Declawing ostrich (Struthio camelus domesticus) chicks to minimize skin damage during rearing
نویسندگان
چکیده
Leather is one of the main products derived from ostrich farming. Current rearing practices lead to a high incidence of skin damage, which decreases the value of ostrich skins. In the emu and poultry industry, declawing is commonly practiced to reduce skin damage and injuries. We consequently investigated declawing of ostrich chicks as a potential management practice to minimize skin lesions that result from claw injuries. A group of 140 day-old ostriches was declawed and a second group of 138 chicks served as the control. The two groups were reared separately to slaughter, but were rotated monthly between adjacent feedlot paddocks to minimize possible paddock effects. Overall, the declawed group had fewer scratch and kick marks on the final processed skin than the control group, which resulted in the proportion of first grade skins in the declawed group being more than twice that of the control group. Behavioural observations at nine and 13 months of age indicated that declawing resulted in no impairment in locomotive ability or welfare. There was a tendency for the declawed group to have higher average live weights towards the end of the growing-out phase that resulted in a 3.7% higher average skin area at slaughter than in the control group. Survival to slaughter was independent of the treatment group, but absolute means favoured the control group. It was concluded that declawing does not compromise the wellbeing of ostriches and has a significant benefit in terms of the quality and the grading of the skin, with important economic implications for ostrich farmers.
منابع مشابه
Gastrointestinal parasites of ostrich (Struthio camelus domesticus) raised in Iran
Introduction of ostrich (Struthio camelus domesticus), a new exotic host species to a new ecosystem likeIran, necessitates the study of its infectious diseases including parasitic infestations. For a period of one year, from 2002–03, faecal samples of 254 ostriches on 5 farms located at different parts of Iran, includingGarmsar, Semnan province (n = 85); Nashtaroud, Mazandaran province (n = 29)...
متن کاملRoad transportation effect on rectal temperature, respiration and heart rates of ostrich (Struthio camelus) chicks
The responses of rectal temperature (RT), respiratory rate (RR) and heart rate (HR) of ostrich (struthio camelus) chicks during road transportation were investigated using standard recording procedures. The RT and RR of the ostriches increased significantly (P<0.05) from 39.5 ± 0.1 0C and 12.2 ± 2.0 breaths per minute (bpm), respectively, before transportation, to 40.2 ± 0.3 0C and 50.7 ± 9.1 b...
متن کاملDevelopment of microsatellite markers for parentage typing of chicks in the ostrich Struthio camelus.
متن کامل
Bacterial enteritis in ostrich (Struthio Camelus) chicks in the Western Cape Province, South Africa.
Ostrich (Struthio camelus) chicks less than 3 mo age are observed to experience a high mortality rate that is often associated with enteritis. This study was undertaken to investigate the infectious bacteria implicated in ostrich chick enteritis. Postmortems were performed on 122 ostrich chicks aged from 1 d to 3 mo and intestinal samples were subjected to bacterial culture. Bacterial isolates ...
متن کاملMOLECULAR IDENTIFICATION OF RESPIRATORY MICROBIOTA OF A YOUNG OSTRICH (Struthio camelus) USING TRACHEO BRONCHO ALVEOLAR LAVAGE
Respiratory diseases caused by bacteria are common to all of ages of ostrich (Struthio camelus). Young chicks, however are more susceptible, and are considered a major hindrance in successful ostrich farming. Using culture dependent techniques, a diminutive prospect of bacterial pathogens and corresponding diseases associated with respiratory system has been described. Here we report the first ...
متن کامل