Influence of hypokinesis on the physiological functions in fowl

The authors examined in the submitted paper the effect of hypokinesis and post-incubation stress (which are characteristic for modern technologies of poultry cage keeping) on the endocrine functions, metabolic reactions, body weight growth and proteosynthesis in the muscle of cocks. The stress due to hypokinesis was observed in growing cocks housed in metallic cages in which they could hardly turn round. The findings obtained indicate that a 35-day hypokinesis did not exert any more significant influence both on physiological functions and body weight growth as well as on proteosynthesis in the muscle of cocks under study, however, it speeded up the protein metabolism in the muscle. But the postincubation stress modified significantly the hypokinesis effect. The findings recorded in birds differed considerably from the findings obtained in laboratory mammals, in which the hypokinesis induced significant changes in endocrine functions, body weight decrease and proteosynthesis disorders. A good tolerance of hypokinesis by fowl can be interpreted not only by the phylogenetic remoteness of the compared species but also by the domestication.