Plants used as animal feeds

Question 1

How do you categorize feed

Answer 1

Fibre content
Low; Concentrates
High; Roughage
Legumes or non legume
Legumes higher in protein
Fresh or preserved
Plant or by product
By product of human food manufacture

Question 2

What is roughage

Answer 2

High in structural carbohydrates (cellulose)
Lower in Digestible Energy (DE) than concentrates
Plants grown primarily for use as roughage:
The non cereal grasses (small seed head)
Cereal grains harvested when immature
Some legumes (alfalfa, clover)
Whole plant, leaf, stem, or residue after seed has been harvested

Question 3

How does roughage affect herbivores

Answer 3

Can eat and digest large quantities
Fed for maintenance

Question 4

FIber in roughage

Answer 4

A source of energy (in herbivores)
Physically stimulates GI motility
Required for proper GI function

Question 5

What are concentrates and what are they made of

Answer 5

Low in crude fiber
High in energy
~50% more DE than roughages for herbivores.
Plants grown primarily for their seed:
Oilseeds
Cereal grains
Other examples:
Byproducts of rendering industry
Byproducts of baking industry
Herbivores
Fed for production
Omnivores and carnivores
Major component of diet for both maintenance and production

Question 6

What are grasses and how are they fed

Answer 6

Quality depends on stage of growth
Yield and quality typically inversely related
Digestible Energy content
Species variability
Higher in ruminants than horses
Higher in herbivores than omnivores
Crude Protein is very variable
From below maintenance to levels capable of supporting intense production
Calcium and phosphorus may be adequate

Question 7

Nutritional properties of legumes

Answer 7

Belong to dicotyledon group of plants
Two embryonic leaves
Can fix atmospheric nitrogen
Symbiosis with root bacteria
Soybeans, alfalfa, clovers
Also green beans, pulses (lentils)
Tend to be higher in protein, energy and calcium than grasses

Question 8

What is foxtail and what does it cause

Answer 8

Pasture weed
Sharp awns penetrate mouth and cause infections
Abscesses
Wooden tongue
Infection into mucosa resulting in drooling, protruding tongue, fibrous tissue

Question 9

What is alfalfa and what can it cause

Answer 9

Excellent source of protein, calcium, water soluble vitamins
Highly palatable
Deep rooted
Drought tolerant
Likes well drained soils
More than 50% of hay contains alfalfa
Can cause bloat
Proteins released from plant tissue react with rumen fluid to cause gas

Question 10

WHat is sweet clover and hwat can it cause

Answer 10

Drought resistant
Large coarse stem makes hay making difficult
Problem:
High in coumarin
Converted by moulds to dicoumarol
Anti-vitamin K
Bleeding problems, death
Especially in neonates

Question 11

What is sainfoin and waht may it cause

Answer 11

Introduced species (Europe)
Cool-season
Non bloat-causing legume
Tannins bind with the proteins released from the plant tissue to prevent degradation and allow those proteins to be digested

Question 12

What are types of concentrates

Answer 12

Proteinaceous (high protein)
- Oilseeds
- Oilseed meals
Carbonaceous (grains)
- Whole grain
- Dehulled grains

Question 13

Oilseeds is and contain what

Answer 13

Whole Seeds
High in oil
High in protein
Oil usually extracted for human consumption
Residue is high in protein
Often called ‘meal’ e.g. soy bean meal
Soy beans, Canola

Question 14

what is rapeseed

Answer 14

Toxic goitrogens (glucosinolates): disrupts iodine absorbance (goiters)
Erucic acid: affects the growth and health of animals
Not affected by heat treatment, so plant breeding necessary to reduce the presence of his toxins

Question 15

What is canola

Answer 15

Safe derivative
Initially bred in Canada (CANOLA = Canadian oil, low acid)
Harvest seed, extract oil
Residue = Meal, high in protein

Question 16

Grain Seed head is high in:

Answer 16

Starches
Digestible Energy (DE)
Phosphorous

Question 17

What is the protein content of grains

Answer 17

Moderate protein
Sufficient for maintenance of herbivores and possibly some production

Question 18

Nutritional properties of wheat

Answer 18

Mainly human use
Highest crude protein
Must be rolled or flakes to break hard kernel

Question 19

Nutritional properties of barley

Answer 19

More drought-resistant than wheat
Hard kernel (roll or flake)
Not to be fed green

Question 20

Nutritional properties of oats

Answer 20

More fibre
Lower digestible energy
Less GI upset
Fed whole, ground or rolled

Question 21

Nutritional properties of corn and corn meal

Answer 21

Highly productive, highly palatable
Lower crude protein of the common grains
Lysine and tryptophan limiting
Fed whole, ground or flaked
Corn meal: Popular concentrate feed for ruminants
Whole cobs, including grain, ground up
Compared to grain:
More crude fiber
Slightly lower crude protein

Question 22

What is ergot and what deos it cause

Answer 22

Toxic fungal infection of grain seeds
Fungus (Claviceps sp.) infects floret of cereal grain: rye, wheat, barley (oats)
Grows inside grain kernel
Produces ergot alkaloids
Grain seed becomes blackened
A big problem in some rainy years
Cattle eat either contaminated grain or grain screenings
Signs of poisoning – gangrene of extremities in winter, poor growth and production, abortion

Question 23

What is bran

Answer 23

Outer covering of the grain seed
Removed when white flour is made from wheat, oats or corn
More fiber, less energy than seed but still a concentrate
Rice bran is about 15% fat and is used as a supplement to boost dietary fat content

Question 24

What are brewers or distillers grains

Answer 24

Sprouted barley used to make beer, whiskey
Fermented corn used to make ethanol
The solid residue can be fed wet or dried
Rich in protein, fiber and many B vitamins

Question 25

What is sugar beet pulp

Answer 25

Residue left after sugar extracted from sugar beets.
Palatable, fiber readily digestible

Question 26

What is molasses

Answer 26

Sugar Beet or Sugar Cane
Semi moist feed
Palatable
Concentrate

Question 27

What is molasses used for

Answer 27

Increase feed acceptance
Reduce dust in dry feeds
Mixed with minerals
Mixed with non-protein nitrogen

Question 28

What are grain screenings

Answer 28

By-product of the process of cleaning grain
Classified into 4 classes:
No 1 and 2 feed screenings–contain at least 35% by weight of the parent grain (whole, broken or shrunken kernels)
Uncleaned screenings – as above, but uncleaned
Refuse screenings – contain a higher proportion of dust, chaff, weed seeds
Refuse grain screenings can be fed as-received or pelleted
Variable nutrient content
Suitable for ruminant diets

Question 29

What is silage

Answer 29

Harvest whole plant before seed fully mature and ensile
e.g. corn silage, barley silage
Can be regarded as high quality roughage or a mix or roughage and concentrate

Question 30

What is straw

Answer 30

Harvest seed, collect residue
Wheat / barley/oat straw
Bedding
Poor energy source for ruminants (high crude fibre)
Mature cattle only

Question 31

What is chaff

Answer 31

Mainly seed hulls
Unthreshed heads
Some leaf and stem
Some uncracked kernels
Weed seeds
Can be collected and used as feed
Mature herbivores (cattle) only

Question 32

How to use drying fo preserve forage

Answer 32

Preserves and makes transportation easier
Roughages
Made into pellets, cubes, hay, greenfeed or straw
Feed name is usually added e.g grass hay
Mature Grain
Naturally dry

Question 33

What is artificially dried

Answer 33

Alfalfa or grass
Ground and dried
Very efficient but expensive method of conserving forage crops
Hot gas passes through forages for 20-50 minutes (depends on the drier design and moisture content of the crop)
Higher quality starting feeds, more consistent procut, more expensive

Question 34

What are two forms of artificially dried feed

Answer 34

Cubes (about an inch)
Longer particles
Pellets
Shorter particles

Question 35

How do you make hay bales

Answer 35

Dried whole grass
Cut into swath and baled
Less expensive than artificially drying but limited by natural elements and weather conditions
Round bales are large around 500 kg
Require a tractor to move them
Square bales are small, around 25 kg
Can be moved by hand
Straw is the dried stem of cereal grains. It can be made in a similar fashion to hay or the plant can be allowed to dry standing. Either way the grain portion is removed during processing.

Question 36

What are some common problems with drying

Answer 36

Hay that is wet looses nutrients
Loss of leaf when swath raked / turned
Mold if baled wet
Mold metabolism
Uses energy, generates heat
Protein denatured
Spores cause allergies and abortions

Question 37

Forages and quality depends on

Answer 37

Quality is highly variable, depends on:
Degree of leafiness
Stems have more fiber and lower protein, DE, minerals, and vitamins
Stage of maturity
Less nutritious once flowering
Most nutritious if harvested / eaten young
Total yield low if eaten too early
Assess quality by appearance and ANALYSIS

Question 38

How do you take a forage sample

Answer 38

A MINIMUM of 20 samples
Round bales
- Sample perpendicular to outside surface
- Sample from surface to center
Square bales
- Sample perpendicular to butt of bale
- Near center
Combine all the cores into a single bag for submission (about 200 g)

Question 39

How do you preserve feed by pickling

Answer 39

Silage
Feed is placed in an airtight container and allowed to ferment
Produces acids which stop bacterial and mold growth and preserve the feed
Very useful when climate is wet
Whole growing plant
Mature plants are too dry to ferment
Stemmy plants are too thick to preserve
Green crop is cut and chopped, placed in a silo, packed and covered or sealed as quickly as possible.
Biochemical processes transform the crop into silage.
Within the first few hours, an aerobic reaction begins which consumes all of the oxygen in the silage. The duration of this reaction may range from a few hours to several days.
Heat is created and valuable nutrients are consumed during the reaction. It is important to manage the forage properly beforehand to minimize the length of this process.
Once all the oxygen has been consumed, fermentation begins, producing lactic acid which lowers the pH (acidity) level in the feed.
When the pH level drops to a certain level, usually within three or four weeks, fermentation stops. The silage is ready.

Question 40

What are silage types

Answer 40

Silo
Pile, trench or clamp/bunker
Plastic bage

Question 41

What is silo

Answer 41

Out of favor
Not airtight, unloading problems, expensive

Question 42

What is silage using pile, trench or clamp/bunker

Answer 42

Packed with a tractor
Covered with plastic

Question 43

What are plastic bags for sialge

Answer 43

Large (ag-bags) make silage
Bale sized: Haylage/Baleage

Question 44

What are the advantages of silage

Answer 44

Can be harvested in any weather conditions
Higher outputs of nutrient per acre
Salvage crops damaged by weather
Palatability of some crops improved

Question 45

What are the disadvantages of silage

Answer 45

Labor and time
Capital investment for storage facilities and harvester
Limited market potential
Long distance travel inefficient

Question 46

What are important factors for silage

Answer 46

Correct moisture content at harvest
Must be anerobic – NO AIR
Natural fermentation of some of the sugar and starch in the plant
Produces acids which stop fermentation and preserves the feed
Ideally lactic and acetic acids, little butyric
pH Should be <5, ideally <4.5

Question 47

What can cause spoilage for silage

Answer 47

Incorrectly prepared silage has a high pH
Prone to mold growth which destroys nutrients
May become contaminated with botulinum toxin, horses especially susceptible
Short life in the feed bunk and heats when fed out
Reduced dry matter consumption, milk production.