Four Essential Management Points for Ostrich Farming
1. Site selection and pen design
Site selection for a new ostrich farm is very important. Choose a location with higher terrain, convenient drainage, ample sunlight and good ventilation, and with sandy soil or sandy loam as the best soil type. This is because sandy soil or sandy loam has more capillary pores, good air and water permeability, low water-holding capacity, does not become excessively muddy after rain, and is easy to keep dry. The farm area must be able to provide an adequate and clean supply of drinking water. The surrounding environment is also an important factor to consider when choosing a site. Ostriches are especially sensitive to stimulation from their surroundings and are easily startled and prone to stress responses. Therefore, the environment around the ostrich farm should be quiet. It is best to plant greenery around the farm area so that the ostriches live in an environment close to nature, thereby better realizing their production potential.
2. Selection of ostriches
Selecting good-quality breeding ostriches is the key to establishing a farm and the most important factor determining future economic returns. The African ostrich was introduced into China relatively recently and is currently in a stage of population expansion. Because the sources of ostrich breeding stock introduced by various domestic enterprises are complex, the germplasm of introduced ostriches varies greatly. Therefore, farmers must be very careful when purchasing ostriches. Choose ostriches with pure germplasm and good production performance to lay a solid foundation for future development.
Ostriches are generally divided into three types: the red-necked ostrich, the blue-necked ostrich and the domesticated ostrich (the domesticated ostrich is what is commonly called the African black ostrich). The African black ostrich has the characteristics of a compact body, a docile temperament, fine feathers, early sexual maturity and high egg production, and is currently the main breed raised.
When purchasing ostriches, pay attention to pedigree records and bloodline matching. Pedigree records document in detail the ostrich's origin, breed, sex, age, parents and its own main production performance. Based on these, you can understand the ostrich's production performance and bloodline and carry out reasonable bloodline matching.
In addition, when purchasing ostriches, observe their health status. The observation methods generally include: 1. Behavioral observation: healthy ostriches are energetic, highly responsive to external stimuli and strongly gregarious;
2. Body surface health observation: healthy ostriches have full muscles, no exposed bones, no injuries anywhere on the body, and a steady, normal gait;
3. Feeding observation: healthy ostriches have a strong appetite and, when the keeper enters the pen, will actively come forward and wait to be fed;
4. Droppings observation: healthy ostrich droppings are dark green, fine and well digested, with a large urine output, transparent urine and a small amount of white urate.
3. Feed supply for ostriches
The African ostrich is a monogastric herbivorous bird, and its digestive tract is completely different from that of ruminants and also different from that of non-ruminants or poultry. Ostriches have no teeth and no crop; their saliva contains no digestive enzymes. The esophagus leads directly to the proventriculus, which has a relatively large volume and can store large amounts of ingested food. Digestion in the stomach begins in the proventriculus. Next is the gizzard, which is spherical. The gizzard contains stones for digestion. In addition, the most distinctive feature of the ostrich digestive tract is that it contains two large ceca and a very long colon, which are the conditions for fermentative digestion in ostriches. Therefore, the feed absorption and conversion rate of ostriches is the highest among current livestock species.
In the process of raising ostriches, concentrate feed supply can be divided into seven stages, namely chick ostriches (0-2 months), young ostriches (2-4 months), growing ostriches (4-6 months), fattening ostriches (6-9 months), replacement ostriches (9-14 months), maintenance (14 months to laying and the non-laying period) and laying ostriches. The nutritional requirements differ at each stage, and the feed formula also differs. But all are based mainly on forage. Ostriches have a broad diet and can eat various pasture feeds as well as a variety of root and tuber crops, vegetables and so on.
4. Common diseases of ostriches and their prevention and treatment
Because ostriches have not been domesticated for long, they have extremely strong disease resistance. During the farming process, attention should be paid to diseases caused by improper feeding. First, pay attention to feed quality to prevent ostriches from being infected with mold poisoning by eating moldy food. Ostrich farming has very high requirements for feed quality; moldy food and moldy raw materials are harmful to ostriches. Second, pay attention to the lignification of green feed fiber, because severe lignification of green feed can easily cause digestive system diseases in ostriches. Finally, during the farming process, attention should be paid to avoiding the possibility of trauma to ostriches.