ARTICLE BY DR.S.K. MAINI

In farmed Emu's it is regularly seen, caprophagy is eating its own and  sharing with others the faces, the partly digested materials are excreted and re-ingested to extract the full nutritional value from the items consumed

The large  maize and other grain particles can be seen while many othr ingredients may be difficult to distinguish, excess moisture and a characteristic gree with or without mucous are excreted, caprophagy canot be stopped and leads to several problems like poor feed conversion ratio's, lack of unformity in the flock, lower than normal age related body weights and lesions in the gastro intestinal tract.  The cause for the problems is due to improper digstion or poor absorption of nutrients and can be due to a single factor or a combination of several factors simutaneously  When soft grains  like broken rice and certain cereals are fed caprophagy is not seen.

Given below are some of the factors responsible for caprophagy and feed passage

Several of the infectious and nutritional diseases cause lesions in the gastrointestinal tract like the iral, bacterial and parasitic infestations, deficiencies of vitamins, trace minerals and imbalance of nutrients like the amino acids and fatty acids leading to diarrhea and loose dropping with visible udigested ingredients.

Stress

Stressed birds always consume more than normal quantities of water and digestion of nutrients suffersdue to fear and fluidity, most of this extra water consumd is voided in the feces resulting in wet and poor ormed feces with visible undigested grains, stressed birds show physical changes in thier intestinal lining like the villus length and reduced surfac area for absorption of nutrients.

Tannins

Tannins in the fed cause edema of the esophagus and proventriculus, ulceration, ecrosis and sloughing of the intestinal mucous linikng, resulting in feed passage of hard type of grains  like the maize, jowar and other grains.  If levels are high refusal to eat is noticed.

Biogenic Amines

All animals, plants and  microorgaisms contain them in small quantities, at higher concentrations they are toxic, produced by bacterial degradation of free amino acids, proteins and animal byproducts, Ingestion of biogenic amines leads to poor weight gains, lower feed conversion ratios, impaired immune response loose  motions, provetricular  enlargement, gizzard erosion and gastrointestinal damage.

Rancid Fats

Fats exposed to air, trace minerals and heat under go oxidative damage leading to their rancidity and production of free radicals, this rancid fat when feed to the birds causes proventrculities, gizzard erosion, enteritis leading to feed passage responsible for causing impaired immunity, poor growth, poor FCR, and over all poor performance.

Quality of Drinking Water

Approximately 65 to 70% of the birds body is water, water helps digestion and absorption of nutrients, water contaminated with bacteria, algae or chemicals and thier salts causes itestinal damage and subsequent feed passage and caprophagy.

Farmers need not worry about caprophagy and seeing feed passing through, they should try finding the cause, rectify  it immediately to get best results from their birds,

Salt Intake

When birds get more than required quntity salt either through the feed or drinking water, the water consumption increases in an effort to eliminate the excess salt, resulting in wet, watery dropping full of undigested ingredients, during hot weather conditions, to cool their bodies the birds tend to over  consume water leading to fluidity, feed passage and caprophagy.

Worms

Intestinal parasites irritate the gastrointestinal tract lining causing passage of undigested feed in feces, their re-ingestion leading to more birds having worms.

Coccidiosis

Sub clinical and clinicalcoccidiosis especially in chicks and growers cause enterirtis and ingredients, a good cocci monitoring  program will help.

Mycotoxins

Most mycotoxins simultaneously damage the gastrointestinal tract, the liver and the kidneys blocking the bile flow to the intestines affecting the fat and fat soluble vitamins absorption and utilization, their caustic nature causes chemical burns of the area's of the mouth  proventriculus, gizzard and the intestines that directly comes in contact and tinterfere in severa metabolic pathways.  Under the influence of mucotoxins feed ingredients are ot properly ground due to gizzard damage, not digested ue to proventriculus and gastrointestinal damage, birds consume more water to reduce the caustic affects  of the mycotoxins leading to watery droppings with undigested feed ingredients followed by caprophagy.