Peculiarities of mineral metabolism in birds in the reproductive period

Abstract

In birds during the reproductive period, calcium metabolism occurs about 20 times faster than in mammals, and calcium is extracted from the blood almost 5 times faster. During the first 3-4 weeks, the formation of a vertebrate animal in the fertilized egg occurs without any nutrients from the mother's body. Extrauterine embryonic development of the bird is possible only due to the high balance in the egg of nutrients, including minerals. Sources of mineral elements for the embryo are all components of the egg - yolk, protein and shell. Over 80% of the calcium in the embryo comes from the shell. This indicates the need for strict control over the mineral usefulness of the breeding egg used for incubation.