DIGESTION IN THE BIRD

1. Food is taken in at the mouth, the bird does not chew its food but is broken up slightly
by the beak of the bird. The food then makes its way into the oesophagus.
2. For most birds the oesophagus ends at a specialized organ called the crop. This is where
the food is stored until it can digested. The food then goes to the stomach
3. The stomach has two parts. First of all the food is soaked in digestive juices from the
PROVENTRICULUS which has juices like Pepsin and HCL
4. Then it goes into the GIZZARD, this is the muscular part. It breaks up the food into
smaller pieces, (role of the mouth). For this function the gizzard would have grit.
5. The first part of the small intestine is duodenum and in the small intestine is where most
of the digestion and absorption occurs.
6. The pancreas produces carbohydrates, fat and protein digesting enzymes which are
secreted into the small intestine.
7. The liver secretes bile but in birds it is acidic, it emulsifies fats
8. Pancreatic juices digest starch, protein and emulsified fat
9. The final products: simple sugars, fatty acids and glycerol and amino acids are absorbed
10. Vitamins and mineral are absorbed in the original state
11. The Caeca store bacteria and breaks down cellulose
12. The faecal matter is then excreted through the cloaca.
DIGESTION IN RUMINANTS

The parts of the Ruminant:

- Rumen
- Reticulum
- Omasum
- Abomasum

Rumen Omasum

1. Storage organ 1. Receives the masticated cud

2. Receives the grass
3. Grass has cellulose so cellulose
digesting bacteria break down the
cellulose
4. Protein is synthesized from non
protein source like urea
5. Bacteria makes B complex vitamins
Abomasum
6. Sends the partially digested grass to
the reticulum
2. Squeezes the liquid out of the cud
3. Absorbs the water and fatty acids
directly to the blood stream
4. Remaining solids goes to the
abomasum
1. Produces gastric juice

Reticulum 2. Pepsin breaks down the proteins

into amino acids
1. Forms the semi liquid grass into
3. Rennin coagulates milk
bolus or cud
4. Break down fat, to be absorbed as
2. Sends the cud or bolus back to the
fatty acids and glycerol
mouth
5. The remains goes to the duodenum
3. Acts as strainer to remove foreign
material
4. Return large particle of food back to
the mouth

5. Cud is a ball of regurgitated food

 RUMINANT, includes cattle, goat, sheep, deer and camels

NON RUMINANT, includes pigs and humans

The caecum in the pig serves as to digest some cellulose because the stomach does not have
cellulolytic bacteria.
DIGESTION IN RABBITS

1. Rabbits are non ruminants

2. Most of the animals digestion occurs in the large intestine and caecum
3. The diet contains of mostly grass materials which is in cellulose. The plant material
passes through the stomach to the caecum
4. The caecum contains a lot of symbiotic bacteria. This helps in cellulose digestion and
produce B vitamins
5. The rabbit passes two types of droppings: hard and soft
6. The soft pellets of caecotropes are re - ingested to be fully digested by the stomach
7. The pellets are 56% bacteria and 24% protein
 Shell
Thin Albumen
Chalaza

Thick Albumen

Yolk
Germinal disk
Yolk Membrane
Inner Shell Membrane
Outer Shell Membrane

Air Cell

1. Shell semi permeable hard protective layer. The shell is made of CaCO3
2. Thin Albumen watery part of the egg
3. Chalaza spiral like strand that anchors the yolk
4. Thick Albumen stringy part of the egg. Supplies protein and Riboflavin
5. Germinal disk where the sperm enters the egg. The nucleus is found within
6. Yolk where the embryo forms and will nourish from
7. Air cell an empty space located at the large end of the egg. It allows for easy gas
exchange.
SOURCES OF CARBOHYDRATES
Energy yielding food
1. Monosaccharide simple sugars (C6H12O6) eg. glucose
2. Disaccharide non reducing sugars (C12H22O11) eg. Sucrose
3. Polysaccharide polymers of monosaccharide. Eg. Starch, protein, cellulose and lignin
Sources from cereals, citrus pulp and molasses.
SOURCES OF PROTEIN
Needed for growth and repairs and can be obtained from legumes, fish meal and blood meal
SOURCES OF FATS
Fats provide energy and carry fat soluble vitamins. It can be obtained from coconut meal, rice
and bran
SOURCES OF VITAMINS
Vitamins are essential for growth and maintenance.
The water soluble vitamins are: B & C
Fat soluble: A, D. E, K
From: fruits etc.
SOURCES OF MINERALS
o Macro nutrients: Ca, P,K, Na, Cl, S, Mg
o Micro Nutrients: Fe, Cu, Co, I, Mn, Zn, Mo, Se, F, Br, Ba, Sr
Minerals are important for proper nutrition

Ca and P in the presence of vitamin D are important for bone and teeth formation
S, K, Mg and Cl control acid/ base balance
Iodine prevents goiter
Mn, Zn and Mo are vital in the formation of certain enzymes
Co is important for vitamin B12 synthesis
RATIONS

Maintenance Ration ration to control the weight of the animal.

Production ration mixture of foods in excess of maintenance of milk, meat and egg production

Flushing Used to increase fertility

Steaming up Given at the late stages of pregnancy to increase mammary tissues and blood
supply

Balanced diet Contains all the food nutrients and in correct proportion

FCR

The amount of food required by the animal to produce a unit gain in weight.

Digestibility

Measure of ease of which food is absorbed through the wall of the intestine
. .
100%
.

The less the feed to produce a unit of weight is better because:

1. The cost of production will be low
2. The farmer can tell if the animal is a good converter
3. The farmer can know the required amount of feed for the output thus reducing
unnecessary costs
HOUSING AND SPACE REQUIREMENTS

Poultry
Location
The buildings should all face an east to west direction and about 40ft apart.
Floor
A concrete floor is preferable or rammed earth floor
Walls
The buildings are enclosed with wired mesh up to a height of 9ft
30 cm wall around the flood
Rain bags facing the windward side so as to prevent rain from entering
Roofs
Eves are 3ft
Height of roof is 12ft and zinc roofing.

9 ft 12 ft

30 cm

W <= 30ft

Deep Litter System

- 30 cm wall is built around the pen to contain the litter
- The litter if deep can dry the faeces by bacterial heat
- Rain bags are present
- Two tube feeders per 100 birds
- 3 automatic waters per 100 birds
- If layers are reared then there is a nest box for every 4- 5 birds
- Layers start to lay from 5 months
- The cock to hen ratio is 1:10 or 1:12
- The economic life of a hen is 2 years
Advantages Disadvantages
1. There is no need for a large capital 1. Labour is intestive
2. The ammonia produced leads to the 2. Diseases are spread easily and it is
production of Vitamin B complex hard to pinpoint the source
and is a disinfectant to coccidiosis
Spacing
Broilers 1sqft per bird. (30cm2 in deep litter system)
Layers 3sqft per bird. (30cm2 in deep liter system)
Brooding
Brooding is the special care given to chicks
- Infrared bulbs to maintain temp. at 36 / 38
- If chicks huddle below the light, then temp is low. If they are dispersed then temp. is
high.
- Heat is given for 4 5 days
- The spacing is 6sq per bird.

Rabbits
Building
1. Are kept in individual hutches or in a rabbitry
2. The floor is solid, impervious and can be easily cleaned
3. Adequate ventilation
Hutch
Constructed from wood and w2.5 cm of wire mesh
Breeding Hutch
38 * 77 * 60 cm3 for small breeds
38 * 120 * 60 cm3 for large breeds
Nest boxes
Made to accommodate mother and young
45 * 35 * 20 cm3
Management
1. A good ration for rabbits consists of green feeds and concentrates.
2. They have a simple stomach and so only feed on succulents such as patchoi and
watergrass. They are wilted for 12 hrs
3. Most of the ration is given at night because the animal is a nocturnal animal.
4. The F.C.R is 3:5:1
APICULTURE
The queen Bee
- The only fertile female in the hive
- She can sting repeatedly
- A queen egg takes about 15 days to develop into an adult
- As a larvae she is fed a protein rich food (ROYAL JELLY)
- When newly hatched she leaves the hive for nuptial flight
- She mates with one or more drones
- She lays eggs that have the potential to be either a queen, drone or worker. IT depends
on the feed the eggs get. The unfertilized eggs develop into Drones
Worker Bees
- They are sterile females
- They emerge 21 days from fertilized eggs
- Their life span is 6 weeks (3 weeks in the hive and 3 weeks foraging)
Their function is to:
1. Collect nectar
2. Collect Pollen
3. Clean cells
4. Feed the drones, queen and larvae
5. Produce wax
6. Convert nectar to honey
7. Maintain the temp.
8. Guard the hive
Drones
The drones practically has no function and are useless to the hive. Their only purpose is to mate
with the queen and to help maintain some temp. during cold months. They have no stingers
and are defenseless. They have a lifespan of about 2 months. After mating with the queen the
drone dies.
SITING OF THE APIARY

- Built away from public

- soil not water logged
- Available drinking water
- Close proximity to flowers
- Protection from direct sunlight
- Protection of winds
- Protection from pests such as ants and toads
Honey Production
- Worker bees go out to locate nectar
- They take the nectar into their stomachs where enzymes act on it
- The workers return to hive and regurgitates it
- Excess water is removed from the comb by the bees fanning it
- Combs are then sealed by wax
Honey Extraction
- Use protective clothing
- Use a smoker to pacify the bees
- Use a hive tool to open the top of the hive
- Remove combs and uncap combs using a short knife
- Place the combs in a centrifuge
- Strain to remove debris
Swarming
This is done when there is a loss of food source or there is an overcrowding in the hive.
1. The queen bee signals to start fertilizing eggs to produce queens. The worker bees will
begin to feed selected cells Royal Jelly
2. The cells are identified as they hang vertically down and are larger
3. Bees engorge themselves in honey
4. Workers seek out a new site
5. The swarm settles about 50m from the old hive to make sure the queen is presnt
6. The queen can be captured now to form a new hive.
7. A new queen will take up the new hive
8. The new queen kills the other queens that did not go into adulthood
9. The new queen makes her nuptial flight
Basically the queen bee will signal worker bees to start feeding some cells with Royal Jelly.
These will have the potential to become queens. The workers will seek a new site for the new
hive. The old queen will leave the old hive and populate a new hive with half of the workers.
The new queen will inhabit the old hive.

AQUACULTURE

Siting
The pond should be 2m deep of clean bottom of debris
Topography of the Land
The land must be generally flat
It should not be prone to flooding
Along an irrigational Channel
Controlled natural Drainage
Source of Water
Reliable and available from springs, rain or from rivers
An area of that has a high water table
The Water should be neutral to alkaline
Soil Type
Clay soil, where the soil has a higher conc. Of clay than sand. If the soil is loamy it must be
compact.