What type of digestive system do chickens have?

• A. Avian
• B. Mammalian
• C. Ruminant
• D. Reptilian

Answer: (A)

Chickens have an avian digestive system, a specialized bird-type tract. Birds don’t have teeth; instead, food moves from the esophagus into a storage crop, then into the glandular stomach (proventriculus) where enzymes start digestion, and on to the muscular gizzard (ventriculus) that grinds food with grit. Nutrients are absorbed in the small intestine, and waste can pass out through the cloaca, with some birds also having ceca for fermentation. This setup is distinct from a mammalian system, which uses a true stomach with teeth and different digestion processes, and it isn’t ruminant, which relies on a four-chomach fermentation system, nor reptilian, which has its own different digestive arrangement. So the correct type is avian.