Feedstuffs

1. Feedstuffs Swine, Sheep and Goat nutrition

2. 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

3. Eight Classes of Feedstuffs • Dry roughages • Pasture and range grasses • Ensiled roughages • High energy concentrates • Protein sources • Minerals • Vitamins • additives

4. 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 • Ex: • Hay: alfalfa or grass • Straw and chaff • Corn cobs

5. 2. Pasture and Range Grasses • Grazed plants • Dormant plants • Growing plants

6. 3. Silages and Haylages • Fermented, high moisture feed made from the entire plant, stored in silos • corn, sorghum • Grass, grass-legume, legume

7. 4. High Energy Concentrate • Cereal grains ( milling byproducts of cereal grains) • Beet and citrus pulp • Molasses • Animal, marine, vegetable fats • Roots and tubers

8. 5. Protein Supplements Contain > 20% crude protein • Animal, avian, marine sources • Milk and by-products • Legume seeds • Urea

9. 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

10. 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

11. Estimating Nutritional Value of a Feed • Goal: estimate how well nutrients in feedstuff matches the animals needs Three methods for estimating • Chemical analysis • Digestion and balance trials • Feeding trials

12. 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

13. 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

14. Feeding Trials • Used extensively • Usually done before chemical analysis or digestion and balance trials • Can evaluate growth, egg production, wool or milk production

15. Break Time!! • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6Jw7ml7s8Q

16. 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

17. 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

18. Energy Source Feedstuffs in Swine • Cereal grains ( especially corn) • Damaged grains • Grain by-products • Purified sugars ( sucrose, lactose for piglets) • Fat (animal and vegetable fats)

19. Swine Nutrition- protein and amino acids • Pigs need 10 essential amino acids to maintain tissues • 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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 • Green pastures, soybean meal, cottonseed meal, alfalfa hay, urea ( sometimes)

25. 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

26. 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

27. Goat feeding behavior • Confinement feeding- will pick and choose • 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.Will sometimes defoliate one type of plant.

28. 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 • Lactation increases needs

29. Goat nutrition- energy • 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

30. Goat nutrition- 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

31. 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 magnesium

32. 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