large animal feed

Question 1

tall fescue

Answer 1

abundant cold season grass
symbiotic realtionship with fungus
avoid in broodmares
can cause summer slump, fescue foot in cattle

Question 2

legumes

Answer 2

cool season: alfafa, clover
warm season: kudzu
replenish soil nitrogen due to symbiotic root bacteria
clover can harbor slaframine (cause hypersalivation)

Question 3

pasture forage

Answer 3

grass predominantly tall fescue, some blue grass, timothy, orchard
legumes: clover
more palitable

Question 4

hay

Answer 4

dried forage
moisture <15%
spoils with moisture (microbes, fire)
forms: long stem, chopped, cubed, peleted

Question 5

haylage

Answer 5

fermented forage
moisture: 30-45%
air causes spoilage
form: chopped

Question 6

silage

Answer 6

fermented forage (whole usually corn plant)
63-68% moisture
air causes spoilage (chopped too big= more air)
form: chopped

Question 7

how is hay made?

Answer 7

1. cut
2. sundried
3. harvested
4. baled, chopped, pelleted

Question 8

Influences on forage quality

Answer 8

* Maturity: how old is the plant before it is cut (older = less quality)
* season
* time of day
* sun
* precipitation
* temp
* hygiene
* species

Question 9

Influences on forage quality

Answer 9

* Maturity: how old is the plant before it is cut (older plant = less quality)
* season
* time of day
* sun
* precipitation
* temp
* hygiene
* species

Question 10

why is forage hygiene important?

Answer 10

hay can contain mold spores in absense of mycotoxins
haylage can contain mycotoxins in absese of mold

Question 11

how can you determine forage quality?

Answer 11

visual, tactile, olfactory
* leaf:stem ratio, color, smell

Forage nutrient analysis

Question 12

maturity and nutrient concentration changes

Answer 12

more mature = less quality
cell wall (as a proportion of plant cell) increases with maturity
cell wall contains:
* neutral detergent fiber (NDF): cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin
* Acid detergent fiber (ADF): cellulose and lignin

Question 13

how is plant digestibility influenced by maturity?

Answer 13

more mature= less digestibility

Question 14

what are concentrates?

Answer 14

• energy dense feeds (relative to forage)
• grain (unfortified)
• commercial concentrates: textured, pelleted, extruded, different life stages

Question 15

grain

Answer 15

• unfortified concentrate
• protein, starch (energy, limit this), micronutrients, mycotoxins

Question 16

vitamin/mineral source

Answer 16

comes in blocks (good for NaCl), tubs, granular, balanced pellets