title: Filling and emptying of the alimentary tract of meal-fed broiler breeder hens.
abstract: For evaluation of the filling and emptying of the alimentary tract, broiler breeder hens were cooped and processed over a 2-d period. Hens were fed at 0600 h on d 1 and after access to feed for 0, 2, 4, and 6 h were placed into coops. Half of the hens from each pen were either immediately processed or were held in coops over-night and processed the following morning, d 2. The alimentary tract was excised from the carcass and then separated and weighed in three segments: the crop, proventriculus and gizzard, and intestines. Hens processed on d 1, after access to feed for only 2 h, had attained maximum intestine weight (176 g), but not until after access to feed for 6 h were peak crop weight (95 g) and peak weight for the proventriculus and gizzard (78 g) attained. Hens processed on d 2 did not differ in crop (12 to 14 g) or intestine (140 to 162 g) weight, but proventriculus and gizzard weights were significantly lower for hens not fed on d 1 prior to cooping (54 g) compared with hens fed on d 1 and cooped after 2, 4, or 6 h (62 to 63 g). However, hens processed on d 2 had proventriculus and gizzard weights that were the same as for those hens processed on d 1 and cooped at 0 h (63 g). Clearance of ingesta from the crop, proventriculus and gizzard, and intestines readily occurred while hens were held overnight without access to water.
authors.affiliation: Poultry Processing and Meat Quality Research Unit, Richard B. Russell Agricultural Research Center, USDA, P.O. Box 5677, Athens, Georgia 30604-5677, USA. jbuhr@saa.ars.usda.gov
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Buhr
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Dickens
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Wilson
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed; D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens / Q000502:physiology*; D003426:Crop, Avian / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D004032:Diet; D004064:Digestive System / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D004068:Digestive System Physiological Phenomena; D005260:Female; D005895:Gizzard, Avian / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D007422:Intestines / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D009929:Organ Size; D011531:Proventriculus / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D013997:Time Factors