Poultry Science Terminology - Q-R
Radiation: exchange of heat between two objects that are not touching
Raft: group of ducks floating together but they can also be called a badelynge, a bunch, a brace, a flock, a paddling, a team, or a dover
Rales: abnormal sounds coming from the airways of birds
Random samples tests: independent guide for testing performance of poultry birds under identical conditions by collecting eggs randomly from breeder flocks and testing the progeny
Range fed: description of chickens that are allowed to range pasture
Rasp: group of guinea fowl; also called a confusion, mob, or flock
Ration: combination of feed ingredients formulated to meet a bird's nutritional requirements to be consumed in a single day
Ratite: type of domestic bird that does not have a keel bone including: ostriches, emus and rheas
Rattling: abnormal sounds coming from the throat
Reactor: bird that reacts positively to a test for an infectious disease
Recycle: force into a molt with a cessation of egg production
Relative humidity: amount (percentage) of moisture saturation in the air compared to the amount of moisture air can "hold" at that temperature. There is a direct relationship between temperature and relative humidity – as the temperature increases, the relative humidity decreases and as temperature decreases, the relative humidity increases
Renal: pertaining to the kidneys
Render: process by which slaughter by-product are treated (grinding, extraction, heat or other treatments) to convert them into protein products for use in feed rations and fertilizers
Replacements: term used to describe young birds that will replace an older flock
Reportable disease: disease so serious it must, by law, be reported to a state or federal veterinarian
Reservoir of infection: animate or inanimate object on which an infectious agent survives and multiplies and from which it can be transmitted to a susceptible host
Respiration rate: number of cycles per minute by which air is moved into and out of the lungs
Resistance: immunity to infection
Restrict feeding: managed controlling of feeding
Restricted egg: check, dirty, leaker or otherwise inedible egg
Rhinitis: inflammation of the lining of the nasal passages
Rigor mortis: stiffness of muscles caused by a series of chemical changes after death
Roach back: deformed, hunched back (a disqualification when showing poultry)
Roaster: meat-type chicken raised to a size that makes them suitable for roasting
Roost: perch, typically inside a coop, where chickens can get off the floor to rest or sleep
Rooster: adult male chicken at least 1 year old; rarely used as meat birds because they have coarse skin, toughened and darkened meat, and a hardened chest bone
Rooster egg: very small egg containing no yolk, also called a wind egg or fart egg. (NOT actually laid be roosters)
Rose comb: flat broad comb that is similar in shape to a rose petal
Roup: condition involving chronic infection of skull membranes, characterized by facial swelling
Rumpless: genetic trait in some chicken breeds where they have no tail. They lack an oil gland or even a partial tail examples breeds include Araucanas and Manx Rumpies
Run: enclosed area outdoors that is connected to a coop and allows chickens to roam freely