Animal Nutrition 

Paper 1

1. Concepts
   • Ruminant: Animal with a complex/compound stomach [eg. Cattle, Sheep, Goats]
   • Non-ruminant (monogastric): Animal with a single/simple stomach [eg. Pigs, Poultry, Horses]
   • Rumination: The process of bringing back the cud/bolus food into the mouth for re- chewing, re-insalivation and re-swallowing.
   • Peristalsis: The movement of food through the alimentary canal / rhythmic contraction and relaxation of muscles of the alimentary canal.
   • Retroperistalsis /regurgitation: The bringing back of food from the stomach to the mouth cavity.
   • Chyme : The contents of the stomach
   • Chyle: The contents of the small intestines
   • Biological value (BV): The quality of proteins in the feed.
2. Diagrams. Possible diagrams.
   1. Alimentary canal for a pig
      Carefully take note of the main parts of the alimentary canal of a pig and locate their functions in the process of digestion.
      
   2. Alimentary canal for poultry
      Attempt to label all labeled parts and the functions of D, H and N.
      
   3. Alimentary canal for cattle
      Identify all labeled parts and supply functions for C, D, L,
      
   4. Process of rumination
      This process is critical in ruminants. It ensures that food ingested is properly chewed and re-swallowed for chemical digestion to continue.
      
3. Calculations
   NB: In all calculations, don’t forget to use a calculator.
   1. Digestibility coefficient:
      Note the formula and the calculations for digestibility coefficient
      Digestibility coefficient t= (Feed intake – moisture) – DM Excreted X 100
                                                           (Feed intake - moisture)
      OR
      Digestibility coefficient = Dry matter intake – Dry matter of manure X 100
                                                           Dry matter intake
      E.g. A cow eats 10kg of maize with a 10% moisture content and excreted 4kg of dry matter
      = 9 kg – 4 kg X 100
                9 kg
      = 5 kg x 100
         9 kg
      = 500 kg
          9 kg
      = 55,6 % (56 % )
   2. Nutritive ratio (NR) Note the following:
      • Know the Definition of Nutritive Ratio
        NR is defined as a ratio used to determine the protein content of feed for animals
      • Know the formula of NR
      • Interpretation/implication of the Narrow and Wide ratios
        NR = 1: % Non-nitrogen substances
                     % Digestible Protein (DP)
        OR
        NR = 1: %Total digestible nutrient (TDN) - %Digestible protein (DP)
                                               % Digestible Protein (DP)
        Calculate the NR— 
        1. Maize has a TDN of 80% and DP of 10%
        2. Soya bean has a TDN of 72% and DP of 12%
        3. Oats has a TDN of 95% and DP of 5%
           NR =1: 80 - 10
                          10
           = 1:70
                10
           = 1:7 (Wide NR) above 1:6 .Suitable for Maintenance( more carbohydrates and less proteins)
           NB IF NR is 1:5 or less(Narrow NR) the feed is Suitable for growth , production and reproduction(MORE Proteins and Less carbohydrates).
   3. Pearson square
      A Pearson square is used to balance rations. If for instance, a farmer has got Sorghum meal that contains 13% digestible protein (DP) and oilcake meal with digestible protein content of 23% . The farm animals kept require 17% digestible protein (DP), then the calculation for balancing the rations is done as follows: