Ratio of weight and age in ostriches
In some cases, the ostrich chick has a good weight gain. So that in a short time, this weight gain takes place to a significant amount, and to be more precise, it reaches a weight of over 23 kg in only the first 77 days. On the other hand, the ostrich chick is a slow-growing animal because it reaches its full skeletal development at 12 months of age, and this can be seen in domestic birds compared to 5-6 weeks. Even when they reach the weight of 30 kg, the chicken has only gained one third of its standard fattening weight.
The pattern of weight change is shown as an indicator of body weight gain for the first 3 months of life, from when chicks grow slowly until they reach maximum daily growth. Chicks lose weight in the first 4 to 8 days after leaving the hatchery and gain weight after this period. In an experiment conducted in a farm in South Africa, a group of birds were fed with a 14.5% protein diet and another group with a 17.5% protein diet. This experiment showed that chickens that were fed with a higher protein diet gained more weight.
Not all birds will reach this ideal state of growth, as the rate of growth in ostrich chicks varies greatly. At 35 days old, some chickens may grow 2 to 3 times more than smaller chickens despite the uniform breeding method and environment. It is not yet clear why the growth rates in ostriches are so varied and diverse, although factors are known to influence the spread of these differences, which include: growth rate inheritance, behavior, feed composition, and environmental factors. Therefore, research is necessary to determine the growth pattern on different breeds of ostrich chickens.
The ostrich chick that comes out of the egg usually has about 65% of the initial weight of the egg at the beginning of hatching. For example, an egg weighing 1500 grams produces a chicken weighing 975 grams. If the weight of the egg is more than 15%, the chick will be lighter, and if the weight of the egg is less than 15%, the chick will be heavier.