Today, we will be talking about feeding systems of farm animals. This is important because beyond those who need this information for academic research, there are farmers who need to also have this knowledge.
They need to have idea about the possible feeding systems of farm animals as this will help them in planning and budgeting the farm. It will also help them in giving their animals balanced diet.
Animal feed is an important input to animal agriculture and is frequently the main cost of raising animal
What is Animal feed?
It is good grown or developed for livestock and poultry, by carefully selecting and blending ingredients to provide highly nutritional diets that both quality of such end products as meat, milk or eggs.
Main types of feeding systems for farm animals
Roughage and Forage or concentrates.
Forage is a plant material [mainly plant leaves and stems] eaten by grazing livestock. Examples includes: Hay(grass or other plants,such as clover or alfalfa,cut and dried for fodder) or Silage,also called ensilage (forage plants such as corn,legumes and grasses that been cut and stored in pits or trenches for use as animal feed).
Factors to be considered when preparing feed for farm animals:
- Age of the Animal.
- Animal species.
- Physiological status of the animal .
- Chemical composition of the feedstuff.
- Availability of feed ingredients.
- Price of feedstuff.
Nutrients for animals include: crude protein, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins,fats and oil and water.
Sources of feed nutrient for farm animals:
Cereal e.g maize,rice , wheat etc
Roots and tubers e.g yam, cassava, potatoes etc
Pasture,fodder,browse plants,Agro-industrial by-product,crop residues.
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