Food Passage Through Chickens and Turkeys and Some Regulating Factors

INTRODUCTION THE rate of food movement through the digestive tract of the fowl is of interest in both the laboratory and the field. The time required for the first excreta to appear after feeding provides a knowledge of the interim after which it is safe to start collecting the feces of a bird under a digestion trial. The length of time food material remains in the digestive tract may indicate to what extent microbiological synthesis of nutrients may take place. Differences in the time required for food to pass through the alimentary canal of chickens and turkeys as affected by production, temperature, antibiotics, age and sex have been observed and reported herein. Oats passed through the alimentary canal of fasted chicken hens in 5 to 6 hours according to Browne (1922). He found magenta stained bread dough, aluminum powder, gentian violet and methylene blue to be unsuitable as dye indicators . . .