PRAIRIE FARMER'S POULTRY BOOK 



10. Cloaca, an enlarged pouch at the end of the large intestine. 

 This receives the waste matter from the raw material and urates from 

 the kidneys and discharges them through the vent. 



11. Vent. 



12. Pancreas, as stated, lies in the fold of the duodenum. It secretes 

 the pancreatic juice, a digestive fluid which has three ferments, each of 

 which performs an important ofifice in digestion. The trypsin changes 

 the albumin to peptone, the amylopsin changes starch to glucose, and 

 the steapsin acts upon the fat to emulsify it. 



13. Unabsorbed yoUs. 



Other digestive organs are : 



The liver, a large, soft, glandular organ lying between the h^art 

 and gizzard. It is a very important organ of digestion. It acts upon 

 the peptone which comes to it from the intestines through the portal 

 circulation. The peptone is converted back to albumin and thus pre- 

 pared to become a constituent part of the blood and ready for assimila- 

 tion by the cells throughout the body. The liver also changes the 

 glucose into glycogen, which is taken up by the blood and is oxidized 

 as it is carried onward in the circulation, thus giving heat and energy 

 to the body. The liver also performs an important function in destroy- 

 ing disease germs and eliminating poisons which may come to it through 

 the portal circulation. The liver secretes the bile, which is collected 

 in a sac known as the gall sac, whence it is conveyed by the bile duct 

 to the duodenum. The bile plays an important role in digestion, for 

 it not only lubricates the walls of the intestine but aids the other di- 

 gestive fluids in performing their work. 



Thus we see that the digestive system is a marvelous piece 

 of machinery. It is concerned with softening, grinding, dis- 

 solving, and digesting by certain chemical changes, absorbing 

 and assimilating the raw material. A knowledge of its organs, 

 their mode of work, and their functions, is very vital to the 

 poultry keeper. If these organs function properly, are provided 

 with the elements needed for the up-building of the body, as 

 well as their own recuperation, all goes well — the fowl is 

 healthy and production continues. Otherwise there are dis- 

 turbances throughout the factory, and fatal diseases may 

 follow. The whole problem of feeding and maintaining health 

 in the flock hangs very largely upon this knowledge. 



The Reproductive System 



This system is concerned in the perpetuation of the species. 

 It produces the egg which contains the living primordial cell 

 from which the new individual is to spring. 



The organs of the reproductive system are the ovary, 

 oviduct and the cloaca. 



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