Physiology & behavior
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Physiology & behavior · Aug 1992
The influence of the stomach on crop function and feeding behavior in domestic turkeys.
We tested the hypotheses that motility of the crop and muscular stomach are coordinated and that the stomach exerts primary control over crop filling and emptying in domestic turkeys. Simultaneous recordings of motility of the crop, esophagus, and stomach with implanted strain gauge transducers and visual observations of food passage using image intensification radiography revealed an inverse relationship between the frequency of stomach and crop contractions. ⋯ Artificially filling the crop of fasted turkeys prior to the first morning meal did not decrease the amount of feeding activity or the total amount of food consumed during that meal. It is suggested that meal termination is associated with the degree of inhibition of esophageal peristalsis.