Reasons not to hug, snuggle or kiss chicks and chickens

Sometimes it hurts to dispel facts with science, but a Texas A&M AgriLife expert said even though there is a National Snuggle a Chicken Day (celebrated on Jan. 8), he hopes people don't hug and kiss baby chicks and chickens ...

Protecting poultry from bird flu

With winter approaching, birds are migrating south to escape the cold and take advantage of more abundant food sources.

New model helps researchers get a handle on unpredictable cells

In the process of embryonic development, cells take on intricate forms and functions. Patterns emerge from groups of cells, giving the biological tissues form, function, and integrity. It's a complex process that isn't well ...

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Herd

Herd refers to a social grouping of certain animals of the same species, either wild or domestic, and also to the form of collective animal behavior associated with this (referred to as herding) or as a verb, to herd, to its control by another species such as humans or dogs.

The term herd is generally applied to mammals, and most particularly to the grazing ungulates that classically display this behaviour. Different terms are used for similar groupings in other species; in the case of birds, for example, the word is flocking, but flock may also be used, in certain instances, for mammals, particularly sheep or goats. A group of quail is often referred to as a covey. Large groups of carnivores are usually called packs, and in nature a herd is classically subject to predation from pack hunters.

Special collective nouns may be used for particular taxa (for example a flock of geese, if not in flight, is sometimes called a gaggle) but for theoretical discussions of behavioural ecology, the generic term herd can be used for all such kinds of assemblage.[citation needed]

The word herd, as a noun, can also refer to one who controls, possesses and has care for such groups of animals when they are domesticated. Examples of herds in this sense include shepherds (who tend to sheep), goatherds (who tend to goats), cowherds (who tend cattle), and others.

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