Key points of ostrich feeding and management

I. site selection and fence design

The site selection of the newly built ostrich is very important. It is necessary to choose the location with high terrain, convenient drainage, sufficient light and good ventilation, and the best soil quality is sandy soil or sandy loam soil. Because sandy soil or sandy loam has more capillary pores, good air permeability and water permeability, it is small in water holding capacity, will not be too muddy after rain, and is easy to keep dry. The site should be able to provide adequate and clean drinking water. The surrounding environment is also an important factor to consider when choosing a site. Ostriches are particularly sensitive to the stimuli of their surroundings and are prone to shock and stress. Therefore, the environment around the ostrich farm should be quiet. It is best to afforest around the field, so that ostriches live in an environment close to nature, so as to give better play to their production potential.

Second, the choice of ostrich

The selection of improved varieties of ostrich is the key to the construction of the field and the most important factor to determine the economic benefits in the future. African ostrich was introduced into China for a short time and is now in the stage of population expansion. Due to the complexity of ostrich introduction sources in domestic enterprises, the introduction of ostrich germplasm is very different. Therefore, farmers must be careful when buying ostriches. Ostriches with pure germplasm and good production performance should be selected to lay a good foundation for future development.

Ostriches are generally divided into three types: red-necked ostrich, blue-necked ostrich and domesticated ostrich (domesticated ostrich is commonly known as African black ostrich). African black ostrich has the characteristics of compact size, gentle temperament, fine feathers, early sexual maturity and more eggs. it is the main breed at present.

When buying ostriches, you should pay attention to genealogical archives and consanguinity selection. The genealogical archives record in detail the origin, species, sex, age, parents and main production performance of the ostrich. On this basis, we can understand the production performance and consanguinity of ostrich and make a reasonable consanguinity selection.

In addition, the health status of ostriches should be observed when buying ostriches. Observation methods are generally as follows: 1. Behavior observation: ostriches in good health are energetic, respond to external stimuli and have strong gregariousness.

2. body surface health observation: the healthy ostrich has plump muscles, no exposed bones, no disability in all parts of the body, and a steady and normal gait.

3. Feeding observation: healthy ostriches have a strong appetite. When the breeders enter the fence, they will take the initiative to meet them and wait for them to feed.

4. Fecal observation: healthy ostrich has dark green stool, fine digestion, large urine volume, transparent urine and a small amount of white urate.

III. Feed supply for ostriches

African ostrich is a monogastric herbivorous bird, its digestive tract is completely different from anti-nestling, but also different from non-anti-nestling or poultry. Ostriches have no teeth or crop; saliva contains no digestive enzymes. The esophagus goes straight to the glandular stomach, which has a large volume and can store a large amount of food. Digestion of the stomach begins with the glandular stomach. This is followed by a muscular stomach, which is spherical. There are pebbles for digestion in the muscle stomach. In addition, the most important feature of the digestive tract of ostriches is that it contains two large cecums and a long colon, which is the condition for fermentation and digestion of ostriches. Therefore, the feed absorption conversion rate of ostrich is the highest among domestic animals at present.

The supply of concentrate feed in ostrich feeding can be divided into seven stages, namely, chick ostrich (0-2 months), young ostrich (February-April), growing ostrich (April-June), fattening ostrich (June-September), reserve ostrich (September-14 months), maintenance (14-start and stop production) and egg-laying ostrich. The nutrition level of each stage is different, and the ratio of feed is also different. But all of them are herbivorous. Ostriches have a wide range of feeding habits, and can be eaten for all kinds of forage, root tubers, vegetables and so on.

Common diseases of ostriches and their prevention and treatment

Due to the short domestication time and strong disease resistance of ostriches, attention should be paid to the diseases caused by improper breeding in the process of breeding. First of all, we should pay attention to the quality of feed to prevent ostriches from mold poisoning caused by eating moldy food. The feed quality of farmed ostrich is very high, and moldy food and moldy raw materials are harmful to ostrich. Secondly, we should pay attention to the problem of fiber Lignification of green feed, because the Lignification of green feed is serious, it is easy to cause diseases of digestive system of ostrich. Finally, in the process of breeding, we should pay attention to avoid the possibility of ostrich trauma.