L2 Feed Conversion Ratio

Question 1

What is feed conversion ratio?

Answer 1

Measure of efficiency with which livestock convert animal feed into desired output.
- reveals the efficiency of an animal production enterprise
- not affected by the unit off measurements
- different livestock have different FCR
- cattle: 12.5/ pigs:3-3.2/ sheep: 4-5/ poultry: 1.5-2
- lower FCR better efficiency

Question 2

Importance of FCR

Answer 2

1. Efficiency (measure how efficiently animal convert feed into meat/ eggs/ milk)
2. Cost (feed accounts for most of the cost of production in livestock farming)
3. Performance (evaluate the productivity and efficiency)
4. Comparision (compare the efficiency of different feeds, feeding strategies and animal breeds)

Question 3

Factors affecting FCR

Answer 3

1. Feed quality
2. Environmental conditions (temperature, humidity)
3. Feed management (overfeeding and underfeeding)
4. Measurement frequency