Animal Food and Feeding Practices

What we are covering this week… Nutritional value of feed Digestibility Feed requirements of maintenance, growth, pregnancy and lactation

Task Collect a hand out and glue it in your book We will fill in each of the sections of the food triangle for animal feed

Water 80% of the weight of an animal Water is needed for animal systems to function. Substances must dissolve in water before being used by the body. Helps control body temperature

Protein Found in clover and legumes All animals need protein to repair damaged tissues Pregnant animals need protein to build body tissue for the growing foetus. Young animals need protein for growth

Carbohydrates Broken down into starch and sugars Starch is then broken down to glucose that can be absorbed into the bloodstream. This is used by the cells for respiration to gain energy Glucose

Vitamins and Minerals Required in small amounts to maintain animal health and vitality These are often supplied in supplements

Brainstorm What are some factors that influence how much food you eat? What are some factors that influence how much food animals eat?

The amount of food and animals required depends on: 1.Age Young animals require large amounts of protein to build muscle and bone tissue and carbs to provide energy. Older animals need less because they have stopped growing

The amount of food and animals required depends on: 2. Breed and Sex The larger the breed the more food it requires. Pregnant and lactating females require much more carbs and protein to support the development of offspring and producing milk.

The amount of food and animals required depends on: 3. Stress Animals that become stressed will change their feeding requirements. – e.g. If the weather is hot, lambs with eat less grass and drink more. – If an animal is sick, it will go off its feed and does not grow efficiently.

Types of Animal Food 3 Main types of animal food: – Roughages – hay and straw – Succulents – green feed (pasture, silage) and roots (swede, kale) – Concentrates – proteins and carbs (Oats, Barley, Maize and Nuts)

Task Read the information on ‘Silage’ and answer the questions that follow

Do now 1.Why is water an important part of an animals diet? 2.What are 2 factors that can influence the amount of feed an animal eats? 3.What is an example of a succulent used to feed animals? 4. Hay is an example of what type of animal feed?

Dry Matter Dry matter is the solid component of feed, basically what is left when all the water is removed – High in dry mater = low in water – Low in dry matter = high in water

Digestibility The digestibility of a feed determines the amount that is actually absorbed by an animal and therefore the availability of nutrients for growth, reproduction etc. – High digestibility – most of feed is digested and absorbed into the blood → increased weight gain or milk production – Low digestibility – takes longer/more energy to break down → maintenance feed

Feed Analysis FoodDigestible energy Dry matter% protein% fibre pasture hay silage swedes maize

Task Complete the worksheet ‘Feed Types’

Types of Feed Summary Type of Food Fibre Content ProteinDigestibilityMoisture Roughages High Low None Succulents Low High ConcentratesLow High Low

Do now Pasture is regarded as having a higher food value than barley straw. Describe 2 features of pasture that give it a higher food value than barley straw.

Feed programs Farmers must manage their available feed carefully This can be influenced by certain times of the year -Winter – when pasture (grass) growth is slow -Break feed (strip graze) and give extra silage -Drought – grass growth limited -Feed out grain or other concentrates -Mating time (tupping) – females need increased weight -Feed out extra concentrates (nuts)

Grazing techniques Note: Intensive grazing is a form of strip grazing – it is more commonly performed in a full width of a paddock in NZ

Supplementary Feeding When extra feed is provided it is called supplementary feed (e.g. silage, palm kernel, hay, sheep nuts) New foods must be introduced gradually to ensure that there are enough microbes built up in the gut to digest the food

Feed Requirements over the year Feed requirements vary throughout the year, during periods of maintenance, growth, pregnancy and lactation

Produce lots of milk to feed lambs so the lambs grow quickly Flushing - Lamb in good condition Gain weight to increase ovulation rate and lambing %

Beef Cattle and Sheep Feeding Requirements Maintenance – just need enough feed to maintain body weight Growth – feed needs to have a high energy value (high carbs) so there is excess energy available for growth Pregnancy - higher quality feed (high protein and carbs). Break feed leafy pasture and supplement with hay to reduce risk of birthing issues Lactation – lots of leafy pasture to maximise milk production for fast growth rates of lambs/calves when weaned and sold

Task Complete the worksheet “Feed changes over the year”

Questions 1.Why should feed high in protein and carbohydrates be feed to cows/sheep mid - late in pregnancy? 2.Why is it important not to overfeed pregnant sheep/cows? 3.What feeding practice could a farmer use to increase milk production in dairy cows?

Do now

Dairy Cows Feeding practices are aimed at increasing milk production (August – March) – Lots of leafy pasture – Supplementary feed (grains, silage etc) Late pregnancy (May – July) – restrict intake by break feeding Over winter – maintenance feed

Hand-Rearing Read the information on hand rearing animals. Write the order of feed that a farmer would feed to hand-reared calves Answer the following questions: 1.What is colostrum and why is it important? 2.Why can’t calves eat grass straight after they are born? 3.Why can’t calves just drink milk until they are adults?

Hand-Rearing Order of feeding of calves: – colostrum – whole milk – whole milk and calf meal (Moozley) – whole milk, calf meal and leafy pasture – calf meal and leafy pasture – leafy pasture