Ostrich Production Research Articles

Problems and prospects of ostrich (struthio camelus) production in Bangladesh

Problems and prospects of ostrich (struthio camelus) production in Bangladesh

Identification of bacteria in the tracheal swabs of farmed ostriches and their effect on the viability of influenza A virus.

Avian influenza surveillance is a requirement for commercial trade in ostrich products, but influenza A viruses (IAVs) have proven difficult to isolate from ostrich tracheal swabs that test positive using molecular methods. We hypothesized that microbes unique to the ostrich trachea propagate in the transport medium after sampling and affect viral viability. We cultured tracheal swabs from 50 ostriches on 4 farms in South Africa, and recovered and identified 13 bacterial, 1 yeast, and 2 fungal species. Dietzia sp. had not been identified previously in the oropharyngeal tract of a bird, to our knowledge. The bacteria were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility, and most aerobic species, except for Streptococcus sp. and Pseudomonas sp., were sensitive to enrofloxacin; all were susceptible to sulfonamide. Virus inhibition experiments determined that ostrich-source Streptococcus sp., Pantoea sp., and Citrobacter freundii produced extracellular metabolites that caused a substantial reduction in the IAV titers of 99.9%. Streptomyces, Corynebacterium, Staphylococcus, Arthrobacter gandavensis, Pseudomonas putida, and Acinetobacter spp. similarly reduced the viability of IAV from 77.6% to 24.1%. Dietzia appeared to have no effect, but Rothia dentocariosa, Rhodotorula spp., and Clostridium spp. slightly increased the viability of IAV by 25.9, 34.9, and 58.5%, respectively.

Features of safe and healthy behavior of ostrich care workers

The historical aspects, significance, peculiarities of ostrich behavior and occupational safety of ostrich farm workers are analyzed. It is noted that ostrich farming began in the world in the late XIXth century. The authors study the domestic and foreign practice of stausivnytstva. Describes the significant contribution of the industry in obtaining ostrich products – leather, meat, eggs, feathers. The value of staus products in comparison with other species of animals is noted. It is emphasized that during the care, feeding and observation of ostriches it is necessary to follow the established precautions. An ostrich can kick from bottom to top with a force of 30 kg per 1 sq. km. With one blow it can easily injure the worker. It has been established that ostriches are quite aggressive during the reproductive period – they can take the employee as an opponent with all the negative consequences. It is noted that during work with adult ostriches (transfer to another place, loading into vehicles, carrying out of medical and preventive actions, etc.) for calming of a bird apply a special hook not less than 2 m long by means of which its head presses to the earth, and then put on an opaque hood on his head. Ostriches can be caught in the appropriate gutters, grabbing them by the head with a hook or hands. Experienced handlers use a number of specialized tools, including boards, hooks and limiters. Due to the risk of injury to birds or humans, ostriches should be handled by an experienced worker. It is noted that it is better to walk a bird to three workers, one holding each wing and one pushing from behind. Ostriches require a very good fence, as they can slip through or go over strung-wire stock fences. Measures to prevent injuries to workers during the care and breeding of poultry are described. It is noted that breeding ostriches is one of the most profitable businesses in agriculture.

Studies on Ostrich (Struthio Camelus) - Review

Ostrich has been reared in Hungary for decades, but we have limited information on this species. The aim of this review was to provide a concise description of the ostrich (Struthio camelus) based on international studies. We were to investigate some of the most relevant parameters, such as egg, meat and skin production. In this critical review we managed to sum up the most significant features and productivity parameters of ostrich and effecting factors. So as to make an accurate description of the species we have to know its morphological, behavioural and physiological characteristics. Ostrich is a very special bird with special nutritional and environmental requirements. Ostrich products, regarding egg, meat and skin are considered luxury products not only in Hungary but also abroad. Though egg has a significant nutritional value, it is mainly used for hatching chicks. In Europe we can expect roughly 40–50 eggs from a hen yearly. Ostrich has a lean meat with high protein and low fat and sodium content, moreover it is rich in minerals and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Having these advantageous qualities, ostrich meat should be part of our healthy diet. Skin production is not important in our country, but there is a special demand for high quality ostrich leather globally. In the future our aim is to conduct a research on some of the parameters. As low production rate and embryo mortality is a great deal of problem in ostrich industry, we need to investigate the incubation environment. There is an apparent disagreement among researchers on optimal slaughter age. This is also an area for further investigation. The value of skin and effecting factors on our climate as well as adaptability of the species are also worth for further investigation together with the nutrition what differs from other ostrich breeding countries. Nowadays, there is a great emphasis placed on animal welfare too.

ОБГРУНТУВАННЯ ЗАСТОСУВАННЯ М’ЯСА СТРАУСА В ТЕХНОЛОГІЇ М’ЯСНИХ СІЧЕНИХ ВИРОБІВ

The outlook of the use of ostrich meat for special meat chopped products technologies is theoretically substantiated in the article. It is shown that the ostrich meat is characterized by higher content of protein and lower content of cholesterol in comparison with the other traditional types of meat raw materials. The results of the experimental researches of technological properties of ostrich meat are set out. The parameters of pH and water activity of the extracts of chopped meat as well as water-binding capacity, water molecular mobility state and penetration degree of chopped meat are investigated. The mass losses of meat chopped semi-finished products during heat treatment are investigated. The analysis of the organoleptical parameters of the quality of meat chopped products from beef and ostrich meat is carried out. It was established that ostrich meat differs by 6.4% higher indicator of active acidity, while the difference between the water activity of ostrich meat and beef is insignificant. According to the results of the research, it is established that owing to the higher content of proteins, the ostrich meat has a higher by 5.7% index of water-binding capacity and a higher by 10.8% degree of penetration. Based on the analysis of the results of the study of the state of water molecular mobility in the investigated types of raw materials, the presence of a greater amount of bound water in ostrich meat in comparison to beef is confirmed. The inverse-proportional relationship between the parameters of the yield value and the water-binding capacity of the investigated samples of meat raw material, as well as a strong correlation between them, is revealed. It was established that mass losses during the heat treatment of semi-finished chopped ostrich meat products are almost 20% lower than those made from the beef. The results of laboratory testing of the recipes of chopped beefsteaks from ostrich meat and beef in different proportions are given. According to the results of the evaluation of the quality of the chopped beefsteaks by the organoleptical indicators, the using of the ostrich meat in a combination with beef at a ratio of 1:1 for chopped beefsteaks production is proposed.

OSTRICH BREEDING IN CHINA

Ostrich (Struthio camelus) has become one of the valuable agricultural enterprises in many countries of the world. China has become Asian's number one ostrich species raiser with about 20,000 ostrich bred farms. China started in 1992 to import some ostrich species from South Africa. Ostrich was raised globely since the 1980s for its feathers, meat, egg, hair and bone are all of high economic value. China's progress in producing ostriches has improved it's rank from fifth to the second globely in recent years, due to the following factors: The area of pastures which reached 40% of the area of ​​China.Large amounts of agricultural wasts. China has been producing iron and thus has produced the cheapest agricultural machines, such as irrigation machines, cutting and pressing the feed. China achieved progress in the electronical industries which have enabled it to produce hatchery machines to promote the poultry industry .China is making use of solar energy and producing cheap energy used to irrigate agricultural land and operate farm machinery. Thus, the price of feed is cheap and therefore it costs to feed the ostriches as little as possible.Use of seawater desalination technology and cultivation of saline-tolerant fodder crops such as fodder beat, bonicam and blubank .The use of leather processing tectology and production of the finest leather industries of shoes and bags .China has imported large amounts of ostriches from South Africa and used the best breeding and ostrich production systems in South Africa. The most important factors leading to the success of the ostrich industry in china are limited into three factors. First: Nutrition and cheap feed should be provided by planting enough alfalfa. Using solar energy to irrigate these lands. Sowing saline and drought tolerant genotypes, such as blubanks and bonecam, as well as machines for cutting and making pellet for green feed. Second: Hatching Third: Health.

Comparing energy state and environmental impacts in ostrich and chicken production systems.

Energy state and environmental impacts of production systems are of main criteria to reach sustainability. In the present research, ostrich was compared with a broiler production system based on the criteria. The required data was gathered in Boukan Township, West Azerbaijan, Iran, by a questioner method. The total input energy in ostrich and broiler systems was calculated as 150,419.81 MJ (1 ton of bird year)-1 and 344,579.58 MJ (1 ton of bird year)-1, respectively. Diesel fuel and feed (41.39% and 36.95%, respectively) in broiler and electricity (45.87%) in the ostrich production system had the highest energy shares. Eleven impact categories were estimated by SimaPro software in the studied systems. Except for human toxicity, fresh water aquatic ecotoxicity, and terrestrial ecotoxicity, the amounts of other environmental impacts in the ostrich production system were lower than those of the poultry production system. The amount of global warming indicator for the production of 1 ton of broiler chicken was 17,400 kg CO2 eq year-1 that was equal to 4350 kg CO2 eq period-1. This value was obtained as 1.68 × 104 kg CO2 eq year-1 for the production of ostrich meat. In both production systems, feed was the main factor responsible for almost all studied environmental impacts.

Effect of varying levels of dietary inclusion of sweet lupin on the growth production characteristics of ostriches (<i>Struthio camelus</i> var. <i>domesticus</i>)

Nutrition contributes approximately 75% of the total input costs to an intensive ostrich production unit. An increase in the price of traditional protein sources thus necessitates finding cheaper alternatives. Sweet lupins were identified as a possible alternative; therefore, the effect of feeding various sweet lupin inclusion levels was evaluated throughout the different feeding phases. One hundred and forty ostrich chicks were randomly divided into five dietary treatments with three replications each. The chicks all received a standard commercial pre-starter ostrich diet. Five iso-nutritional diets were formulated for each feeding phase according to specifications set out for each of the different feeding phases using Mixit2+ software. For each feeding phase the diets contained either soybean oilcake meal (control diet, 0LD) or sweet lupins (alternative protein source). The 100 lupin diet (LD) was formulated to include the maximum amount of sweet lupins according to the specifications for the specific species and the feeding phase, and therefore differs between the three feeding phases. Soybean oilcake meal was thus gradually replaced by sweet lupins in the following ratios: 100:0 (0LD), 75:25 (25LD), 50:50 (50LD), 25:75 (75LD), and 0:100 (100LD). Feed and water were supplied ad libitum. Feed intakes and live weights were measured every fortnight until slaughter at ca. 11 months of age. No differences were found between the treatment diets for the live weight, dry matter intake (DMI), average daily gain (ADG) or feed conversion ratio (FCR) at the end of each feeding phase. However, the birds on the 75LD tended to have the highest end weight and ADG, and those on the 100LD the lowest at the end of the starter phase. No differences were found for slaughter weight, dressing percentage and big drum muscle weight of the birds. Birds on the 50LD and 75LD tended to have the heaviest cold carcasses; this differed from the 100LD birds which had the lightest. Birds fed the 50LD had heavier thigh weights than those on the other diets. The results of this study indicate that soybean oilcake meal can be replaced in the diets of slaughter ostriches with sweet lupins up to 15% (75LD) in starter diets and 30% (100LD) in grower and finisher diets without any significant effect on any of the production and slaughter traits.

Feeding preferences of ostriches towards the inclusion of full-fat canola seed in grower diets

The largest expense of an intensive ostrich production unit is feed cost (ca.75%). Protein makes up a great portion of feed for monogastric animals and this expense can be lowered by utilizing locally produced feedstuffs such as full-fat canola, although it is not clear whether ostriches will readily consume full-fat canola because of its anti-nutritional and other known factors. To evaluate the feeding preference of ostriches towards full-fat canola, 60 South African Black ostriches (82.2 +/- 1.06 kg in live weight) were placed in 10 camps of six birds per camp. Each camp had five identical feed troughs containing diets in which full-fat canola seed (FFCS) incrementally (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of protein source) replaced the soybean oilcake meal (9.8% of the total diet composition in control diet was soybean oilcake meal and full-fat canola was included up to 27.5% of the total diet) as protein source. Dry matter intake (DMI) was measured daily and feed colour characteristics were measured, based on L*, a* and b* colour attributes. Only the 25%FFCS showed a higher DMI (817.38 +/- 81.98 g/bird/day) and percentage DMI (similar to 29.53%) than the other diets, with an average DMI of 488.8 g/bird/day) and percentage DMI of 17.62%. Although the 0%FFCS, 50%FFCS and 75%FFCS had a lighter colour than the 25%FFCS and 100%FFCS and the b* colour parameter for 100%FFCS was lower than the rest, it is believed that these differences had no effect on DMI. Based on the results of this study, diets with up to 27.5% full-fat canola seeds had no detrimental effect on feed intake of finishing ostriches. Birds prefer diets with a combination of 6.9% full-fat canola seed and 7.4% soybean oilcake meal.

Feed preference of grower ostriches consuming diets differing in <i>Lupinus angustifolius</i> inclusion levels

Feed costs contribute the largest proportion of the input costs of slaughter birds in an intensive ostrich production unit. Alternative, cheaper feedstuffs, such as lupins (sweet and bitter cultivars), were therefore evaluated to determine the optimal lupin inclusion level in ostrich rations without affecting feed preference and intake. Sixty South African Black ostriches were randomly divided into ten paddocks of six birds per paddock. Three trials, with five different experimental diets, were conducted to investigate the diet preference of grower ostriches in a free-choice system. Feed and water were supplied ad libitum . The position of the diets in the successive paddocks was varied by rotating the five feed troughs in a clockwise direction, but within each paddock the position of each feeder and diet stayed the same throughout the three trials. In the first two trials, sweet (trial 1) or bitter (trial 2) lupins replaced soybean oilcake meal to have 0, 7.5, 15, 22.5, and 30% lupin inclusion levels in the diet. In trial 3 the soybean oilcake meal was replaced with either sweet or bitter lupins to have dietary inclusion levels as follows: 0% lupins, 15% sweet, 15% bitter, 30% sweet, or 30% bitter. The daily intake per group for each diet was monitored over a period of five days each. The average initial body weight of the birds was 73.6 ± 0.5 kg. No interaction was found between day and diet for the three trials and dry matter intake (DMI) did not differ between the five treatments for any of the three trials. In the second trial the birds tended to show a preference for the 7.5% bitter lupin inclusion level and discriminated against the 15% and 30% bitter lupin inclusion levels. Regression analysis of DMI on lupin inclusion rates revealed no significant trends. In conclusion, the study revealed that soybean oilcake meal can be replaced in the diets of grower ostriches by sweet lupin inclusion levels up to 30%, without any significant detrimental effect on diet preference and feed intake. Keywords: Alkaloids, dry matter intake, feed palatability, lupins, visual appearance of the feed

The parasites of ostriches

Ostrich production is a new type of venture activity which has appeared in Greece recently. The objective of this paper is to present the parasites which have been found to parasitize ostriches and related species of birds, as well as to present an update of what we know today about their pathogenicity and measures of control.

Dioxins and PCBs in ostrich meat and eggs: levels and implications

ABSTRACTAlthough consumption of eggs is an essential part of our diet, limited information is available for table eggs other than those laid by hens. The aim of our study was to determine concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), dioxin-like (DL-) and non-dioxin-like (NDL) polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in ostrich eggs and meat available on the Polish market, in order to obtain baseline information on the current status of these pollutants in comparison to poultry products. Obtained data were compared with the binding EU limits set for chicken eggs and meat. The levels of individual PCDD/Fs and PCBs congeners varied considerably. The percentage share of total WHO toxic equivalency factor (WHO-TEQ) content indicates the dominant role of PCDD/Fs. High concentrations of PCDD/F and DL-PCBs, in the range of 0.85–74.48 pg WHO-TEQ g−1 fat, were found in ostrich eggs; this exceeds the maximum level permitted for chicken eggs by a factor of up to 15. Eight of the 11 egg samples exceeded the action level for hen eggs. Although the ostrich meat concentrations of PCDD/Fs do not exceed the limit established for poultry muscle (1.75 pg g−1 fat), average contents of PCDD/Fs exceeded almost four times the levels in chicken and turkey muscle. Human exposure was evaluated and the resulting risk was characterised. Taking into account the low average consumption of ostrich eggs, the resulting exposure to dioxins for the general population can be considered as negligibly low. However, the individuals who frequently consume such eggs may be at risk of elevated exposure. Although ostrich products are not consumed frequently, such data are nevertheless useful for food safety purposes.

Medicinal and commercial uses of ostrich products in Tanzania

BackgroundTraditional communities have been utilizing animal products for numerous purposes and have for a long time contributed to the accumulation of world knowledge. Local people in Tanzania and elsewhere in Africa, have been using birds including ostriches as pets or their products such as meat, eggs as food; their body parts such as feathers, bones and hide for ornaments but more importantly have used such products in traditional medicine and rituals. Nevertheless, there is a general lack of information about the differences that exist between local people with different cultures, and the best use of such products to improve their livelihoods. This study aimed to determine the use of ostrich products among people residing around Serengeti National Park and explore the potential of improving livelihoods through game ranching.MethodsUse of the products was compared between that of agriculturalists with long hunting traditions in the Serengeti District to the west of Serengeti National Park (SNP) and the largely pastoral community in the Ngorongoro District to the east by using semistructured questionnaires in June 2006.ResultsA total of 115 respondents were interviewed, and the majority (74.5%) in the Serengeti district admitted that ostriches were mainly hunted for their products by snares, while in the Ngorongoro district, 98.2% of the respondents said that villagers only gathered products such as feathers and eggs. Ostriches were hunted for food, ornamentation, medical and economic purposes, and eggs and oil, which are believed to have medicinal properties, were used for the treatment of various ailments, including asthma. This indigenous knowledge of the medicinal value of ostrich products must be integrated with scientific knowledge to prove the supposed medical efficacy of the products. Ostrich products also had market value and were thus sold to the villagers.ConclusionSince it has been found that ostrich products are commercially used, legal establishment of markets through game ranching, might improve local livelihood while simultaneously promoting the conservation of ostriches, whose populations are declining, by reducing hunting pressure. Ostrich farming and conservation education programs are recommended.

Occurrence of some Parasites in farmed ostriches (Struthio camelus) in Egypt

Ostrich farming is a new field of livestock production in Egypt and still in its infancy stage in comparison to the poultry industry. Parasitism is considered as a potential health problem hindering the development of ostrich production resulting in economic losses. Feathers and fresh faecal samples were collected from 26 farmed ostriches and examined microscopically for external and internal parasites. Three species of ectoparasites ; Gabucinia bicaudata (3.85%) , Dermoglyphus pachycnemis (3.85%) , Struthiolipeurus struthionis (3.85%) and four species of internal ones; Strongylid egg Libyostongylus or Codiostomum sp. (3.85%) , Cryptosporidium (15.38%) Eimeria (3.85%) , Balantidium struthionis (7.69%) were recorded and identified. Dermoglyphus pachycnemis was reported for the first time in farmed ostrich in Egypt.

Description of an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in domestic ostriches (Struthio camelus) in South Africa in 2011

In 2011, the commercial ostrich production industry of South Africa experienced an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), subtype H5N2. Surveillance using antibody and antigen detection revealed 42 infected farms with a between-farm prevalence in the affected area of 16%. The outbreak was controlled using depopulation of infected farms, resulting in the direct loss of 10% of the country’s domestic ostrich population. Various factors in the ostrich production system were observed that could have contributed to the spread of the virus between farms, including the large number of legal movements of ostriches between farms, access of wild birds to ostrich camps and delays in depopulation of infected farms. Negative effects on the ostrich industry and the local economy of the ostrich-producing area were observed as a result of the outbreak and the disease control measures applied. Prevention and control measures applied as a result of avian influenza in South Africa were informed by this large outbreak and the insights into epidemiology of avian influenza in ostriches that it provided, resulting in stricter biosecurity measures required on every registered ostrich farm in the country.

Effect of cottonseed oilcake as a protein source on production of breeding ostriches

South Africa currently produces 70% of the world’s ostrich products. The profit margin of South African producers from the sale of ostrich meat, leather and feathers currently stands at 20%, 65% and 15%, respectively.Local producers want to increase the production of ostrich products but keep production costs as low as possible. Maintaining optimal nutrition of breeding stock is necessary to increase the production of ostrich chicks, thereby decreasing the fixed costs per chick.This research examined the impact on ostrich reproduction of replacing soya oilcake (SOC) as a protein supplement with cheaper cottonseed oilcake (CSOC). Although there are no data available on the impact of CSOC feed on ostrich reproduction, it is well known that gossypol, a naturally occurring toxin in cotton plants, negatively affects male reproduction in other monogastric species and that it may also reduce appetite.Ninety-six breeding ostrich pairs were divided into two groups to compare the effects of diet (CSOC and SOC) during the breeding season on ostrich-breeding parameters. The replacement of SOC with CSOC had no significant effect on the number of total eggs produced (47.8 ± 5.3 versus 48.3 ± 5.1 per breeding pair, respectively) or infertile eggs (31.5 ± 3.9 versus 38.0 ± 5.2, respectively). Also, the number of dead-in-shell chicks did not differ significantly between groups (20.2 ± 3.3 versus 26.8 ± 3.8, respectively).Even though none of these breeding parameters differed, the replacement of SOC with CSOC in the diets of breeding birds led to significantly more chicks hatching per hen from breeding birds fed on the SOC (36.1 ± 4.8) than the CSOC diet (17.2 ± 3.8).Although it would thus seem that feeding breeding ostriches CSOC instead of SOC as a protein supplement will have a detrimental effect on chick production, more data are required to deliver a definitive answer.

Caracterização físico-química e microscópica de ovos desidratados de avestruz

Aproximadamente 20% dos ovos de avestruz são inférteis, podendo ser consumidos na alimentação humana. No entanto, seu elevado volume e perecebilidade indicam a necessidade de um processamento tecnológico adequado. Nesse sentido, objetivou-se determinar a composição química de ovos de avestruz in natura, bem como os parâmetros físicos, químicos e microscópicos dos ovoprodutos de avestruz, após desidratação. Determinou-se a composição química de ovos in natura de avestruz e de galinha. As claras, gemas e ovos integrais de avestruz foram fermentados e desidratados em mini spray-dryer. Após a desidratação, determinou-se o rendimento, composição e diâmetro de partículas dos ovoprodutos coletados em ciclone e na câmara do spray-dryer. A gema e a clara de ovos in natura de avestruz apresentaram maior teor proteico (respectivamente 15,21% e 11,54%) e lipídico (respectivamente 38,48% e 0,34%), em comparação aos ovos de galinha. As amostras coletadas do ciclone apresentaram menor percentual de umidade e melhor uniformidade no diâmetro de partículas. Os ovoprodutos de avestruz apresentaram rendimento, uniformidade e valor nutricional satisfatórios, demonstrando que a secagem por spray-dryer é mais uma alternativa para a conservação e aproveitamento desse alimento na alimentação humana.

Ostrich meat: Production, quality parameters, and nutritional comparison to other types of meats

The poultry industry is considered one of the most efficient industries in producing animal protein. Poultry production consists of several main segments: broilers, commercial eggs, turkeys, ducks, and other poultry, including geese, guinea-fowl, pheasants, quail, and ratites. Currently, ostrich meat is marketed as a healthy red meat because it is characterized by high polyunsaturated fatty acid contents, low saturated fatty acid content, and low cholesterol level compared with red meats, such as beef, while tasting similar to lean beef. Ostrich meat contains lower sodium and higher iron contents than other kinds of meat, making it preferable to hypertensive people and those with anemia. Taken together, ostrich meat is considered as an ideal red meat for individuals seeking healthier lifestyle. Moreover, many different ostrich products, such as leather and feathers, are used by people. The current review paper considers the quality characteristics of ostrich meat, including physical traits, and compares it to other types of meats, such as bovine and other poultry meats.

The effect of dietary energy concentrations on production variables of ostrich chicks (Struthio camelus var. domesticus)

The effects of different dietary energy concentrations on ostrich production variables were examined in two separate trials. The first trial tracked changes in production variables from the pre-starter phase through the starter phase and grower phase. The second trial was based on the finisher phase per se. In both trials, the influence of dietary energy on feed intake, feed conversion ratio (FCR) and growth variables was investigated. Additionally, basic abattoir weights were recorded, and measurements of the feathers and skin were performed.In both trials, three diets with different concentrations of dietary energy were given during each phase where the low-, medium- and high-energy concentrations for each phase were as follows: 13.5, 14.5 and 15.5 MJ ME/kg feed pre-starter; 12.5, 13.5 and 14.5 MJ ME/kg feed starter; 10.5, 11.5 and 12.5 MJ ME/kg feed grower and 9.5, 10.5 and 11.5 MJ ME/kg feed finisher. Feed and water were available ad libitum in both trials.Overall, it was found that the best performance for growth, FCR, skin size and grade, live weight, carcass weight and thigh weight were obtained on the medium-energy diet during the pre-starter, starter and grower phases.During the finisher phase, improved growth rate and tanned skin size was found in birds given the diet with the highest energy concentration (11.5 MJ ME/kg feed). Carcass weight, growth rate and certain feather variables were also significantly influenced by gender.

The growth response of ostrich (Struthio camelus var. domesticus) chicks fed on diets with three different dietary protein and amino acid concentrations

1. Feeding costs are the largest expense in an ostrich production system, and protein is one of the more expensive components of the diet. This study evaluated the growth response of ostrich chicks on diets containing different concentrations of protein (amino acids). The diets were formulated to contain three concentrations of protein (one diet with 20% less protein than the conventional concentration, L; one diet with the conventional concentration of protein, M and one diet with 20% more protein than the conventional concentration, H) for each of the phase diets. The phase diets were pre-starter, starter, grower and finisher.2. This study includes the analysis of ostrich body weight (BW) by modelling growth with linear polynomial and non-linear functions for all the data not separated for treatments. In total, 3378 BW recordings of 90 animals were collected weekly from hatch (d 0) to 287 d (41 weeks) of age.3. Seven non-linear growth models and three linear polynomial models were fitted to the data. The growth functions were compared by using Akaike’s information criterion (AIC). For the non-linear models, the Bridges and Janoschek models had the lowest AIC values for the H treatment, while the Richards curve had the lowest value for M and the von Bertalanffy for the L treatment.4. For the linear polynomial models, the linear polynomial of the third degree had the lowest AIC values for all three treatments, thus making it the most suitable model for the data; therefore, the predictions of this model were used to interpret the growth data. Significant differences were found between treatments for growth data.5. The results from this study can aid in describing the growth of ostriches subjected to optimum feeding conditions. This information can also be used in research when modelling the nutrient requirements of growing birds.