The passage of oat and other feed residues through the adult cockerel.
Three experiments were made with adult White Leghorn cockerels to study the passage of feed residues through the alimentary canal. The birds were starved for 24 hr and then force-fed known quantities of feedingstuffs. Excreta were collected quantitatively at 2 hr intervals during the light periods, dried, and weighed. In the first two experiments the birds received 12 hr of light daily while in the third experiment continuous light was used. Residues of oats fed at levels ranging from 6 to 30 g/bird appeared in the excreta within 2 hr and continued to be voided for 52 hr. The rate and duration of residue output were functions of residue input; this was true for, wheat, fish meal, and dehydrated alfalfa as well as oats. For practical purposes the clearance times were substantially less than 52 hr for most of the inputs studied.
D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D004063:Digestion; D002523:Edible Grain; D008297:Male; D000455:Medicago sativa; D008657:Metabolic Clearance Rate; D014908:Triticum