When is the ostrich growing period, and how should feeding and management be carried out?

The ostrich is a bird of very large size, and they are generally only seen in zoos. Ostriches look very fierce, and if you anger one it will chase you. Nowadays some farmers are also raising ostriches, so when is the ostrich growing period? What are the feeding and management methods?

1. When is the ostrich growing period?

The growing period refers to the growth stage from 13 weeks of age to before the start of laying, when body weight increases from 40-60 kg to 100 kg. At this time the young birds are mainly raised by outdoor grazing, of which 13 days of age to 14 months of age is the growing young ostrich stage, and over 14 months of age to 26 months of age is the breeding reserve ostrich stage.

2. What are the feeding and management methods during the ostrich growing period?

1. Feed formulation: the growing period is the stage of adjusting sexual maturity and is also an important stage of growth and development, and is of great significance for increasing egg production and reducing the culling rate. Outdoor grazing should be the main method, with as much roughage consumed as possible. The concentrate contains 15%-16.5% crude protein, 11.506 MJ/kg metabolic energy, 6% crude fiber in the early stage, and 8%-10% in the reserve stage (or increased to 12%-14%). Pelleted feed is best, with pellets φ7-8 mm to 10 mm. Pelleted feed accounts for 30% of the diet, and high-quality green feed accounts for 70%.

2. Feed replacement: the first week to the fourth week after the start of the growing period serves as the transition period for feed replacement. First week: chick feed accounts for 4/5 and growing feed 1/5; thereafter the chick feed is reduced by 1/5 every week, while the growing feed is correspondingly increased by 1/5, until by the fifth week all growing feed is fed.

3. Feeding method: commercial ostriches receive 1500-2000 g of concentrate per bird per day, and are sold at 12 months of age. Breeding growing ostriches receive 1000-1500 g of concentrate per bird per day; the concentrate mentioned above is all concentrated feed. Green feed mostly uses alfalfa, green corn, other planted pasture or natural pasture. Concentrate is fed 2-3 times a day, while green feed is provided by grazing all day. At the same time, sufficient drinking water must be ensured.

4. Management measures

(1) Grazing site: hillside land is best for the pasture, with free-range grazing and movement, and the pasture, exercise yard or pens should have iron nails, broken glass, plastic bags, rope, etc. removed as far as possible, so as to avoid ingestion causing proventriculus disease.

(2) Pen requirements: the pens should have good lighting, and a 1-2 m wide green belt should be set around the site. Keep the inside and outside of the pens clean and dry, and frequently clear away standing water. The ground sand thickness is 5-20 cm, the door height inside the house is best 3.4 m, the interior ceiling height should be no less than 3.7 m, and there must be a good drainage system. Body weight should be measured regularly.

(3) Stocking density: when space is ample, 20 sq m per bird indoors and 100 sq m per bird in the exercise yard; when space is small, for African black ostriches 8 sq m per bird indoors and 50 sq m per bird in the exercise yard, and for Australian ostriches or American ostriches 4 sq m per bird indoors and 25-35 sq m per bird in the exercise yard. Groups of 20-30 birds are appropriate.

(4) Exercise and disinfection: during the growing period the ostriches should be allowed to exercise, contaminated gravel should be cleaned frequently, manure should be cleared twice a day, disinfection pools should be set at entrances and exits, a major disinfection should be carried out once a week, and disease prevention should be carried out.