Livestock Rations

Create a balanced feed ration Design a feeding regimen for lamb, swine, and cattle Describe the difference between nutritionally balanced ration and an economically balanced ration Objectives:

A balanced ration is: A ration is the feed allowed in a 24 hour period, whether it is fed at once or at different periods in a day Contains more than one feed to ensure nutritional requirements are met Furnishes the required nutrients in a proportion so the animal is nourished for the 24 hour period

Feeding Swine: Identify animals to be fed by age, weight, function, and specific conditions under which they are fed Select nutrient requirements and allowances Make ration palatable, safe, economical, and nutritionally balanced Determine fixed amount of vitamins and minerals then mix grains relative to protein supplement to get desired protein level

Feed additives for swine: Used for more than 25 years Increase growth rate and feed utilization Decrease mortality Classified as antibiotics, chemotherapeutics, and anthelmentics(dewormers) Have been thoroughly tested and are increasing in performance

Beef cattle : Fattening Cattle:2.1 lbs. or more of concentrates and dry roughage daily per 100lbs. Concentrates range from less than 1lb to 1.7lbs. or more per 100lbs. Breeding cows:If roughage is low in protein 1lb. Per head daily of protein supplement should be fed along with a small amount of grain

Dairy Cattle: Lactating cows:2.lbs of dry roughage daily per 100lbs of live weight. 2 to 3 lbs of concentrates per head Dairy Heifers:2 to 3 lbs of concentrates per head on good roughage. 4 to 5 lbs on poor roughage. Over a year old 2 to 4 lbs of concentrate on fair roughage

Sheep: Breeding Ewes: good roughage 4-6 weeks before lambing. During 4-6 weeks.5-.75lbs of concentrates per head Nursing ewes: Ewes not on pasture need 1lbs of concentrates per head in addition to roughage Fattening Lambs: 1.5lbs of roughage per day and all the grain they can eat.

Computing cost: Cost of feed per pound = ton price divided by 2000 Multiply the amount by the pounds of feed used per day in the ration Add together the figures for all of the feeds used and divide by the number of animals to get the cost of feed for each animal

Least cost balanced rations: The animals must like the feed to be economical so they stay in good health, grow, fatten, and produce Available lowest cost feeds Use proper proportions of concentrates and roughage in your ration Sometimes a balanced nutrition ration is not the most economical

Web sites: animalscience-extension.tamu.edu