COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE

UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, FOOD AND ENVIRONMENT, LEXINGTON, KY, 40546

ASC-203

Avian Digestive System

Jacquie Jacob and Tony Pescatore, Animal Sciences

An understanding of the avian Beak / Mouth: Chickens, as with Crop: The crop is an out-pocket-
digestive system is essential to most birds, obtain feed with the ing of the esophagus and is located
developing an effective and eco- use of their beak. Food picked up just outside the body cavity in the
nomical feeding program for your by the beak enters the mouth. As neck region (see Figure 3). Any
poultry flock. Knowledge of avian previously mentioned, chickens swallowed feed and water is stored
anatomy, and what the parts nor- do not have teeth so they are not in the crop until it is time to pass it
mally look like, will also help you able to chew their food. The mouth on to the rest of the digestive tract.
to recognize when something is does contain glands which secrete When the crop is empty, or nearly
wrong and take the necessary ac- saliva which wets the feed to make empty, it sends hunger signals to
tions to correct the problem. it easier to swallow. The saliva also the brain so that the chicken will
The digestive tract of any contains some enzymes which start eat more.
animal, including chickens, is the digestion of the food eaten. Although salivary glands of the
important in converting the food The chicken’s tongue is then used mouth secrete the digestive en-
the animal eats into the nutrients to push the feed to the back of the zyme amylase very little digestion
their body needs for maintenance, mouth so that it can be swallowed. actually takes place in the crop – it
growth, and production (such as Esophagus: The esophagus is is primarily a temporary storage
eggs or meat). Once food is eaten, it a flexible tube that connects the pouch. The crop evolved for birds
must be broken down into its basic mouth with the rest of the diges- that need to move to the open to
components. This is done through tive tract. It carries food from the find feed but are typically hunted
both mechanical and chemical mouth to the crop and from the by other animals. These birds are
means. crop to the proventriculus. able to consume relatively large
• Mechanical action typically in-
volves chewing, but since birds
do not have teeth other me-
chanical methods are used.
• Chemical action includes the
release of digestive enzymes
and fluids from the stomach,
pancreas and liver.
Once the nutrients have been re-
leased from food during digestion,
they can be absorbed and distrib-
uted throughout the animal’s body.
The digestive tract is also referred
to as the gastro-intestinal or GI
tract. Whichever term is used, in
birds it begins at the mouth and
ends at the cloaca and has several
important organs in between (see
the Figure 2).
Figure 1. Model showing the internal organs of the female chicken
Source: PoultryHub

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EXTENSION
 the feed here and digestion begins.
At this point, however, the food
has not yet been ground up. The
term ‘proventriculus’ is used since
it comes before the ‘ventriculus’
or gizzard, with ‘pro’ being a Latin
terming meaning before.
Gizzard / Ventriculus: The giz-
zard, or ventriculus, is a part of the
digestive tract unique to birds. It is
often referred to as the ‘mechani-
cal stomach’. It is made up of two
sets of strong muscles which act
as the bird’s teeth. Consumed feed
and the digestive juices from the
salivary glands and the proven-
triculus pass into the gizzard for
grinding, mixing, and mashing.
When allowed to free-range,
chickens will typically eat small
stones. These stones remain in the
Figure 2. Parts of the digestive tract of a chicken gizzard until they become ground
into pieces small enough to pass
amounts of food quickly and then come impacted in a chicken that is through to the rest of the digestive
move to a more secure location to free-ranged on a pasture of tough, tract. The stones/pebbles are weak-
digest the food they consumed. fibrous vegetation. Crop impaction ened by the acidic environment
Occasionally the crop becomes can also result when the chickens created in the proventriculus and
impacted or ’backed up’ (crop eat a long piece of string. With a then are ground into tiny pieces by
impaction, also referred to as crop crop impaction, even if a chicken the strong muscles of the gizzard.
binding or pendulous crop). This continues to eat, the feed cannot Chickens fed whole grains need
may occur when chickens go a long get past the impacted crop. There is to have access to small pebbles or
time without feed. This will cause very little that can be done to treat given a product called grit. Grit
the chickens to eat too much too a chicken with pendulous crop. is a commercial product made up
fast when the feed becomes avail- Proventriculus: The esophagus of small stones. It should not be
able again. A crop may also be- continues past the crop to connect confused with limestone or oyster
the crop to the shell which is given to laying hens
proventriculus. as a source of calcium for their egg
The proven- shells. Chickens kept on pasture
triculus (also will also require supplementation
known as the with grit, though many of them
‘true stomach’) may consume enough pebbles
is the glandular when they forage. Chickens fed
stomach where only commercially prepared feed
digestion begins. do not need grit.
As with human Gizzards have a thick lining
stomachs, hy- which protects the muscles from
drochloric acid the acidic condition of the digesta
and digestive en- coming from the proventriculus.
zymes (e.g., pep- When chickens are slaughtered,
sin) are added to the gizzards are often saved, the
lining removed, and the gizzard
Figure 3. Location of the crop in a chicken. The crop is consumed by the family or sold as
located just outside the body cavity in the neck region. a food item.
 When a chicken eats a small, pasty droppings that often smell
sharp object such as a tack or worse than regular droppings.
staple, the object is likely to get Cecal droppings typically have a
stuck in the gizzard. Because of the mustard to dark brown in color.
strong grinding motion of the giz- The number of times cecal drop-
zard’s muscles, these sharp objects pings are released, as well as their
may eventually put a hole in the color and texture, tell you that the
gizzard wall. Chickens with dam- chicken’s digestive tract is func-
aged gizzards will grow thin and tionally normally.
eventually die – a very good reason Large intestine (also known as
to keep your poultry houses free of Figure 4. The position of the Meckel’s the colon): Despite the name, the
nails, glass shards, bits of wire and diverticulum between the jejunum large intestine is actually shorter
the like. and ileum portions of the small than the small intestine. The large
Small intestine: The small intestine. intestine is where the last of the
intestine is made up of the duo- water re-absorption occurs.
denum (also referred to as the purchased online and shipped via Cloaca: In the cloaca there is
duodenal loop) and the lower small the postal service. a mixing of the digestive wastes
intestine. The duodenum receives In recently hatched chicks, the together with wastes from the uri-
digestive enzymes and bicarbonate yolk sac enters the body and the nary system (urates). Fecal material
(to counter the hydrochloric acid navel closes. Sometimes the na- is usually voided as digestive waste
from the proventriculus) from the vel may be inflamed and fail to with white uric acid crystals on
pancreas and bile from the liver close, producing a wet spot on the the outer surface. The reproduc-
via the gall bladder. The digestive abdomen. A scab may be present. tive tract also exits through this
enzymes produced by the pancreas Omphalitis is a condition charac- area but when a hen lays an egg the
are primarily involved in protein terized by infected yolk sacs, often vagina folds over to allow the egg
digestion. Bile is a detergent that is accompanied by unhealed navels in to leave through the vent without
important in the digestion of lipids recently hatched chicks. It is infec- coming into contact with the feces
and absorption of fat-soluble vita- tious but not contagious. It is often or urine.
mins (vitamins A, D, E and K). The associated with excessive humidity The color and texture of chicken
remainder of the digestion occurs and contamination of the hatching fecal material can indicate the
in the duodenum and the released eggs or incubator. health status of the chicken’s diges-
nutrients are absorbed mainly Ceca (plural form; singular = tive tract. The white pasty material
in the lower small intestine. The cecum): The ceca are two blind that commonly coats chicken fecal
lower small intestine is composed pouches located where the small material is uric acid, the avian
of two parts, the jejunum and and large intestines join. Some of form of urine, and is normal (see
ileum. The Meckel’s Diverticulum the water remaining in the fe- Figure 5).
marks the end of the jejunum and cal material is reabsorbed here. Some of the possible abnormal
the start of the ileum. Another important function of the color and texture changes that
In the developing embryo the ceca is the fermentation of any re- can occur, together with possible
yolk sac supplies the nutrients maining coarse materials. In doing causes, are shown on Page 4. These
needed for it to develop and grow. so they produce several fatty acids are just possible causes—any sick
Right before hatch, the yolk sac is as well as the eight B vitamins birds should be diagnosed by a
taken into the navel cavity of the (Thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pan- veterinarian.
embryo. The residual tiny sac is the tothenic acid, pyridoxine, biotin,
Merkel’s Diverticulum (see Figure 4). folic acid and vitamin B12). Because Intestinal Microflora
The material remaining in the the ceca are located so close to the Both the small and large intes-
yolk immediately after hatch is able end of the digestive tract, however, tine are normally populated by
to supply the feed and water needs very little of the produced nutri- beneficial bacteria, referred to as
of the newly hatched chicken. This ents are absorbed and available to microflora (‘micro’ meaning small
is why it is possible to ship chicks the chicken. and ‘flora’ meaning plants). This
long distances without adverse The ceca empty their contents population of microflora is impor-
effects, as is done when chicks are two or three times a day, producing tant since they aid in digestion.

3
 Appearance of Feces
Droppings with blood = coccidiosis
Greenish droppings = late stages of
worms (or has eaten a lot of green
vegetables if free-ranged)
White, milky runny droppings
= worms, coccidiosis, Gumboro
disease (Infectious Bursal Disease)
Brown runny droppings = E. coli
infection
Clear or watery runny droppings =
stress, Infectious Bronchitis
Yellow and foamy droppings =
coccidiosis
Figure 5. Normal chicken fecal material showing the dark fecal material with a Pasting of the vent (soiling around
coating of white uric acid crystals. the vent) = consumption of large
amounts of indigestible feedstuffs

Intestinal disease normally occurs So where do these ‘beneficial’

when the balance of normal micro- bacteria come from? When chicks
flora is upset or the normal micro- hatch their digestive tracts are
flora is overrun by too many foreign virtually sterile. If raised by a
organisms. The result is enteritis mother hen, they would obtain the
or inflammation of the intestines, beneficial microflora by consuming
producing symptoms that include some of their mother’s fecal mate-
diarrhea, increased thirst, dehydra- rial. This is not possible in artificial
tion, loss of appetite, weakness, and incubation and brooding. Probiot-
weight loss or slow growth. ics are a collection of the normal
When the damage to the intes- beneficial microflora that would
tinal tract is severe it is typically inhabit a chicken’s digestive tract.
referred to as necrotic enteritis. By spraying it in the shipping boxes
‘Necrotic’ means ‘dead tissue’ or supplying it in the first feed the
while ‘enteritis’ refers to an in- chicks receive the ’good’ bacteria
flammation of the intestinal tract. that they need to fight off infection
Necrotic enteritis is a problem in by pathogenic bacteria, such as
many different types of production salmonella.
systems.

Educational programs of Kentucky Cooperative Extension serve all people regardless of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability, or national origin. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts
of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, M. Scott Smith, Director, Land Grant Programs, University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Lex-
ington, and Kentucky State University, Frankfort. Copyright © 2013 for materials developed by University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension. This publication may be reproduced in portions or its entirety for
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Issued 11-2013