What specific structural protein requires a high-protein diet to sustain the Yokohama's dramatic tail growth?
Answer
Keratin
The development and maintenance of the dramatic, long sickle feathers on the male Yokohama chicken necessitate a supply of keratin. Keratin is the fibrous structural protein that constitutes the material of feathers, hair, and nails. Because the saddle and sickle feathers can reach lengths of three to four feet and drag on the ground, the bird requires a specific, high-protein diet to ensure adequate biochemical resources are available for the continuous synthesis of this robust structural material needed for successful feather growth throughout the year.
Related Questions
What is the scientific binomial nomenclature assigned to the Yokohama chicken?What name were the original long-tailed fowl exported from Yokohama known as in Japan?Which individual initiated the selective breeding that resulted in the modern Yokohama chicken in Germany?To which taxonomic family does the Yokohama belong, along with pheasants and partridges?What key trait distinguishes the annual feather cycle of the Yokohama from the ancestral Onagadori?What specific structural protein requires a high-protein diet to sustain the Yokohama's dramatic tail growth?Which breeds were utilized in outcrossing efforts to ensure the continuation of the Yokohama line after early transport losses?What conservation status does The Livestock Conservancy assign to the Yokohama chicken population?What genetic mechanism explains the Red Shoulder color variety recognized by the American Poultry Association?What major divergence in breed standards exists between the UK and other regions regarding the Yokohama designation?