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Another important type of bone in the avian While there are some important differences
skeleton is medullary (pronounced Med-U- between the skeletons of birds and other ani-
Larry) bones. These include the tibia, femur, mals, there are also several similarities. Both
pubic bone, ribs, ulna, toes and scapula. Me- have the same general skeletal structure.
dullary bones are an important source of cal-
cium when hens are laying eggs. Egg shells Figure 2 on the next page compares the bones
are primarily made of calcium and a hen mobi- of a chicken wing with that of a human arm.
lizes 47% of her body calcium to make an egg Both have a humerus, radius, and ulna. The
shell. When in production, a commercial-type main difference is that the phalanges that
laying hen cannot obtain enough dietary cal- make up the fingers of people are fused in
cium to allow for daily egg production. Without birds to allow for the attachment of feathers.
medullary bone to draw calcium from, the egg
shells would be very thin and weak.
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Figure 2. Comparison of the chicken (left) The metatarsus of a chicken is known as the
and human (right) arm bones shank. The chicken walks up on its toes.
SUMMARY
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Educational programs of Kentucky Cooperative Extension serve all people regardless of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability, or national origin. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension
work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, M. Scott Smith, Director, Land Grant Programs, University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Lexing-
ton, and Kentucky State University, Frankfort. Copyright 2011 for materials developed by University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension. This publication may be reproduced in portions or its entirety
for educational and nonprofit purposes only. Permitted users shall give credit to the author(s) and include this copyright notice. Publications are also available on the World Wide Web at
www.ca.uky.edu.
Issued 02-2011