Morphological and histomorphometric study of small intestine in ostrich chicks (Struthio camelus)

 Today, ostriches are bred industrially due to their different characteristics and the unique quality of their products. Many studies have been done to increase the productivity of this bird, but no studies have been done on the morphology and tissue of the small intestine. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the morphology and histomorphometry of the small intestine in ostrich chicks. For this study, ostrich chicks of 5, 15 and 30 days, and 6 samples each were used. All the chicks were fed in a warm room with a plastic plank floor and an initial ration, which met ostrich breeding standards. At the end of each age, chickens were anesthetized and small intestine was extracted for morphological and histomorphometric study. The data were evaluated using SPSS software and ANOVA test. The results showed that the weight and length of the small intestine, height and width of villi and crypt, number of goblet cells per in square millimeter, muscle layer and thickness of serous layer in the all three periods increased, but this increase was significant only on 30 day. Therefore, we conclude that the development of the small intestine in ostrich chicks occurs in the first month of life and for their better breeding, special attention should be paid to nutrition during this period.