Morphometric Study of the Digestive System of Vanraja and CARI Shyama

CARI Shyama and Vanaraja are dual-purpose hybrids of poultry, used by the Department of Animal Husbandry (C.G.) to improve the livelihood of tribal peoples. The digestive system plays an important role in productivity, so to explore the gross, histomorphological, and histochemical characteristics of digestive system, the present investigation was undertaken. The experiment was conducted on sixty apparently healthy birds belonging to three different age groups viz. group 1 (day-old chicks), group 2 (8-week-old growers), and group 3 (16-week-old pullets). Tissues collected from these birds were subjected to gross, histomorphological and histochemical studies by employing Haematoxylin and Eosin, Van Geison¿s, Gomori¿s, Verhoeff¿s, PAS and PAS Alcian blue staining techniques. Body weight was significantly higher in growers and pullets of Vanaraja. The length of the intestine was significantly greater in chicks (31.4 ± 0.79 cm) and pullets (122.1 ± 1.40 cm) of Vanaraja. The diameter of the intestine significantly varied in different age groups of both breeds. The pancreas was composed of three lobes and significantly more weight was noticed in chicks (0.074 ± 0.0003 g) of CARI Shyama.