, and then put the cervical vertebra
on the wire and push them into their normal positions with the
zygophyses overlapping. After the cervical vertebra is in place, cut
the wire so that it will support the skull in a natural position. All
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
cervical vertebras can be glued. Use a quick drying airplane glue
for this.
The femurs of the legs must be inserted into the acetabula of the
pelvic girdle. Hold them in place with a pin of medium size wire
extending from one femur through the acetabula cavities to the
second femur. Make the holes for this pin with a small drill.
The bones of the legs can be wired together or glued with quickdrying cement. In some cases the bones may be held in a normal
position by the ligaments.
After attaching the legs to the pelvic girdle as described above, you
can determine the length of the support rod. Cut the rod the
necessary length to support the skeleton in an upright position and
anchor it to the 18 cm. x 30 cm. x 2.5 cm. (7" x 12" x 1") support
piece of hardwood.
The phalanges of the digits can now be straightened and put into normal
position. Use small drops of quick-drying cement to hold the digits against
the wood base. The bones of the wing can be wired or cemented into
position. Usually the humerus and the radius and the ulna are parallel to
the scapula and carpometacarpus and digits extends ventrally at a 90°
angle from the forearm. For additional support use a piece of medium size
wire to thread the wing bones and the vertebra together.
The lower jaw (mandible) can be cemented or wired at the point of
contact with quadrate. The hyoid apparatus which supports the
tongue can be put in place and cemented or supported by cemented
thread. If the strain is not great, the thread works well and is hardly
noticeable. The ocular rings may be suspended in two places by
cemented thread.
When the skeleton is in its final position, you can retouch many
joints with quick-drying cement. Then spray it with clear plastic
for preservation or brush it with a thin coat of varnish.
REPORTING RESULTS
In reporting your skeleton, be sure to include a detailed account of the
time and materials needed to accomplish this project.
1.
THE NORMAL CHICKEN.
a. The normal heart beats per minute for an adult chicken is 250-300.
i. The normal heart beats per minute for a baby chick is 350-450.
ii. For comparison, the human average is 70 and the pig is 58 to 86 beats
per minute.
iii. The normal respiration rates or breaths per minute is 12-20 for a male
chicken and 20-36 for a female chicken.
iv. For comparison, the human is 12. Usually the very tiny and the very
large animals have a high rate as the elephant and the shrew both have 96.
v. The body temperature of a chicken averages 106.5 degrees.
vi. The heartbeat can be taken either by a stethoscope or by gently
pushing against an artery in the leg and counting the beats.
vii. For comparison, the body temperature of a human is 98.6 and of a
dog, 101.5 - 102 degrees.
viii. The body temperature can be taken by using a rectal thermometer.
b. Checking the legs, comb and feet.
i. Is the comb a healthy color? Is it a good red or are there patches of white
indicating disease?
ii. Are there lesions on the comb? Is the face puffy?
iii. How do the legs look? Are they fairly smooth or are there scales on
them? Is the chicken lame or does it walk normally?
iv. The feet should not be swollen or have any lesions on them. The toes
should be straight.
v. The reason the skin, comb, beak and feet are examined is because many
diseases can be detected through examination.
(1) Blucomb affected chickens have dark and dried combs and
wattles. This darkening starts at the outer edge and progresses
toward the base.
(2) Fowl cholera causes the wattle to swell and fill with a cheesy
pus.
(3) The common virus cause Fowl Pox, which is the skin form,
produces brownish scabs on the comb, face and wattles. They are
wart like and won't peel off.
(4) With Leukosis disease, the leg bone enlarges noticeably.
(5) When a chicken has infectious Coryza, the tissue swells around
the eyes until the eyes are nearly closed.
(6) A chick deficient in Vitamin D, shows ungainly manner of
balancing body and the beak is soft and rubbery.
(7) With Biotin deficiency, there are severe lesions on the bottom
of the feet.