Chinese name: ostrich
Latin scientific name: Struthio camelus
Field: animal kingdom
Phylum: Chordata phylum
Subphylum: Vertebrate subphylum
Category: birds
Subclass: subclass of birds today
Order: ostrich.
Family: ostrich
Genus: ostrich
Type: ostrich
Distribution: Desert areas and grasslands in East Africa from Senegal to Ethiopia.
English name: ostrich
Pinyin: ostrich
Appearance characteristics
Ostrich's head is small and wide, flat, and its neck is long and flexible. The exposed head, neck and legs are usually pale pink. The beak is straight and short, and the tip is oblate; Eyes are big, inherited the characteristics of birds, and their eyesight is good, with dense black eyelashes (Eyfyusfr). China ancient Guo wrote, "Gong Daque is outside the country. Goose has camel's hoof, pale color, head seven or eight feet high, wings open, and eats barley. Its eggs are like an urn, so it is called an ostrich. " "Biography of Tuhuo Luo in the Book of Tang Dynasty" "Tuhuo Luo, a big bird presented in the first year of Yongzheng, is seven feet high, black, shaped like a camel, flapping its wings and traveling three hundred miles a day. Can smash iron, commonly known as ostrich. "
Ostrich's hind legs are very stout, with only two toes (toes III and IV), which is different from the three or four toes of ordinary birds and is the bird with the least number of toes. The inner toe (toe 3) is big, with hard claws, and the outer toe has no claws. The hind legs are strong. In addition to sprinting, they can also be kicked forward to attack. The wings are quite big, but they can't fly, mainly because the sternum is flat, there is no keel protrusion, the clavicle is degraded, the feathers are evenly distributed, there is no distinction between feather area and bare area, and the feathers are fluffy and underdeveloped.
Black-haired ostrich is a male ostrich, which lacks differentiation and has no small hooks on its feathers, so it does not form feathers. Obviously, the main function of this feather is to keep warm.
Adult male (adult rooster) is1.75 ~ 2.75m in height and 60 ~160kg in weight. Male adult birds are mostly black, and the feathers at the end of wings and tail feathers are white, showing beautiful waves; White wings and tail feathers set off black feathers, making this male bird stand out in the daytime. Its wings and feather colors are mainly used for courtship.
Female birds are small and their wings are degenerated. The main function of wing feathers is to balance the body. In the cold season, the feathers of wings are used to cover the hairless thighs to keep the body temperature and courtship and estrus during mating. Adult birds also often use wing feathers to protect young birds and their eggs in their nests. The coat color of females (hens) is similar to that of males, but it is not as bright as that of males. The chicks' feathers are mottled and brown-gray, and it takes several molts to reach the adult feather color at the age of two. This color is mainly for camouflage. Male and female chicks look alike, even small ostriches make no difference. So far, it is impossible to distinguish between men and women from their appearance, but only from their sexual organs. The ostrich's pelvis is closed,
Atlas ostrich (18) left and right pubic bone (pubic bone B.) formed healing in the midline. It is worth noting that ostrich urinates and excretes feces separately, which is different from other birds. The sex organs of ostriches are very small before maturity; Male ostriches have mating devices. In the mating season, the testicles of mature males are the size of men's fists, but they will shrink in the non-breeding period and will not expand until the next breeding season. This egg is very big and looks like a duck egg. Length 15 ~ 20 cm, weight1400 g, is the largest bird egg, and the eggshell is very hard and can bear the weight of a person. Female birds are grayish brown, and male birds have white feathers on their wings and tails.
The male bird can be as high as 2.5 meters and the maximum weight can reach 155 kg. Female birds are small and their wings are degenerated. The main function of wing feathers is to balance the body. In the cold season, the feathers of wings are used to cover the hairless thighs to keep the body temperature and courtship and estrus during mating. Adult birds also often use wing feathers to protect young birds and their eggs in their nests. An ostrich is a walking bird with a flat chest. Therefore, the sternum and keel process are underdeveloped. The head proportion is small, the brain weighs about 40 grams, the neck length is about 90 centimeters, the leg length is about 1 meter, and it has two toes, which evolved from the third toe and the fourth toe. It is the only two-toed bird in the world at present. The male bird is black and the tail feather is white, which is a very valuable decorative feather.
The feathers on the wings are obviously different from the hard wings of other birds. They are insulated. With claws on it. Strong legs have no feathers and stand on two toes, which are as big as hooves. This is the unique adaptability of ostriches. In order to cope with the sudden danger, they run very fast. Ostrich's huge eyeball, with thick black eyelashes, is the largest eyeball among land creatures, and only whale's eyeball is bigger than it. Ostriches have good eyesight. An eyeball weighs 60 grams and can see things 3 to 5 kilometers away. Its instantaneous membrane (third eyelid) has the function of blocking sand and protecting eyes.
Adult males have obvious black and white feathers, pure white wing feathers and tail feathers, and blue-gray or pink skin is exposed in the sparse thin feathers on their necks. Most males have a circle of white hair on the lower edge of the naked hair on the neck, and the scales on the upper mouth shell, the front edge of the legs and the back of the two toes will be pink. The male bird is bigger than the female bird, about 200 ~ 250cm high, up to 270 cm, and weighs about 100 ~ 150kg. Adult females are mostly grayish brown feathers, and their mouths and legs are not pink. The female is slightly smaller, with a height of about 175 ~ 190cm and a weight of about 100 kg.
The young bird's feathers are prickly light yellow fur with black tips and black spots on the neck. After 3 months of age, feathers need to be replaced many times, and the color of male feathers will not appear until 1 1 month.
Living habits
behavior characteristics
Ostrich is a gregarious, diurnal bird, adapted to the life in desert wasteland, sensitive in sense of smell and hearing, and good at running. When an ostrich is running, it can help by flapping its wings, with a speed of 70km/h and a jump of 3.5m m. In order to collect scarce and scattered food in the desert, ostriches are quite efficient eaters, thanks to their open pace, long and flexible necks and accurate pecking. When an ostrich pecks, it first gathers food above the esophagus to form a ball, and then slowly swallows it through the neck esophagus. Because ostriches keep their heads down when pecking, they are easily attacked by predators, so they should look around from time to time when looking for food.
Ostriches often live in groups of 5-50, often accompanied by herbivores. Ostriches use powerful legs (only two toes, the main toe is almost a hoof) to avoid enemies. When frightened, the speed can reach 65 kilometers per hour. Male ostriches divide their spheres of influence during the breeding season. When other males approach, they will drive away with their wings and shout loudly. Their calls are loud and deep.
food source
Atlas of Ostrich (20 sheets) Ostrich has a wide range of nutrients, such as grass, leaves, seeds, twigs, succulent plants, roots, flowers with stems, fruits and so on. , also eat lizards, snakes, young birds, small mammals and some insects, omnivorous. The ostriches raised artificially in the park are all fed with synthetic feed. When eating, ostriches always deliberately eat some sand grains, because ostriches have poor digestion ability. Eating some sand grains can help grind food and promote digestion without hurting the spleen and stomach.
Breeding mode
Because ostrich has many advantages mentioned above, such as rough feeding tolerance and strong adaptability, it conforms to the national industrial policy of developing "grain-saving" herbivores and has received strong support from the state. Zhiyan Data Research Center shows that there are a large number of sandy wasteland and non-arable land unsuitable for cultivation in China, and the forage resources are very rich, which has broad prospects for developing ostrich farming, and will play an important role in adjusting agricultural production structure and people's food structure, improving agricultural economic benefits and prospering rural economy. The state attaches great importance to the development of ostrich farming, and there are many policies to support it, such as exemption from income tax. Ostrich breeding industry started late in China and has great development potential.
According to the characteristics of birds in different places, ornithologists found that the world can be divided into six geographical regions, each region has unique birds, and the birds in the same region are generally very similar, which is the result of evolution and adaptation to the environment, among which ostriches are distributed in Isoptera and Africa. Of Africa and America.
Ostriches are widely distributed in arid areas of Africa with little rainfall. In Cenozoic and Tertiary, ostriches were widely distributed in Europe. Not only ostrich eggs but also leg bones were found in Zhoukoudian, the famous birthplace of Beijingers in China. It was distributed in Africa, Syria and Arabia in modern times, but now the ostriches in Syria and Arabia have disappeared. Their distribution is from the Sahara desert to the whole Africa, and Australia introduced them in 1862 ~ 1869, forming a new habitat in the southeast.
The breeding time of ostriches varies from region to region. In North Africa and East Africa, they mostly nest in the dry season (July to 1 month). During the breeding season, males often occupy territory by flaunting their wings and shaking their necks. Only males who can defend their territory can mate with females. Male birds have rubbed many shallow pits in their territory. During the breeding period, ostriches have many females. A male ostrich often mates with five female ostriches, but the male ostrich maintains an inaccurate single pairing relationship with one of them. Female birds will find one of them to lay eggs, usually one every two days, and they can lay as many as 10 ~ 20 in a few days. About six or more females will lay eggs in the same cave, but they are not responsible for hatching eggs. There are as few as 30 eggs in a nest, and 50-60 eggs in Marseilles. Male birds hatch eggs at night, while female birds hatch eggs during the day. The incubation temperature is about 96.8 ~ 97.6 ℉. Incubation temperature is 36.90℃, humidity is 25 ~ 35 RH%, and incubation period is 40 ~ 42 days.
Taking care of other individuals' eggs in this way is relatively easy to be eliminated in evolution, but among other kinds of birds, some are as willing to take care of them as ostriches. It seems that the main reason for this feature is that eggs are large and easy to attract natural enemies. Although the ostrich egg is the largest of all birds, it is also the smallest of all birds in terms of body proportion, so an ostrich can cover a large number of eggs. The male-female ratio of the hatched ostriches is about 1 male ratio 1.4 females, and ostrich nests are easily destroyed by natural enemies, which means that many females have no nests to lay eggs. Obviously, it is beneficial to have other places for them to lay eggs. It is also a good thing for a big hen to have extra eggs in her nest, because her own eggs can be protected from destruction; Usually, if there are more eggs in the nest than the big hen can cover, she can identify her own eggs and roll other extra eggs around the nest to destroy them.
Comparing ostrich eggs with eggs, there are many predators who like to steal ostrich eggs in the desert, so the nests guarded by birds are easy to be visited by natural enemies. For example, Egyptian vultures will throw stones at eggs and break eggshells up to 2mm thick; Even if there are birds guarding eggs, there are natural enemies such as hyenas and wolves, so less than 10% of eggs will hatch during the three-week spawning period and the six-week incubation period.
An ostrich digs up the soil with its feet in a depression on the ground, and presses its body on the soil to form a nest with a diameter of up to 3 meters.
Young birds are early adult birds, which are raised by both male and female birds. Several young birds often form a large group, guarded by one or two adult birds, but only about 15% of them can grow to one year old. At this point, they have grown to the height of adults. Female birds reach sexual maturity within two years, while male birds are later, about three to four years, and their life span is about 25 to 40 years.
Growth stage
infancy
Chick period is from birth to 12 weeks. During this period, the nutritional level was slightly higher than that of chickens, and at the same time, inorganic salts, especially calcium, phosphorus, trace elements and multivitamins were supplemented. Green feed should be easily digested and absorbed by fresh grass leaves and vegetable leaves. The average daily feed for each animal is 1.2- 1.5 kg, and the concentrate feed is 1- 1.5 kg.
growing period
Growth period refers to the growth period from 13 weeks to prenatal period. Weight increased from 40-60 kg to 100 kg. At this time, young birds are mainly raised by outdoor grazing. The transformation from juvenile materials to propagation materials should be gradual, and 2/3 juvenile materials and 1/3 propagation materials should be used in the first week or two after the temperature of 3 months old; In the third week, 1/3 chicken feed and 2/3 kinds of chicken feed were used; By the fourth week, when I was four months old, all the materials were used. At this time, each feed is given about 1.5-2.5 kg of concentrate every day, of which forage powder can account for 10%-20%, and green feed is given an average of 2.5-3.5 kg or even 5 kg every day, depending on the weight increase or decrease.
Laying period
The daily activities of artificially raised ostriches are more regular during the laying period. Therefore, it should be fed regularly and quantitatively according to its life law. Every morning at dawn, ostriches run around the side net in the playground. After running 15-20 minutes, they mate for food. So the first feeding time is 6:30-7:30 in the morning. Feed it four times a day, and the interval between each feeding is as equal as possible. The feeding sequence can be coarse first and then fine, or the concentrated feed and green feed can be mixed together for feeding. The feeding amount of concentrated feed is generally controlled at about 65438±0.5kg each, so as to prevent the egg production from decreasing or stopping production due to overweight.
mature period
Female ostriches reach sexual maturity at 24-30 months old, while male ostriches reach sexual maturity at 36 months old. Feeding in large groups before sexual maturity, with 20-30 animals in each group, and grouping spouses 1 month before spawning. Generally, 4 animals (1 male and 3 females) are a feeding unit. Group work usually takes place at night. Introducing the female ostrich into the aviary first and then the male bird can reduce the rejection between males and females and between populations.
Main population
Due to geographical isolation, six kinds of ostriches can be distinguished:
Table data cannot be displayed for the time being.
Protection level
It is listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
historical development
Pan Qingchi's Chinese painting "Waiting" Academy Award Instructor: The ancestor of Zhang Youxian's ostrich is also a flying bird, and its appearance today is closely related to its living environment. Ostrich is a primitive remnant bird, which represents an evolutionary direction that animals gradually develop into tall and good at running in the open grassland and desert environment. At the same time, the flight ability gradually weakened until it was lost. The running ability of African ostriches is amazing. Its toes tend to decrease because it is suitable for running. It is the only bird with two toes in the world. The outer toe is very small and the inner toe is particularly developed. It can jump 2.5 meters in the air, leap 8 meters in one step and sprint at a speed of more than 70 kilometers per hour. At the same time, the thick legs are also the main defensive weapons of African ostriches, and the main natural enemy is cheetahs.
Derivative value
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egg
Management atlas
Atlas of ostrich eggs (8 sheets)
Ostrich eggs are generally 15cm long, 8cm wide and 1.5kg heavy, which is equivalent to 30 eggs. They are the largest eggs in the world at present. 24 people and an ostrich egg. The eggshell is thick and hard, and the intact ostrich egg can bear the weight of 90 kilograms without breaking. The nutrition in ostrich eggs is extremely high, containing 22.54g, 80mg of gold and 4.03mg of silver per100g. After cooking, protein is crystal clear, with smooth and elastic taste, and the ice cream made of ostrich eggs is also delicious. Eggshell is a rare natural material for handicrafts, which can be carved or painted into various exquisite and noble decorative handicrafts. Natural calcium carbonate rich in ostrich eggshells is easily absorbed by human body.
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feather
The feathers of ostrich adults, especially the white feathers at the end of wings, are elegant and gorgeous, and can be made into gorgeous feather ornaments. In the upper class of Europe, ostrich feathers have long been used as headdresses or sewn on dresses as decorative items, and the feather decoration of music girls in Las Vegas, USA also uses ostrich feathers. Ostrich feathers have no static electricity, and their antistatic properties have been applied in computer and electronic products factories. In addition, when the chicks grow to 12 months old, they can be processed into warm-keeping products, such as down jackets and sleeping bags.
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skin
Ostrich skin is soft, but its toughness is five times stronger than that of cowhide, and it has the advantages of friction resistance and no cracking. Moreover, ostrich skin is edible because it is rich in collagen, but the unit price is too high. Because it is rich in high-quality collagen, it can replace pigskin as the raw material of collagen cosmetics. Ostrich leather products are light, soft, breathable, flexible, beautiful, durable and rich in feel, and can be used as manufacturing materials for boots, shoes, belts, coats, handbags, briefcases, decorations and valuable furniture.
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meat
Atlas artistic image of ostrich (5) Ostrich meat is rich in nutrition and has extremely high nutritional value, and its quality is better than beef. The outstanding features are five highs and three lows: low fat, low cholesterol, low calorie, high iron, high calcium, high selenium, high zinc and high protein; Can reduce the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases and cancer. In addition, there is no epidemic situation of ostriches, and ostrich meat has become an internationally recognized green and healthy food. The cholesterol content of ostrich meat per 1 00g is 1 for beef and1for chicken. Fat content of beef 1, chicken 1. The calcium content is three times that of beef and seven times that of chicken. The iron content is five times that of beef and seven times that of chicken. The zinc content is three times that of beef and six times that of chicken. Ostrich meat can be eaten not only by Han people, but also by people who believe in Islam.
Introduction to aquaculture
livestock breeding
In fact, as far as wild ostriches are concerned, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Sudan are much more than South Africa, but as far as the history of raising ostriches and the ability to make money with ostriches are concerned, only South Africans. South Africans began to raise ostriches from 1826. At first, the number of ostriches was very small. Later, due to the popularity of western royal aristocrats wearing clothes made of ostrich feathers, ostriches were worth a hundred times. An adult ostrich can only produce 1 kg feathers a year, and the simplest ostrich shawl needs at least 15kg feathers. South African farmers have raised ostriches. By 19 13, the number of ostriches has exceeded 1 10,000. However, after World War I, the European royal family gradually declined, the demand for ostrich hair decreased greatly, and ostrich operators changed careers one after another. Some clever farmers left the best ostrich breeds, waiting for new opportunities.
After World War II, the ostrich market began to pick up. South Africans learned their lesson and began to run ostrich business in various ways. They make ostrich eggshell crafts and open ostrich farms to attract tourists. Many ostrich farmers have joined forces to form an agricultural consortium, which is responsible for the marketing of ostrich products. In Ozhorn, known as the "ostrich capital", visitors can not only taste ostrich meat and ostrich eggs, but also indulge in riding ostriches and even participate in the "ostrich riding competition".
breeding technology
The breeding season for ostriches is from March to September. A few months before the breeding season comes, ostriches should be grouped, such as 1 male and female or 1 male 1 female, ready to mate. It is required that birds should not be too fat, otherwise their reproductive ability will be poor.
Ostrich egg
The pen house should be located in a secluded place, the site should be as large and flat as possible, and edible deciduous trees, shrubs, alfalfa or grass should be planted appropriately. The fence should be strong, 2 meters high. The building area should also be large, the surface should be covered with sand (the cement bottom can also prevent rodents), and grass should be padded in winter and breeding season. There should be operating corridors and thermal insulation facilities in the house, and attention should be paid to lighting.
Ostriches begin to lay eggs around 1 week after mating. Generally, eggs are laid every 1 ~ 2 days/grain, mostly at 3: 00 ~ 7: 00 pm. Those with high egg laying rate lay 1 egg every 1 day, rest after laying 12 ~ 20 eggs/week, and then start the next egg laying cycle. Some of them lay 40 eggs continuously, which is related to feeding management. The fertilization rate of eggs is 60% ~ 90%.
The daily activities of artificially raised ostriches are more regular. Therefore, it should be fed regularly and quantitatively according to its life law. Every morning at dawn, ostriches run around the side net in the playground, and after running 15 ~ 20 minutes, they mate for food. Therefore, the first feeding time is from 6: 30 to 7: 30 in the morning. 1 day for 4 times, and the interval of each feeding should be as equal as possible. The feeding sequence can be coarse first and then fine, or the concentrated feed and green feed can be mixed together for feeding. The feeding amount of concentrated feed is generally controlled at about 65438±0.5kg each, so as to prevent the egg production from decreasing or stopping production due to overweight.
The suitable crude protein content and metabolic energy in ostrich compound feed during laying period are 18% and 10.5 MJ/kg. Green feed is mainly eaten for free. Special attention should be paid to the calcium intake of breeders. In addition to giving enough calcium and phosphorus in the feed, you can also set up a trough for feeding bone meal in the barn, so any ostrich can eat freely.
The eggs laid by ostriches should be collected in time to prevent long exposure in summer and freezing in winter. Handle eggs carefully. Recovered eggs should be washed immediately to prevent microbial contamination. It is best to use flowing warm water when cleaning. If it is washed in a basin, change the water after washing 1 eggs, and the cleaning time should not exceed 2 ~ 3 minutes, and then dry it naturally without wiping it with a wet cloth. 1% can be used for disinfection in Sur. The storage time of eggs should not be too long, not more than 2 weeks at most, and L week is the best. When stored for a long time, the temperature should be controlled at 13 ~ 18℃ and the humidity should be 30% ~ 40%. Generally, it is placed on the side, so it is not necessary to turn over the eggs when storing, and the damaged eggs should be removed to prevent cross-contamination.
Protection methods of ostrich laying eggs;
Under natural breeding conditions, ostrich eggs are often contaminated by soil and feces after landing, and the contaminated eggs will inevitably be infected by bacteria after many procedures such as cleaning and disinfection. In the process of hatching, chicks in eggs often die in the middle and late stages, and even "fried eggs" appear, which leads to the whole box of eggs being infected and scrapped, bringing unnecessary economic losses to farms. We have observed the eggs for many times, and found that there are many bacterial spots in the polluted eggs in the middle of incubation, and the temperature of the eggs in the late incubation period is accelerated due to bacterial infection, which leads to the late death. Usually, during the incubation process, some birds' eggs suddenly lose weight in the later stage, and the chicks dry up and die after autopsy, which is a typical bacterial infection. After long-term observation and experiments, the annual catching rate of eggs is over 85%, and the hatching rate is 20% higher than in the past. This method is introduced as follows for your reference. ?
First, the technician in charge of mastering the ostrich's delivery period must first prepare fumigated plastic bags or clean towels.
2. Inform the breeder to observe the birds during childbirth. Generally, it is about 10 day, and the male bird helps the female bird "dig the nest" in the circle. Female birds often turn around the pit with red nostrils. When she started giving birth, her food intake decreased, especially when the female bird walked back and forth in the circle before giving birth. At this time, the breeder should wash his hands with disinfectant, prepare plastic bags or towels, and wait for observation in places where ostriches are not easy to find. Ostriches usually lay eggs from 2 pm to 7 pm.
3. About 2 minutes before laying eggs, the mother bird will squat down, with mucus flowing in her mouth, flapping her wings, making a trembling sound and starting to lay eggs. At this time, the egg catcher should immediately run lightly, pick up the egg with a towel in one hand and hold up the bird's tail feather in the other hand to prevent the tail feather from being polluted by the egg. When catching eggs, people should squat down to prevent the male bird from hitting you.
Four, the eggs are clean and wet, and the breeder should send them to the incubator in time, and the incubator will take over the disinfection and storage. Disinfection can only be carried out after the water on the egg surface is dry. Pick up eggs in plastic bags in rainy days to prevent rain pollution.
Five, fumigation or storage of eggs should be the end and air chamber up. When a bird lays an egg, the end with the air chamber comes out first. Just notice the hatcher when picking eggs. Picking eggs can solve a difficult problem of determining the direction of the air chamber.
Symptoms of chicken pox
At first, a small gray-white nodule appeared around the featherless parts of the head, such as eyelids, corners of the mouth and ear holes, and soon increased to the size of gray-yellow sesame and mung beans. Some nodules are large in number and fuse with each other to form a larger acne scab. The scab is brown-black, dry and rough. The scab of acne was peeled off, revealing a bleeding depression. After the scab skin falls off, it forms a smooth gray scar and heals. If the eyelid has acne rash, the eye seam can be completely closed due to the thickening of the skin. If there is bacterial infection, catarrhal conjunctivitis will appear in the early stage and then a large amount of concentrated or fibrin exudate will appear. Acne scabs can also appear in featherless parts such as legs, inner wings and anus, but the lesions are not obvious. Simple skin type avian pox has mild systemic symptoms, such as depression, poor appetite and elevated body temperature. The course of disease is 15 ~ 40 days.