Ostrich feeding and nutrition

Abstract

Ostriches are monogastric herbivores. Palatability is crucial to stimulate feed ingestion by the birds. When formulating rations for ostriches, cotton seed cake, meal or seeds should not be used to avoid gossypol poisoning. Salt in mixed ration should not exceed 0.5% of the ration. Fresh, clean water must be available for the birds free choice. The water economy of the ostrich is similar to that of other large savannah and desert animals such as antelope and camel, although the partitioning of water loss differs. The ratio of water intake to dry matter intake is relatively constant at about 2.3. The diet composition of the ostrich is similar to that of grant’s gazelle on the ranges, however differ in that the birds eat some silica-rich plants which are not utilized by ungulates. Ostriches may therefore be considered useful addition to mixed species game ranching.