Animals/Poultry Nutrition

Feed formulation for ruminants involves creating a balanced diet that meets the nutritional requirements of the animals based on factors such as age, weight, physiological status, production goals, and available feed ingredients. Here are the general steps for feed formulation of ruminants: 1. Identify Nutritional Requirements: Determine the nutritional requirements of the target ruminant species…

Maintaining the quality of ingredients during storage is crucial to ensure the nutritional value, safety, and efficacy of feed formulations. Proper storage practices help prevent deterioration, contamination, and spoilage of feed ingredients, which can affect animal health, performance, and profitability. Here are some key strategies for maintaining the quality of ingredients during storage: 1. Environmental…

A Total Mixed Ration (TMR) is a complete feed for ruminant animals, such as dairy cows, beef cattle, sheep, and goats, which is formulated to provide a balanced diet that meets their nutritional requirements. Unlike traditional feeding methods where animals are offered separate components like grains, forages, and supplements separately, a TMR combines all feed…

During the storage of feed ingredients, various physical and chemical changes can occur, which may affect the quality, nutritional value, and shelf life of the feed. These changes can result from factors such as moisture content, temperature, oxygen exposure, microbial activity, and interactions between feed components. Here are some common physical and chemical changes that…

Calculating Mineral Balance in Animals and Quantity to be Fed to meet Requirement A farmer fed 20ppm mineral in diet 5ppm appears in the feces, what would be the mineral balance for that Animal? Let’s calculate the mineral balance: Mineral intake = 20 ppm (parts per million) = 20 mg/kg (milligrams per kilogram) of feed…

1. Mycotoxins: Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by molds (fungi) that grow on feed ingredients before or after harvest. Common mycotoxins include aflatoxins, ochratoxins, fumonisins, deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone, and ergot alkaloids. Mycotoxin contamination can occur in grains, cereals, oilseeds, and other feed ingredients during storage, transportation, or processing. 2. Pesticides and Herbicides: Residues of…