Qatar Biodiversity Newsletter
‫اع ا
ي – ة‬
Vol. 2, No. 2, February 2008
Ostrich breeding
future In Qatar
A worthy step in
conservation
Welcome…
By
Prof. Dr. Atef Mohamed Kamel
Head of Wildlife Conservation,
Biodiversity & Environmental
Sciences Dept., Suez Canal
University, Egypt
Dr. Atef with a special friend
During his supervision of Egyptian
farm
…This is the second issue of
volume 2 of the monthly
scientific newsletter which
concerns all research activities of
Qatar biodiversity.
… Prof. Dr. Atef M. Kamel is an
expert in wildlife conservation
with various aspects but well
versed in ostrich breeding at
commercial level. He also served
as a consultant to wildlife
conservation in Egypt and Africa
and pioneered in launched the
conservation and biodiversity
concepts among the curricula of
veterinary medical colleges.
Introduction
Ostriches, Struthio camelus, are the world’s largest bird living today. Ostriches belong to Ratite
family which means flightless birds, a characteristic they share with emu, rhea and cassowary.
Ancient Egyptians farmed ostrich and present day farming, which began at South Africa in
1833, is run much the same way. Ostrich fossils have been found in North Africa, Europe and
Asia, but today the bird is indigenous to Africa, where it has been raised commercially for more
than 100 years. Extensive hunting for feathers, meat, and skin coupled with overgrazing by
domestic animals on their habitat has lead to the near extinction of the ostrich from the Middle
East and North and South Africa. Although they are not globally threatened, the four subspecies
of ostrich require strict protection and farming has helped to conserve the wild populations. It is
an environmentally friendly animal, requiring less acreage than other livestock and relatively
modest amounts of food and water. Ostriches are hardly animals that readily adapt to a variety
of climatic conditions.
Ostrich farming is a new industry and there is much information available to those who are
either involved in ostrich farming for the first time or with no previous experience in that field.
Current demand for ostrich breeding stock surpasses supply, resulting in excessively high prices
for all ages of birds. It is anticipated that these prices will decline dramatically once speculative
demand for breeders is satisfied and prices become dependent on market demand for products
such as skin or hide, plumage, and meat.
Qatar Biodiversity
Newsletter, Vol. 2, No. 2, February 2008
Page 1 of 5
Back issues:
Vol. 1, No.1 (October 2007)
“A glance at biodiversity of Qatar”
by Mahmoud M Kardousha.
Vol. 1, No. 2 (November 2007)
“Research on Cyanobacteria of Qatar”
by Roda Al Thani and Malcolm Potts.
Vol. 1, No. 3 (December 2007)
“Fish diversity in Qatari waters”
by Mohsen Al Ansi
Vol. 2. No. 1 (January 2008)
“Molluscs of the state of Qatar”
By Jassim A. Al Khayat
Two newly hatched chicks
Ostrich breeding
The editor:
Dr. Mahmoud M. Kardousha
(Biodiversity and Parasitology)
Editorial board:
Dr. Roda F. Al Thani
(Microbiology and Mycology)
Dr. Nobuyuki Yamaguchi
(Wildlife conservation and
environmental sciences).
The breeding birds reach sexual maturity after two to three years. Mating occurs all year , but
mainly from April to September. As soon as the male has scraped a sufficiently deep nesting
trough into the ground, the female lays one egg a day, until there are 10 to 15 eggs. From the
laying time, incubation time lasts about 42 days. Males and females take turns, but the males
usually do "night shift", because they are well camouflaged with their dark feathers.
Ostrich hens become sexually mature when they are between two and three years old, males
usually a year later. In the Northern hemisphere the breeding season runs from March till
October. In the Southern Hemisphere the breeding season runs from August till February. The
increase in day-length is the determining factor for the start of the breeding-season. At the
beginning of the breeding season, males show a distinctive reddening of the shins, the beak and
the rims of the eyes. The intensity of the reddening is correlated with the virility of the male, and
consequently with the fertility rate of the eggs. Sometimes they fill their esophagus with air so
that their neck looks like an inflated balloon. They then make a low monotonous booming
sound.
When breeders are kept in a larger group, breeding pairs or groups will be formed naturally. The
males will draw attention of females by performing a mating dance. Virile males can serve
several hens. But if the number of females per male is too high, there is a risk of getting a lower
fertility rate of the eggs. Ideally each breeding group (one male with one to three females) is
kept in a separate paddock. Otherwise males will spend too much time and energy fighting with
each other. Before the season, the breeder paddocks should be ploughed and replanted to get rid
of all microbes that may otherwise infect the eggs. If there is enough space available, one can
fill only half the paddocks, using every other one. This gives time to clean and prepare the
paddocks not in use. When the breeding groups are formed, they will pick a territory and the
male will make a nest by scraping out a hole of 15-20cm deep and 1-3m in diameter. After the
nest is made, a simple shelter can be placed over it to keep the eggs dry. Before mating the male
performs 'kantling'; while on his knees he flaps his wings in a rowing motion. His neck is bent in
an 'S' shape and he swings his head from left to right hitting his rump. The hen assumes a
submissive position with her head and neck close to the ground, her wings held away from her
body and pointed downward. During copulation, the males' penis deposits semen in the hen's
cloaca close to the oviductal opening. The semen is transported to the oviduct by ciliary's action.
During their first laying season, hens lay between 10 and 30 eggs, later this increases to between
40 and 70 eggs. Hens lay their eggs in clutches; she will lay an egg every 2-3 days until up to 20
eggs. Then she will pause a while before starting another clutch. Unseasonal weather variations
can disrupt this pattern. A good breeding group produces eggs with a fertility rate of at least
90%. Early season and late season eggs may be less fertile. When kept healthy and in good
condition ostriches remain productive for 25-35 years, which means that the purchase of
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Newsletter, Vol. 2, No. 2, February 2008
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breeders can be considered as a long-time investment. Ostriches should be allowed to sit on one
cluster of eggs within their first 6 years or some may give up laying eggs altogether. Some
people recommended separating the sexes for about two months before the actual mating
season. This increases the mating mood when they meet again at the start of the season.
Female ostrich deeply nesting into the ground (left)
Eggs and their Handling
Ostrich eggs are the biggest bird eggs. Nevertheless, in proportion to the size and weight of an
ostrich, they are the smallest egg of any species. An average egg is about 15 cm long, 12 cm
wide and weighs about 1.5 kg. Although the shell is only 2 mm thick, the egg can sustain a
weight of up to 120 kg. The Ostrich egg is oval with a glossy porcelain-like shell, pitted with
hundreds of pores. The eggs vary in shape, size, weight, shell structure and shell porosity. The
shell is about 2mm thick and is covered with an anti-bacterial coating; the cuticle. The shell
mostly consists of calcium carbonate. It is a source of Ca for the growing embryo. The shell
membranes which are on the inner side of the shell obstruct bacterial penetration by molecular
size exclusion. The egg yolk, which makes up 1/3rd of the volume, provides energy and most of
the nutrients needed for the development of the chick. The yolk is held in the centre of the egg
by two arms or chalizes. In a fresh egg the embryo can be seen as a whitish disk on the surface
of the yolk. The development of the embryo starts inside the hen's body right after fertilization,
but stops when the egg is laid until it is brooded or incubated. The albumen supplies water and
some proteins, vitamins and trace elements. It also provides physical and anti-microbial
protection for the embryo; albumen is bactericidal due to its high pH and to the action of
lysosomes.
Eggs must be turned 2 – 8 times daily but some embryos may be suffocated (left)
Egg collection & storage
Eggs should be collected as soon as possible after being laid, at least once a day. Each egg
should be put in a separate plastic bag to avoid contamination. The identification number can be
recorded on the egg. Eggs can become infected either from the outside, by bacteria passing
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through the eggshell, or internally by the hen before the shell is formed (e.g. salmonella).Storage
of eggs for a few days allows the albumen of the egg to settle down prior to incubation. They
should be stored at 12 - 18 degrees C in a dry clean room. They need to be turned twice a day in
alternative directions (forward in the a.m. back at p.m.). This stops the chalizes from twisting.
Dirty eggs have to be dry-cleaned before storage. Some people disinfect the eggs, for example
with formaldehyde gas. Others prefer to wash: After dirt is removed with a soft brush, the egg is
submerged in a sanitary solution (vircon) (10% warmer than the egg) for 60 seconds, wiped
clean with a soft cloth, dipped in warm rinse water and air dried.
Incubation
Incubation parameters: in nature both males and females brood the eggs, hens during the day,
cocks mostly during the night. The eggs are in contact with the parent bird's bare skin. The
temperature at the top of the egg is always higher than at the bottom. When changing shifts, the
eggs are turned and aired. Incubation of an ostrich egg takes 42 days on the average. In artificial
incubation the temperature has to be around 36.4 C degree. Towards the end of incubation the
temperature may be a bit lower since the embryo also produces heat at a later stage of
development. Relative humidity is set between 20 and 35%. During the 42 days of incubation
the egg loses 11-18% of its total weight by exuding of water and carbon dioxide. The rate at
which water is lost depends on the relative humidity of the incubator as well as on the pore
density and shell thickness of the egg. Since each egg is different, the rate at which weight is
lost also differs. Ideally the eggs should have lost 13% of their weight at 42 days. In practice the
weight loss is measured for all eggs at 21 days. At that time the water-loss should be half-way
(6-7%). Good ventilation inside the incubator is also essential because the embryo has to
breathe; it takes oxygen and it produces water and carbon dioxide, which have to be removed.
If the airflow is insufficient, the embryo may suffocate.
Incubator room
The environment (temperature, relative humidity) of the incubator room has to be controllable.
The room should be ventilated, exhausting air directly to the outside rather than re-circulating
the same air. All parts of the room should be washable. No visitors must be allowed, and a foot
bath and hygienic clothing for the personnel is necessary. Before introducing eggs the incubator
and all equipment must be cleaned and disinfected, using hot water and a disincentive soap or
Vircon.
Fumigation with Formaldehyde is also a common practice
20 cc Formalin per 10 g Potassium Permanganate (KMnO4) per sq. m of incubator, this for two
hours at 25 degrees C during pre-heating. Fumigation can also be done with eggs inside the
incubator. Then the concentration has to be reduced to half, and all vents must be open.
Embryonic development
Eggs should be placed in the incubator with the air gap upwards. Eggs must be turned 2 to 8
times daily. This helps avoiding build-up of waste products inside the egg. The embryonic
development can be followed by candling the egg, with a torch light for instance. Candling is
usually done once a week. Infertile eggs (egg totally clear and clean) or eggs with early
embryonic death should be removed since if they start to rot they can contaminate other eggs.
Normally you will smell a sulphur type odor when an egg has started to go off and by smelling
each egg you should be able to find and remove the culprit. Often contamination is spread by
human
hands,
during
candling.
Hatching
The temperature in the hatcher has to be 2 - 3 degrees C lower and the R.H. slightly higher.
Eggs are transferred to the hatching room at 39 days or as soon as internal piping can be heard.
This happens when the fully formed embryo breaks through the membrane into the air sac for its
first breath of air. It is than able to 'cheep'. The neck muscles then stiffen and the chick's head
Qatar Biodiversity
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breaks through the shell. Now the chick has unlimited oxygen supply and can work its way out.
After internal piping, the chick can survive for 2-3 more days. Some chicks are mal positioned
inside the egg or don't have the strength to break the shell, these need some help. Before
hatching, the yolk sac is absorbed inside the chick's belly. After hatching, the navel, where the
umbilical cord makes the connection with the yolk sac, has to be sprayed with a disinfectant
(e.g.iodine).
The chicks should stay in the Hatcher till completely dry and their feathers fluffed out to avoid
air currents and chick mortalities.
Incubation time lasts about 42 days
The author trying to vaccinate ostrich
chicks against Newcastle virus disease
The editor
Dr. Mahmoud M. Kardousha
Lecturer of Parasitology and
Biodiversity
Biological & Environmental Sciences
Dept.
College of Arts and Sciences
Qatar University
POB. 2713, Doha, Qatar
[email protected]
Newsletter website
www.qu.edu.qa/qu/colleges/arts_sciences/
cas_bio_newsletter.html
Qatar Biodiversity
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