THE EFFECT OF DISEASES ON FOOD CONSUMPTION AND WEIGHT GAIN IN CAPTIVE COMMON BUZZARDS (Buteo buteo)

Abstract

Disease conditions invariably affect the activities and physiology of common buzzards irrespective of whether they are non-infectious or infectious. The impact of these diseases is further compounded by the stress of captivity in rehabilitation facilities. The aim of the study is to relate weight gain and food consumption to disease conditions in common buzzard. Fifty common buzzards were studied in five batches of 10 birds at a time. The absolute quantity of meat consumed was recorded after taking cognizance of the moisture lost by evaporation. Birds with infectious, non-infectious and those with both non-infectious and infectious diseases on the average consumed 111.9g, 116.6g and 110.3g of food daily, while their weight gain was 18.8%, 12.2% and 17.6% respectively. There were only slight differences in the amount of food consumed and percentage weight gained by the 3 categories of birds.