The first human attention to ostrich and related products is thought to be about 7500 years ago. In ancient Egypt, ostrich feathers were used as a sign of justice and its eggs were used for medicinal purposes
African desert dwellers use ostrich eggshell as a container for transporting and storing water for human consumption, which is an example of the stamp of the post office of the African country of Zambia. Since the mid-1800s, records of ostrich breeding and hatching in captivity have been recorded. This bird is classified in the Ratitae order
The reason for naming this group of birds is the absence of the long blade of the sternum bone in the chest area. Therefore, the flight muscles of the chest area are very weak and small in volume. It is currently the largest living bird on earth. This bird is more or less herbivorous and food with high fiber (cellulose) plays an important role in its nutrition. Of course, it also feeds on small mammals, reptiles and insects in the wild.
This bird can survive without water for a long time. Its cause is partly due to the presence of salt glands in its nose. Salt glands are usually seen in seabirds and reptiles, whose job is to actively absorb salt and toxic substances in the blood (and of course interstitial fluid) and expel it from the living organism. This action causes the bird to have less need to drink water to eliminate toxic substances from its body.
Of course, this bird likes to drink water and bathe with water and even swim in it, but if there is no access to water (in natural wildlife conditions), it can tolerate thirst well like a camel. Drinking of this bird is done by successively opening and closing the lower beak and creating a pumping mode to draw in water. After that, the water bird turns its long neck into an S shape and directs the water towards the stomach
The amount of daily water consumption can be different depending on the weather conditions (temperature and humidity) and the type of nutrition. But as a standard, in conditions of high heat and low humidity, on average, each adult bird needs 12 liters of drinkable water.
In raising chickens, they usually start the first meal (a little before food) at the age of 2 or 3 days. In the first days, in order to make the chickens pay attention to drinking water, every few hours you should put your finger inside the waterers and make the water sound so that the chickens pay attention to drinking.
Sometimes it has even been noted to add food colors to the water so that the bird shows more interest. Of course, it should be noted that in the first week of breeding, excess water consumption causes diarrhea, and therefore water restrictions must be observed. One drinking trough is needed for every three feeding troughs.
As a general criterion, the amount of water required by chickens will be 2 to 3 times the amount of food consumed daily. The optimal temperature of drinking water is between 21 and 32 degrees Celsius. In the conditions where the water temperature is lower or higher than the mentioned values or it has an unpleasant taste and smell, the bird will have less desire to drink, and following the reduction of water consumption, the reduction of food consumption and the efficiency of digestion and absorption of the bird will occur. Between 75 and 80 percent of the body weight of a bird at birth is water, which reaches 70-75 percent at the time of maturity. If the deprivation of water continues for a long time and 10% of body water is lost, the bird will suffer a severe disorder, and if this process continues and 20% of body water is lost, the bird will die.
The quality of drinking water consumed by birds is considered to be the same as that of broilers
Water should be evaluated from two microbial and chemical aspects. The bad taste of water or the presence of harmful chemicals, including poisons, can endanger the bird’s health. In the discussion of water quality control, the following points should be considered. The total hardness of water, which includes all dissolved minerals in water, can be tolerated up to 5000 parts per million (ppm). Of course, this is on the condition that some of the existing soluble substances do not have a severe adverse effect on the taste and smell of water, which causes the lack of proper consumption of water. Therefore, sometimes 3000 ppm is enough.
Sulfates are another category of minerals that are usually combined with magnesium, sodium or calcium. In most cases, it has a diarrhea-causing effect, and its maximum acceptable value is 500 ppm. Iron is another material that can be assessed. Usually, the presence of iron compounds with concentrations higher than 300 ppb (0.3 ppm) is brown in color (rust). It gives and creates a special taste. Compared to other birds, ostriches are more sensitive to iron consumption and have little tolerance for its consumption. Even the high presence of iron-containing compounds interferes with the absorption and metabolism of phosphorus. Phosphorus deficiency interferes with the bone growth of the bird and may cause rickets and gives the meat a liver-like taste.
In general, 0.3 ppm should be considered as the maximum amount of iron in water. Chlorides are actually salts that make water salty and give it a salty taste. Most of them are accompanied by sodium and they are more suitable up to the level of 100-50ppm. Of course, the amount of salt in the diet should be balanced with the level of chloride in the water. The presence of phosphate in water can be a sign of contamination of the water source with sewage and an alarm on the presence of harmful bacteria. Nitrogen compounds such as nitrates are widely used in chemical fertilizers. The presence of this substance in large quantities can be the reason for the sedimentation of contaminated sources in the water used. As a result of the decomposition of this compound by bacteria, both in the environment outside the body and inside the body (intestines), the toxic substance trigite is produced. Among the side effects caused by long-term use of nitrates are symptoms similar to vitamin A deficiency and immune system weakness. The maximum amount of nitrate in water is 50-100 ppm
Many times, the presence of hydrogen sulfide causes the water to smell bad. A very small amount of this substance, even 1 ppm, produces a bad smell and creates dark and oily deposits in combination with iron. By adding hypochlorite to water, its sulfur can be powdered to remove the smell of water.
Acidity or pH of water is also important. If the water is acidic, it will cause corrosion and rust in metal equipment (such as water pumps, tanks, pipes, etc.) They consider 8/6.
All kinds of insecticides and herbicides and heavy metals (such as lead, mercury) are also polluting factors of drinking water that should not be present in proper water. Regarding the microbial contamination of water, several microorganisms are mentioned. Including viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, parasite eggs.
The total amount of bacteria in the water should be less than 100 cells per 100 cc of water. The total number of bacteria should be less than 50 cells. Some bacteria such as Escherichia coli or Salmonella should not be present
In general, in most cases, proper water filtering and chlorination can be used to prepare the desired water for consumption. It should be noted that the processed water is carefully checked
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