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 stomach of a fasted turkey with a food slurry prior to feeding did not increase crop filling during the first morning meal, but it did inhibit crop emptying in fasted turkeys by markedly reducing the number of 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.