The bird's bean is ... What is it for?

Birds are a special class of animals whose representatives conquered the sky. And for this mother-nature has awarded them with a number of adaptations in the external and internal structure. The streamlined shape of the body, feathers, wings, lack of teeth, hollow bones, the presence of the keel, double breath, rapid metabolism and the presence of goiter helped them in this.

What is an "avian" goiter?

For many, the word "goiter" is associated with the disease, but the goiter in the bird is a special organ that serves as a reservoir for food. It is an enlarged part of the esophagus, dividing it into two parts - the upper and lower. The goiter in the bird is a protrusion of the stomach, which is clearly visible to the naked eye. It is lined with a mucous membrane with glands that secrete a secret. That is why in some people the initial stage of digestion begins in this saccule extension. In birds of the Dove and Fazan family, striated muscles are attached to the goiter, which, when contracted, help the food to move into the glandular stomach.

According to their origin, goiter in birds can be divided into 2 groups:

1. The wall of the esophagus is protruded and a spindle-like reservoir is formed. For example, in hummingbirds, birds of prey.
2. Short and limited from above and from below. For example, in parrots, chicken.

Now you have an idea of what a bird's goiter is. Where is this body? In most birds, it is located on the neck on the right side of the collarbone.

The goiter is well seen in fed chicks. When palpating empty, a healthy goiter is soft, and filled - hard.

Do all birdies have goiter?

The best craw is developed in birds that feed on grain. It is in this part of the digestive system that complex biochemical digestion processes begin. The food first swells, becomes soft and under the influence of its own enzymes and enzymes of saliva, mucus and symbiotic bacteria begins to decompose into its components. So, in this part of the esophagus the primary processing is complex organic substances - proteins, fats and carbohydrates, decaying into their constituents. This is typical for representatives of the order Chicken, Parrots.

For birds that are characterized by a long period of starvation, goiter serves as a repository of food. For predators, this organ, in fact - a garbage bag, because it gets undigested food particles - bones, feathers, chitin, wool. After a certain time, the bird regurgitates them in the form of gadgets - compressed, undigested food.

But there are also such birds, for example, ostriches, penguins, in which goiter is absent altogether. They unite these birds and the fact that they belong to the flightless. The absence of goiter in the ostrich is compensated by a long neck and by the fact that it swallows stones, which helps it digest hard food.

Tours and function

But not only ostriches swallow stones, so, for example, and grouse do it. Tours are stones that help digest hard plant foods. Their birds are found and swallowed together with food. But in some birds these solid particles descend lower into the stomach, into the muscular part, and stay there. That's why the birds that houses are recommended to put sand, small pebbles in a cage. The tours perform the function of teeth, which are absent in modern birds.

Bird's milk - a myth or a reality?

According to legend, birds of paradise fed their chicks with milk. A man who tasted such milk became immune to disease. And does this bird's milk exist?

During the incubation of the chicks, the pigeons undergo changes in the structure of the goiter. So, the epithelial cells degenerate into fatty cells. Then they are rejected and together with the slime form a white curdled liquid. This is bird or goat milk, which the birds feed their offspring for a month in the wild and about two weeks in captivity. Such food, fat and high-calorie, contributes to the rapid development of chicks. Oily milk is formed in both females and males.

Similar products feed their offspring and flamingos, but their bird's milk contains an addition - half-digested food.

Bird's eyeball: why else is it needed?

In pigeons, goiter is also a resonator, which is necessary for cooing, attracting females. He can be seen, he swells during courtship.

Desert birds (fennels) in this bag bring water to their offspring. This is one of the devices for survival in hot and dry climates.

The largest goiter among pelicans, it is in it that birds carry fish - for themselves and chicks.

What is fraught with damage to goiter

The goiter in the bird (protrusion of the stomach) is very important. Especially for vegetarian food and grain. If it is damaged, animals may die. Damage "bag" for food is divided into 2 groups: external (external) and internal.

External injuries most often occur as a result of injury: impact on a hard surface during the flight; Fight with a rival for the female, territory, food; Bites of predators (cats). In this trauma, the integrity of the skin is broken, so food falls out. Such a wound does not completely heal, and the bird, while maintaining its appetite, dies of hunger.

Internal damage can occur due to overfilling goiter swollen food or injury to a sharp object. That is why it is not recommended to feed wild birds with fresh black bread. In this case, the goiter ruptures, and the food from it gets under the skin. The food can be palpated or even seen in the throat area.

With such injuries, birds can be saved if you contact the veterinarian in time, who will perform the operation and apply seams.

Inflammation of the goiter

One of the dangerous diseases that occurs in birds is the inflammation of the goiter. Because of the ingress of pathogenic bacteria or fungi into the body, the normal operation of the goiter glands is disrupted. They begin to produce a large amount of mucus. More often this disease attacks pets that feed on ready-made monotonous grain mixtures due to the lack of vitamin A in them. If the problem is not detected in time and treatment is not started, the infection spreads further, affecting the stomach and intestines. Birds can have diarrhea. Signs of inflammation of goiter are:

• Gray mucus;
• Frequent swallowing movements;
• Regurgitation of food;
• Lowering of temperature;
• lack of appetite;
• An intestinal disorder.

Treatment appoints a doctor, it includes antibiotic therapy and the introduction of vitamin A.

Candidiasis of goiter

This is an inflammation of the throat sac caused by a yeast-like fungus of the genus Candida. With this disease in the bag accumulates fluid with an unpleasant sour-milk smell. The animal does not eat, it loses weight, the feather cover is stained with mucus. Can cope with this disease: goiter massage, antibiotics and probiotics, appointed veterinarian.

Throat goiter

This pathology arises from the stretching of the goiter muscles. It looks like a bag hanging down on the chest, while the muscle fibers lose elasticity. After eating, this organ becomes very noticeable.

This disease can be chronic if the bird often has goitre or due to an irregular diet. Being very hungry, the bird eats a lot and stuffs its bag, muscle fibers stretch and lose elasticity. Even its complete immobility can develop. In pendant goiter, food stays longer than usual, so the process of fermentation begins and accompanies it - gas formation. This all can lead to damage to this body and its rupture. Unfortunately, if a bird has this disease, it is irreversible and incurable.

To prevent this from happening with birds that are kept at home, they should always have food in the food trough. The bird will get used and will not "hammer" a struma.

Yellow goiter or trichomoniasis

This disease is caused by unicellular parasites of Trichomonas. These organisms settle in the pharynx and goiter, the products of their vital activity is slime. It sinks lower into the esophagus and can get into the trachea, causing problems with breathing. When a parasite enters the blood, the internal organs become infected. Outwardly, it is possible to identify such birds: they swallow, swallow feathers, do not eat and, in the end, die.

This disease is transmitted, so patients need to fence off the rest of the birds. Cage, feeder - disinfect, substitute a change, contact individuals are prevented, even if they do not show signs of disease. Since trichomonads can affect a person, care must be taken.

The goiter in the bird (the photo where you see its protrusion, you see in the article) is an integral part of the esophagus, which is necessary for:

• Accumulation of food;
• Digestion;
• Movement of food in the stomach;
• Feeding offspring.

Also goiter can be considered one of the important adaptations of birds to flight, since they need a lot of energy. And its birds receive additionally at splitting of organic substances in a struma. Proof of this can be considered and that flightless birds (ostrich and penguin) are stripped of goiter.

The state of health of the throat sac in birds should be monitored constantly, because it is part of the digestive system. Minor, not to mention pathological, changes lead, as a rule, to the death of a bird.