FeedstuffsLarge Animal NutritionSwine, Sheep and Goat nutrition

Feedstuffs

Definition- any component of a diet ( ration) that serves some useful function

Functions- Provide source of nutrients and energy*- Combined to produce rations- Modify characteristics of diet** Denotes a primary functions

International Feed ID System

•System for classifying feedstuffs based on descriptive characteristics

•Based on the primary nutrient provided by the feedstuff

•Each feedstuff is assigned an International Feed Number ( IFN)

Eight Classes of Feedstuffs

1. Dry roughages2. Pasture and range grasses3. Ensiled roughages4. High energy concentrates5. Protein sources6. Minerals7. Vitamins8. additives

1. Dry Roughages

•Bulky feed that has low weight per unit volume

•High crude fiber content, low protein and fat digestibility

•A feed is classified as a roughage if it contains >18% crude fiber and <70% total digestible nutrients

Dry Roughage Examples

•Hay: legume ( alfalfa), grass legume, non-legume

•Straw and chaff•Corn cobs•Cottenseed hulls•Sugarcane byproducts•Paper and wood byproducts

2. Pasture and Range Grasses

•Grazed plants- Dormant plants- Growing plants•Soilage or greenchop•Cannery and food crop residues

3. Silages and Haylages

•Fermented, high moisture feed made from the entire plant, stored in silos

- corn, sorghum- Grass, grass-legume, legume

4. High Energy Concentrate

•Cereal grains ( milling byproducts of cereal grains)

•Beet and citrus pulp•Molasses•Animal, marine, vegetable fats•Roots and tubers

5. Protein Supplements

Contain > 20% crude protein•Animal, avian, marine sources•Milk and by-products•Legume seeds•Brewery and distillery by-products•Urea, ammonia

6. Mineral supplements 7. Vitamin supplements•Must be added by sources that animal is

able to absorb•Vitamin concentration in plants and

animal tissues varies greatly•Plants: vitamin concentration affected by

harvesting, processing and storing•Animals: liver and kidney are good

sources of most vitamins

8. Additives

Non-nutritive ingredients added to stimulate growth or performance or improve the efficiency of feed

•Added in very small quantities•Antibiotics, antifungals, antimicrobials•Probiotics, buffers•Colors, flavors•Hormones, enzymes

Estimating Nutritional Value of a Feed

•Goal: estimate how well nutrients in feedstuff matches the animals needs

Three methods for estimating1. Chemical analysis2. Digestion and balance trials3. Feeding trials

Chemical Analysis

•Subdivides the components of the feedstuff into general groups ( protein, water, carbohydrates, lipids, minerals, vitamins) to estimate the relative amount present

•Problem: doesn’t estimate how well the animal utilizes the feed

Digestion and Balance Trials

•Measures the digestibility of feed•Feed consumption and fecal excretion are

measured over period of time•Problem: not a true measure because

feces contain sloughed cells and tissue

Feeding Trials

•Used extensively•Usually done before chemical analysis or

digestion and balance trials•Can evaluate growth, egg production,

wool or milk production

Swine Nutrion

•Porcine•Monogastric omnivores•Sow- adult female•Boar- adult male•Piglet – young Farrow- to give birth•Gilt- sexually mature female, no litter yet•Barrow- castrated male

Swine Nutrition- Water•Neonates- 80% water, finishing pigs 55%

water•Requirement is influenced by many factors (

environment, moisture content of food, urine output etc)

•General guidelines- 1-1 ½ quarts of water per 1 lb of feed consumed

•Lactating sows require more water•Water quality affects it, high TDS>diarrhea,

high sulfates should be avoided

Swine Nutrition- Energy

•Required for buildup of lean and fat tissue•Nursing pigs- most energy from fat and

sugar in milk•Growing pigs- most energy from cereal

grains•Sows and finishing pigs- some energy

from VFA ( volatile fatty acids) from large intestine

•Amount of feed consumed ad libitum is controlled by energy content of diet

Energy Source Feedstuffs in Swine•Cereal grains ( especially corn)•Damaged grains•Grain by-products•Purified sugars ( sucrose, lactose for

piglets)•Fat ( tallows, animal and vegetable fats)•Processed food waste

Swine Nutrition- protein and amino acids• Pig carcasses contain about 50% muscle,

~ 8% of the whole body is edible protein• Pigs need 10 essential amino acids to

maintain tissues• Phenylalanine, valine, tryptophan,

threonine, isoleucine, methionine, histidine, arginine, leucine and lysine

• Lysine is the first limiting amino acid, high requirements but low content in feedstuff like corn

Protein cont

•Most porcine diets are based on corn and soybean meal, corn is low in lysine

•Amino acid requirements for protein accretion is higher than for maintenance

•Plant protein sources: soybeans•Animal proteins: byproducts of meat

packing, fish meal and dried milk•Bacteria and synthetic amino acids

Swine Minerals

• Ca/P- limestone and oyster shells• NaCl- inadequate amounts suppress feed

intake• I- require supplementation, soybean and

grain deficient• Fe- injected in piglets, milk deficient, lasts

3 weeks• Mg- usually present in diet• Z – supplemented to prevent parakeratosis

Swine Vitamins• Vit A- supplemented due to def. in corn,

breaks down with processing, dehydrated alfalfa is a good source

• VitD – absent in feedstuffs, expose to sunlight or use sun-cured hays or fish oils in diet

• Vit E- req throughout life, legume hay, green forage, cereal grains

• Vit K- synthesized in hind gut fermentation (need access to feces), supplement in confinement

Vitamin, mineral and additives for swine•Minerals- trace mineral salt•Vitamins- alfalfa meal, fermentation by-

products, animal protein•Additives- antibiotics, anthelmintics etc

Swine Nutritional Diseases

•Amino acid deficiency- anemia, edema, immunocompromise, impaired growth

•Parakeratosis- occurs between, the 6-16th week, from low zinc, high calcium diet, bilateral abnormal keratinization of the skin forming horny scales, starts as brown spots on abdomen

Swine feeding management

•Pre- breeding- gilt bred at 7-8 mos, flushing- 1-2 weeks prior to breeding to increase ovulation and litter size, also add antibiotics

•Gestation- normal nutritional needs for first two trimesters. Majority of growth in last month. Overweight sows are more likely to crush piglets

•Farrowing- laxative of wheat bran or dried beet pulp, 10-15% of diet, high antibiotics

Nutrition cont

•Lactation- requirements 3-4 times higher than during gestation (12-16 lbs fed daily); produce 2.5lbs milk per piglet. If restricted, bone fractures or paralysis can occur

•Nursing pigs- all nutrients from sow during first 2 weeks. High nutrient requirements are all met by milk, must supplement iron ( injection) begin eating dry food at 2 weeks

Sheep Nutrition

•Ovine•Ruminant herbivores•Ewe- female of reproductive age•Ram- intact male of reproductive age•Lamb- young of either sex•Wether- neutered adult male•Mutton- meat derived from adult sheep

Water

•Limiting nutrient in many areas•Quality more important to sheep than any

other livestock species ( odor, bacteria, minerals)

•Intake influenced by feed, vegetation, protein intake, environmental temperature, rain, dew and snowfall

Water requirements

•1 gallon per 4 lbs of dry feed consumed•More water when air temp is > 70F•Less intake if water temp is <40 or > 50F•Lower requirement with daily rain, heavy

dew or soft wet snow•Lower requirement when eating silage,

succulent or range forage

Energy for Sheep

•Insufficient energy from low intake or poor quality feed

•Energy deficiency reduces growth, fertility, wool quality, death

•High energy needs:- Immediately before and after lambing - Flushing ewes and rams for breeding- Finishing lambs

Energy feedstuffs for Sheep

•Good quality pasture, hay, silage•Grains: barley, corn, wheat, oats and milo•Precautions when feeding wheat grain-

lambs susceptible to acute indigestion

Sheep nutrition- protein

•Usually quantity is more important than quality due to bacterial conversion in rumen

•Microbial protein synthesis supplies protein needs except when lactating or very young lambs

•Add extra protein feeds when pastures are mature or when feeding creep rations

Protein source feedstuffs for sheep•Green pastures, soybean meal, cottonseed

meal, alfalfa hay, urea ( sometimes)\•Urea levels: <1% of total ration•No urea in young lambs, creep rations,

straw, poor quality hay or lambs on limited feed

Minerals for sheep

•NaCl- usually provided ½ to ¾ lb per ewe/month

•Ca/P- highest need during lactation, provide leafy legumes for Ca, grains for P

•I in salt, Co in legumes•Se- narrow margin of safety, deficiency

leads to white muscle disease•Zinc- needed for normal testicular

development

Vitamins for sheep

•Vit A- can store excess for 6-12 months•Vit D- fast growing lambs kept inside may

show problems•Vit E- low selenium leads to Vit E

deficiency•Vit K- synthesized in rumen•Vit C- synthesized by tissues

Vitamin and mineral feedstuffs

Vitamins- green feeds, germs of seeds, sun- cured hay

Minerals- leafy legumes, grains, trace mineral salt mix

Sheep nutritional diseases

•Enterotoxemia type D- intestinal toxins present in blood, caused by stress and sudden diet changes, vaccinate lambs prior to weaning

•Urinary calculi- common in rams and wethers in drylot, results from Ca/P ration imbalance and decreased water intake

Sheep Feed Management

•Pre-breeding- ewe is flushed for 4-6 weeks, 2 weeks prior to breeding and continuing for 2-3 weeks after breeding. Flushed either on high quality pasture or ¼ to ½ lb of grain or pellets per day. Treat for internal parasites and trim hooves

•Gestation- 70% of fetal growth happens in the last 6 weeks of gestation

•Late pregnancy feed requirement- 50% more feed if single lamb- 75% more feed if twin lambs- Add grain to high roughage diet for more

energy•Lactation- max milk production 2-3 weeks

post parturition. Feed three times her maintenance requirement, must increase protein to make milk

•Nursing lambs- born with on functioning rumen. Colostrum is a must within first 12-18 hours. If no ewe colostrum, can use fresh cow colostrum. Creep feeding used for early weaning and getting lambs to market

Goat Nutrition

•Caprine•Ruminant herbivores•Doe- female buck- intact male•Kid- baby goat of either sex•Wether- castrated male•Inquisitive feeding behavior•Raised for meat, milk, fiber and hides

Goat feeding behavior

•Confinement feeding- will pick and choose- This leads to1. Composition of consumed diet differs

from formulated diet2. Goats will eat more if they have more to

select, so offer less feed to force them to choose more of the desired diet

•Range feeding- active forager, browses all plant types including trees, shrubs, grasses creating a browse line. Will sometimes defoliate one type of plant. Goats grazing hilly terrain have higher energy requirements than those on level terrain

Goat nutrition- water

•Requirements- Intake is related to feed intake and feed

intake correlates to productivity- Free access to good quality water- More sensitive to water quality, won’t

touch urine or feces contaminated water- Lactation increases needs

Goat nutrition- energy

•Wide variances among breed, productivity, production and size

•Mostly from carbs and low levels or fat ( high fat inhibits rumen fermentation)

•Excess fat is stored in the body around internal organs

•Consume more dry matter than other livestock species

Energy source feedstuffs for goats•Forages- alfalfa hay, bermuda grass hay•Grains- corn, sorghum, oats•Other- molasses

Goat nutrion- protein

•Most expensive component of diet•Needed to support rumen fermentation

and supply amino acids•Unlike fat, excess is not stored•Vary with developmental stage•Protein feedstuffs for goats: soybean

meal, fish meal, cottonseed meal, sunflower meal

Goat nutrition- minerals

•Ca/P – needed for bone and milk production

•Phosphorus is met with high diet selectivity

•Only salt should be provided free choice•Lush pasture deficient in magnesiou

Goat nutrition- vitamins

•Only vitamin A is likely to be deficient•Occurs in confinement fed goats in dry

cold weather•Occurs in range fed goats when

vegetation contains little or no green plant material

Goat nutritional diseases

•Enterotoxemia- can occur after high intake of immature succulent forage. Toxin is produced by Clostridium perfringens type D

•Urinary calculi- can occur when Ca and P rations are unbalanced