Dr. Aichi J. Kitalyi
I read with keen interest the paper on estimation of feed intake and digestibility by scavenging chickens. May the author, Dr. A. O. Ajuyah, respond to the following questions/remarks?

1. Is it possible to use the method to estimate feed intake of scavenging chickens without killing the birds?

2. Can we have more data from the work, e.g. the relationships of the different variables measured as shown in the following table?

Visualization of the raw data collected:

See Table

Dr. Asifo O. Ajuyah
would like to thank Dr. Aichi J. Kitalyi for her comments.

In response to your questions:
Yes, it is not possible to use the method as presented without slaughtering the second pair of chickens. This is necessary to obtain the crop and ileal digester content for digestibility studies. The crop content is an indirect estimate for feed intake which is impossible to obtain under scavenging conditions.

Your visualization table is quite innovative and interesting, there should be another row for total faecal output. I am sorry that I cannot provide any raw data at this stage.

The time sequence used on your table is based on the following premise:

The length of time that feed ingested by the chicken will take from the mouth (inlet) to the cloaca (outlet) is a function of the rate of "emptiness or fullness" of the crop and gizzard, which is dependent on feed texture. The passage might normally take 2-4 hours to empty the alimentary tract. However, this passage is expected to be longer for scavenging chickens because of feed texture (coarse, whole grain, etc.), which requires extra grinding time.

I hope I have answered your questions.

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