Ostrich Nutrient Requirements

*Complete diets/ to be adjusted if water supply is high in mineral content	Starter	Grower	Finisher	Breeder	Maintenance
Bird age (weeks)	0-8	8-24	24-final		Adult Birds Start in moderate condition
ME Poultry (mj/kg)	12	11	9	8.5	7.0
ME Ostrich (mj/kg)				10.0	9.3
Protein (g/kg)	200	160	140	160	120-140
Lysine (g/kg)	12	8.5	6.0	7.7	5.0
Methionine (g/kg)	5.0	3.6	2.5	3.4	2.1
Sulphur Amino acids (g/kg	8.6	6.4	4.5	7.5	5.6
Isoleucine (g\kg)	7.7	5.6	4.0	6.6	4.7
Tryptophane (g\kg	2.2	1.5	1.2	1.5	0.8
Valine (g\kg)	9.0	6.5	4.6	7.5	5.3
Fibre (Max) (g/kg)	80	120	150	160	300
Roughage (Good quality) minimum inclusion %	5.0	15.0	20.0	35.0	40.0
Calcium (g/kg)	10-12	10-12	10-12	30*	8-12
Phosphorus (g/kg)	7.0	6.0	6.0	7.0	5.0
Intakes kg/day				2.0-2.5	2.3

		Recommended Vitamin - Mineral additions
		Ostrich Grower		Ostrich Breeder
		Premix/tonfeed	Feed / kg	Premix/ton feed	Feed / kg
Vit A	iu	12 000 000	12000	15 000 000	15000
Vit D3	iu	3 000 000	3000	2 500 000	2500
Vit E	iu	40 000	40	30 000	30
Vit K	mg	3 000	3	3 000	3
Vit B1	mg	3 000	3	2 000	2
Vit B2	mg	8 000	8	8 000	8
Niacin	mg	60 000	60	45 000	45
Calcium Pantothenate	mg	14 000	14	18 000	18
Vit B12	mg	100	.1	100	.1
Vit B6	mg	4 000	4	4 000	4
Choline	mg	600 000	600	500 000	500
Folic acid	mg	2 000	2	1 000	1
Biotin	mg	150	.15	100	.1
Manganese	mg	120 000	120	120 000	120
Zinc	mg	90 000	90	90 000	90
Copper	mg	5 000	5	5 000	5
Iodine	mg	50	.05	50	.05
Cobalt	mg	100	.1	100	.1
Iron	mg	35 000	35	35 000	35
Magnesium	mg	50 000	50	40 000	40
Selenium	mg	30	.3	30	.3

True Metabolizable energy values, corrected for nitrogen retention, of some commonly used ingredients were published by Cilliers (1995) in his doctoral thesis. See Table 1.1

Table 1.1:

Ingredient	Ostriches	Roosters
Yellow Maize	15.06 ±0.228	14.42 ±0.557
Lucerne (Alfalfa) Hay	8.91 ±0.119	4.03 ±1.118
Wheat Bran	11.91 ±0.221	8.55 ±0.375
Sunflower Oilcake	10.79 ±0.278	8.89 ±0.494
Soya Oilcake	13.44 ±0.173	9.04 ±0.642
Saltbush hay	7.09 ±0.238	4.50 ±0.271
Fishmeal	15.13 ±0.315	13.95 ±0.190