Intestinal Transit and Skeletal Retention of Radioactive Strontium90-Yttrium90 in the Chick ,

Abstract

T HE transit rate of feedstuffs through the intestinal tract of the fowl has been studied at periodic intervals during the past 50 years. These studies usually reported the time required for feed to pass from the crop to the vent or for a given amount of feed to leave the crop. Brown (1904) measured the time required for crop emptying when different amounts of whole corn and oats were fed. He found that increasing the crop load with either grain resulted in a prolonged emptying time. Card et al. (1926), using mature hens starved for 24 hours, observed that more time was required for crop emptying when ground corn or tankage was fed than whole corn. Kaupp and Ivey (1923), using lampblack, measured the transit time of this dye through the alimentary tract of the fowl and found that growing birds and laying hens had a much faster transit time than did broody hens. Heuser (1945) observed that transit from the crop was influenced by the crop load, which is in agreement with the findings of Brown (1904). He also noted that mash passed at a faster rate than grains, and wet mash faster than a dry mash. The latter would indicate that

A method of achieving physiological plasma levels of melatonin in the chicken by oral administration

“…Due to the low-volume capacity of the gizzard, a large proportion of the treated foodstuff was destined to sit in the crop for some time, from where it was probably not absorbed to the blood [Sturkie, 19761. However, chickens drinking much water will probably have their crop contents macerated quicker, and this will most likely speed up the release of melatonin from the pellets while still in the crop. The released melatonin can then easily follow the liquid state and thus pass on to the gizzard and duodenum independent of the amount of feed ingested, as described by Thornton et al [1956]. This phenomenon probably caused much of the large variation in the rate of melatonin uptake from the easily dissolved feed pellets found in experiment I .…”

Alimentary Canal: Anatomy, Regulation of Feeding, and Motility

“…Fluids pass more rapidly than solids, fiber passes more slowly than other solids, and pelleted diets pass faster than mash (Sibbald, 1979). Food passes faster through young chicks than through adults (Thornton et al, 1956), and the rate of passage through the adult turkey is similar to that of the chicken (Hillerman et al, 1953). Factors that affect the overall motility of the tract also influence the rate of food passage.…”

Passage of Feed Through the Adult Rooster

“…Cherry and Siegel (1978) used ferric oxide as a marker and observed differences in the times of clearance from the alimentary canals of 7-week-old male and female chicks of two genotypes; the maximum time for clearance was about 22 hr. In addition to the foregoing, Hillerman et al (1953) and Tuckey et al (1958) have measured the times required for markers to appear in the excreta, while Keith et al (1927), Heuser (1945), Hainan (1949), and Thornton et al (1956) have recorded times of passage through specific sections of the alimentary canals of birds.…”