Small Animals - How to Prepare Feed

The main focus of this lesson is to help you learn the nutritional value of available crops as well as the nutritional requirements for the species to be raised in order to prepare a good animal feed.

 

Objective

The rural family or student will learn the nutritional requirements for the different species to be raised in the model farm, as well as the nutritional value of the foods available for their use. This information will enable them to balance and created better diets for the animals in their farms.

Preparations

1. The family will prepare a table with the necessary nutritional requirements for the species to be raised. This table will include the requirements for: protein, energy, calcium, phosphorous, and salt. For this work we recommend the following species: egg laying hens, broilers, milking goats, rabbits, guinea pigs, and pigs in special cases.

2. Obtain or prepare a table with the nutritional value of the main grains produced in the farm, which will be used for feeding the animals. The grains must be a source of energy and protein.

3. Prepare model diets for the species to be raised and kept in the home of the families as a reference. The minimum will be to have diets for egg laying hens, goats, rabbits, guinea pigs and pigs.

Concepts to be taught

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1. To be able to prepare small animal feed we must know the nutritional value of the ingredients (crops produced in the farm).

2. To obtain an optimal production we must know the animals’ nutritional requirements according to their specie, age, physiologic state and production type.

3. Basic principles of portion balancing. “Tanteo”(sizing up) and Pearson.

Introduction

Successful animal raising, regardless of the species, depends on three fundamental aspects: the first one is the type of animal used, second is the type of diet, and third is the type of housing provided for the animals.

These three aspects must be carefully maintained to obtain better efficiency. In this lesson we will address exclusively the nutritional aspect.

To start, we must learn that from out of the cost of production in any species, feeding costs take up between 60 and 75% of the total. From these figures we learn the importance of proper food handling and the economic repercussions it may have over total production and usage.

It is also important to emphasize that proper feeding has almost no effect over animals of poor or mediocre genetic quality. High quality foods only produce positive effects when they are administered to those animals that have the genetic power to transform this food into meat, milk, eggs or offspring.

It is also important to know that the productive value of an animal comes 30% from its genes and the other 70 % from the quality of the food it consumes. These two aspects complement each other and do not work well independently.

According to the model proposed by the Benson Institute, the farmer will receive all the information that will allow him to efficiently transform the excess agricultural production into meat, milk and eggs. This will be done through the proper use of a balanced diet given to the egg laying hens, broilers, goats, rabbits, guinea pigs or pigs who in return will supplement the diet and income of the family.

#1

Concept #1

Learning the nutritional value of available crops

In order to determine which animal species we can feed with the excess production, it is fundamental that we learn the nutritional value of each one of the foods to be used for designing the diets (#1).

In general, we must begin by separating available foods into two big groups: those that mainly produce energy (gramineous grains rich in starch or carbohydrates such as corn, wheat, barley, sorghum, rye, etc,) and those that provide sufficient protein (leguminous grains such as soy, beans, peas, garbanzo, peanuts, and others that produce fruit in a vain)(#1).

Now we need to know which nutrients and in what amounts they are present in each of the foods. We must state from the start the fact that the diet must be as simple as possible so that it can be easily handled by small farmers. This means that we will use a source of energy and a source of protein.

We also need to work based in a few nutrients which will simplify the operation.

Next we will show the contents of the four basic nutrients that exist in the most common grains to be used as sources of energy.

(In the following page we will show a table of contents with more information regarding grains and nutrients)

Lucas: Create table using Dream weaver.

Most farmers are unfamiliar with the different sources of protein. Generally, we must begin by training them in the importance of the presence of protein in their diet. For them there is not that much difference between feeding chickens with corn and soy, or doing it with corn and sorghum, or sorghum and wheat or simply feeding them once a day with corn and let them find the rest of their food in the fields.

#2

The most common sources of protein which will be used are soy in the first place, because it is a legume adaptable to the majority of climates (#2). If it is not possible to produce soy, we will have to use another legume that has a high percentage of protein and has better quality of amino acid. In some places garbanzo beans will be used, in others, peas or broad beans.

Next we will provide detailed information regarding the contents of the main nutrients in the most common legumes:

(In the following page we show a wider list of sources of protein that could be used in case it might be needed).

Lucas: Create next table using Dream weaver.

Concept #2

Learn the nutritional requirements for the species to be raised.

Just as it is necessary to learn the nutritional value of the foods to be used, it is also fundamental that we learn the nutritional requirements for the species we will be working with. These two concepts must be covered thoroughly by the person in charge of creating the diets.

The basic requirements for each species are presented as follows:

(We only reported the general requirements for raw protein, digestible protein, calcium and phosphorous. We have enclosed in separate sheets the general requirements for the different species).

It is also very important for the animals that we include sodium chloride in their diet. In the diets used in the projects led by the Benson Institute we must add a 0.5 of common salt and if we know that the soils are deficient in iodine, we must use iodized salt. Lucas: Create another table using Dream weaver.

It is important to learn that the nutritional requirements of animals vary not only between species but also according to age, physiologic state, and production obtained. For practical purposes during the implementation our model for the farmers, we tried to simplify the preparation and handling of the food.

That way, for example, we know that broilers require between 22 and 23 % of protein during the first two weeks of their lives. This requirement can decrease down to 16 % after the seventh week.

#3

The diet proposed by the Benson Institute's model is unique in that it requires 20% of protein, and has been proved to yield sufficiently under the proper conditions (#3). The same is true for other animal's diets.

There are many ways to balance portions, from the simplest method or "tanteo"(sizing up), to a computerized minimum cost method. In order for us to implement our model, we will learn the sizing up method as well as the use of the Pearson square.

Sizing up method.

The sizing up method is the simplest and slowest of all. All that is necessary to balance a diet, after having the ingredient's information as well as the animal's requirements, is a piece of paper, a pencil and basic math skills. We will begin by preparing a table with the following information: (example: for hens).

Lucas: Create hen table on Dream weaver.

We will then begin filling up spaces with the amounts of each one of the ingredients so that we can adjust them until the calculations match the requirements. There are certain fixed values in this formula such as salt=0.5% or its equivalent (half pound for every 100 pounds of food). Generally the mixture of vitamins and minerals is also included in half a pound doses for every 100 pounds of food, but as a general rule we have to follow the directions of the producer. It is very important to make sure that the mix has been designed for the species for whom the diet is being prepared, because each species has specific vitamin and mineral requirements. The rest of the values we adjust by sizing up, adding some and decreasing others until they are adjusted properly. This is a tedious activity, but it does not require specific training to be performed.

Once we have been able to equal or better the requirements according to calculations, the diet is ready.

Pearson square method

This method carries its creator's name and is based on certain mathematical operational properties which permit a quick diet adjustment.

Using the previous case, meaning if we use corn and soy for the diet, and require 20% of protein, we would proceed in the following manner:

We would create a square and in the center we would place the amount of protein required, which is 20. In the angles to the left we would place the food's protein content, which in corn is 9, and 40 in soy. We then do a horizontal subtraction between the protein contents and the foods with the required percentage in the center, with which we will obtain the following:

corn (8) protein 40-20=(20) (20) soy (40) 20-8=(12)

The 20 on the top right hand side is equal to the number of corn units which must be used. The bottom right (12) is equal to the number of soy units that must be used. Now we have that in these 32 units (20 corn and 12 soy) exists a 20% protein value. The next step is to adjust the percentage to be able to adjust the complete diet. For this we use a simple rule: in 32 totals there are 20 of corn in 100 totals X= 100 x 20/32= 62.5

The answer is 62.5 pounds or kilos of corn depending on what we want to prepare, either 100 pounds or 100 kilos.

To obtain the results for soy, we can do so by subtracting 100 - 62.5 = 37.5 or if we want we can repeat the previous operation: in 32 totals there are 12 of soy in 100 totals X= 100 x 12/32=37.5 of soy, same in pounds or kilos, depending on what we prepare.

Once we have determined the amounts of corn and soy, we only need to add the rest of the ingredients (salt, sources of calcium and phosphorous, and the vitamin-minerals mix). Salt will account for 0.5 %, the mixture of vitamins and minerals will be added according to recommendations of the producer. The sources of calcium and phosphorous will be 6.5 pounds of calcite plus 3.5 of bone flour, or 8 more pounds of calcite, plus two more of calcium diphosphate.

The same procedure can be used to prepare diets for any species. We must always remember how important it is to know the nutritional value of the foods available as well as the animal's requirements.

There are other aspects that must also be considered while creating diets. Among these factors we must know that when corn is used, it must be as dry as possible. The easiest way to ensure this is to use corn that has been stored for some time. We must also make sure that for a better grain use and digestion, the corn must be grinded down to a small size to facilitate mixing and consumption.

When soy is used in the diets, we must remember that it must be toasted so that it can be assimilated more efficiently by the mono-gastric species (poultry, pigs, rabbits and guinea pigs). When feeding ruminants it is not necessary to toast the soy.

Once toasted, soy can also be grinded to an adequate size.

The process of mixing must guarantee a high homogeneity. To accomplish this, it is convenient that once the ingredients have been weighted, we take a part of the grinded corn (about 5 pounds) and we mix it really well by hand with the salt, vitamins and minerals. We then add this mix to the rest and blend it again with the other ingredients. The better mixed the ingredients are, the better used this food will be. If the mix is really heterogeneous as far as size, poultry will not make efficient use of the nutrients as they tend to pick the biggest particles and discard the small ones. This means that if the pieces of corn and soy are larger, the poultry will only be ingesting those big pieces, while the vitamins, minerals and supplements will be wasted.

It is also important to remember that poultry have gizzards, which is a muscle-like stomach. The gizzard performs most of its grinding action with the help of small particles of solid materials that they ingest from the ground. When they don't have access to the ground, as is the case of our model, we must provide them with such small particles. Calcite fulfills this action properly, so we must ensure that the small particles have a diameter of nearly 3 millimeters.

List of figures for: How to Prepare Feed

(Click on the magnifying glass of any image for enlargement)

1. Drawing showing nutritional groups-Energy and Protein.

2. Drawing of the soybean as a food source.

3. Drawing showing the result of good prepared feed.