Marked differences in the splanchnometry of farm-bred and wild red-legged partridges (Alectoris rufa L.)

Relative weights of heart, spleen, pancreas, and liver and the relative lengths of the small intestine and the cecum were taken from 40 farm-bred and 43 wild juvenile red-legged partridges (Alectoris rufa Linnaeus) in central Spain. Expressed as a ratio to head and body length, farm-bred partridges had lighter hearts (17% lighter), spleens (78%), and livers (29%) and shorter small intestines (15%) and cecae (20%), than wild birds of the same age. When expressed as a ratio to body weight, farm-bred juvenile red-legged partridges had lighter hearts (12%) and livers (23%) and shorter small intestines (9%) and cecae (12%) than wild partridges. Those differences might have been produced by diet differences (such as fiber-poor, high-energy feeds used on farms) and may affect the survival of farm-bred partridges after release.