Nutrition for Reproduction Flashcards
What is the length of embryonic development in humans? Dogs? Cats? Chickens, Horses? Elephants?
Humans: 280 days
Dogs: 63 days
Cats: 62-72 days
Chickens: 21 days
Horses: 330-345 days
Elephants: 22 months
When do energy requirements increase in dogs? What BCS should you feed a bitch to? What RER should a whelping bitch receive?
• 15- 20% gain in BW prior to whelping
• 5% fetal mass developed by 40 days
• Therefore, energy requirements do not
increase until day 40
• begin to increase food intake @40d so at
whelping bitch receives 1.25 X MER
• Feed to BCS 5
How should you feed a pregnant dog?
Gravid uterus may impair gastric filling
• Feed several smaller meals
• Feed high energy food (4.0 kcal/g)
• Feed high protein food (7g protein/kg BW or about 25% crude protein dry matter)
• Requirements for fatty acids, calcium, phosphorous and certain amino acids increased after day 40
• Typically- feed an ‘all-life stages’ or puppy food
How do you feed the reproducing queen? Lactation? Pregnancy?
• Queens should be kept at an ideal BCS
• Excess body fat may result in decreased
conception rates and increased risk of dystocia
• Low BCS could risk fewer kittens, poor kitten body condition score, poor conception rate
• During pregnancy queens increase in bodyweight is almost linear
• Different from dogs
• Energy requirements increase and peaks at 6-7
weeks (1.6 RER at breeding- 2 RER at parturition)
• Lactation: All kittens should nurse within 6-8 hours of
birth
• Energy requirements for the queen peak 6-8 weeks
after parturition (2-6 RER)
What percentage of food consumption increase should you see for a queen in gestation? Pre-weaning ? reconstitution of reserves?
Gestation : 30-70% increase
Pre- weaning: 100-300% increase
Reconstitution of reserves: intake will decrease rapidly between week 7-11 back to maintenance.
What are the nutition requirements during lactation of both dogs and cats?
- 5-10% increase in BW pre-breeding to post whelping
- More not necessary due to capacity for increased food intake
- Obesity at whelping may predispose to dystocia
- Nutrient requirement is proportional to milk • Production energy costs may reach 4-8X RER (depending on # puppies)
- At peak bitch’s milk production may reach 8% BW = to average dairy cow
- Bitch milk is higher in fat and protein than cow milk
- Free feed during lactation- high protein, high fat diet
- Typically recommended using puppy diet ad lib or to maintain BCS
- Don’t forget water!
What are the nutritional requirements of neonates?
• Milk contains all the energy and
other nutrients necessary for growth
during the first 3 weeks of life
• Low concentrations of some
minerals (Fe,Cu, Zn etc) are
compensated for by body stores
and the addition of solid food
during weaning
How is immunity transferred to offspring?
- Transfer of immunity from mother to offspring:
- transplacental immunity
- colostral immunity
What are neonates susceptible to at birth? What are some examples?
- At birth, the neonate presents an increased susceptibility to infectious agents due to functional immaturity of the immune system
- For example:
- Neutrophils have a small storage pool at birth, and this cell lineage is less responsive to chemoattractants
- Monocytes/macrophages are functionally adequate but have limitations in chemotactic responsiveness
- produce less IFN-α, IFN-γ, and IL-12
What maternal antibody is transferred across the placenta? What is the neonatal receptor that transports IgG?
- Of the five antibody classes, only significant amounts of IgG are transferred across the placenta
- transport of IgG is carried out by the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn)
What is needed for maternal antibody transfer? When does it begin? What is the trend of fetal to maternal abs?
- transport requires a healthy placenta
- Begins at 17 weeks (humans) increases with gestation
- By week 40 (humans): IgG(fetal)> igG (maternal)
What is colostrum? How do young animals receive and use colostrum?
• Colostrum is the antibody-rich fluid produced from the mother’s mammary glands during the first day or two after
birth
• Young animals can absorb antibodies intact for the first couple of days following birth
• Colostrum production is influenced by maternal hormones which support the development of the mammary gland
at late gestation
How is maternal immunity transferred via colostrum?
• Immunoglobulins represent the most important class of proteins in the colostrum
• In many species, IgG1 are the most important immunoglobulins present in colostrum
• The higher levels of IgG1 in colostrum than in serum corresponds to a selective transfer which becomes active in the weeks before parturition
• A class of Ig G1 receptors in the mammary epithelium having high affinity are present during the last 15 days of gestation
• The presence of these receptors decrease
immediately after the first suckling
• 2 days later, the concentration of IgG
decreases considerably
• Later, the milk proportion of IgA:igG increases
Why is the ingestion of maternal milk important in the first 24 hours after birth?
- In the first 24 h after birth, the newborn must ingest immunoglobulin-rich colostrum which provides passively acquired immune protection throughout the neonatal period
- Once the gastrointestinal tract matures, IgG can no longer transverse the intestines
What is failure of passive transfer?
- Failure of passive transfer (FPT) is not a disease, but a condition that predisposes the neonate to the development of disease
- In domestic large animals, the placenta prevents transmission of immunoglobulins from the dam to the fetus in utero
- Neonates that do not nurse on colostrum in time, develop susceptibility to disease
What is occurring in this image?
Immature cataract caused by canine milk replacer.
