Large Animal Nutrition: Intro

Question 1

name the 6 essential nutrients for large animal species

Answer 1

1. water
2. carbohydrates
3. proteins
4. fats
5. vitamins
6. minerals

Question 2

describe conditions that may prompt dietary assessment of large animal species (individual versus herds)

Answer 2

individual: owner request based on change in activity, underconditioned or poor muscling, response to costs or weather conditions, annual examinations, or any number of metabolic diseases

herd: production concerns like fertility, milk production, colostrum quality/calf health, or concerns regarding time to reach market weight or diseases like laminitis, hepatic lipidosis, or an underconditioned herd

Question 3

describe the main components of large animal diets (3)

Answer 3

forages: roughage; required for normal GI function in non-monogastrics; high fiber, usually a hay
concentrates: grain or pellet, provide CHO, protein, lipids in balanced amount
supplements: vitamins or minerals or any other additives, coule be for production, health, or flavor purposes

Question 4

provide examples of common sources of carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins available to large animal species

Answer 4

carbohydrates:
cattle: corn, barley, oats, sorghum, hominy, molasses
horse: corn, barley, oats, molasses

proteins:
cattle: soybean, cottonseed meal, blood or meat and bone meal
horse: corn, flax, legume hay

fats/lipids:
cattle: soybeans, cottonseed (whole), chocolate
horses: corn oil, flaxseed oil, fish oil

Question 5

explain the meaning of daily energy requirement

Answer 5

the average daily expenditure of an animal, dependent on the lifestage and activity (work, gestation, lactation, growth)

Question 6

explain the meaning of digestible energy

Answer 6

the energy the animal can actually digest; subtracting energy lost in feces from energy fed (dependent on digestive system of animal: monogastric, ruminant, etc.)

Question 7

explain the meaning of dry matter

Answer 7

what is left after all water is removed from a feed

Question 8

describe and identify the basic types of forages

Answer 8

not fully covered in lecture 12/4

Question 9

calculate daily dry matter intake requirement for a horse or cattle as a % of body weight

Answer 9

should be feeding most large animals 1.5-2% of BW on a dry matter basis, with alterations based on activity/production level