Abstract
In order to investigate influences of age of growing chicks on the development of intestine, on the frequency of feces excretion and on the amount of rectal and cecal feces, the present experiment was carried out using single comb White Leghorn chicks. The results obtained were summarized as follows.
1) Weight, length and surface area of duodenum, small intestine excluding duodenum, both side of ceca, and rectum were measured at 10-day interval from 10 days to 150 days of age. The values were compared as body weight basis. As a result, the values at 10 days of age showed the largest and thereafter they declined rapidly till 60 days of age, then the values remained almost constant.
2) The 30-days-old chicks excreted 44g of rectal feces a day, and the frequency of fecal excretion was 51 times. While, in the 60-, 90- and 120-days-old chicks the amount of rectal feces and its excretory frequency were twice and two thirds, respectively, that in the 30-days-old chicks. The amount of cecal feces was 6g a day at 30 and 60 days of age and 3-2g at 90 and 120 days of age. The frequency of cecal feces excretion decreased with increasing age from 30 to 120 days. The peak of hourly frequency in excretion of the cecal feces at morning was become smaller with the growth of chicks. Therefore, it is suggested that the amount and the hourly frequency of cecal feces excretion might be affected by age of chicks. (Studies on the function of ceca of chickens. Report 5)
