Animals Feed and Feeding – JSS2 Agricultural Science Lesson Note (Second Term)

Livestock feed is the food given to farm animals for growth, energy, repair of tissues and the production of milk, meat and eggs.

Behavioural objectives

1. Define livestock feed and state why farm animals need it.
2. List the four classes of animal feed.
3. Describe basal feeds, concentrates, roughages and supplements, and give examples of each.
4. State the characteristics of basal feeds, concentrates and roughages.
5. Distinguish between succulent feed and dry roughages (hay, straw and chaff).

What is livestock feed and why do animals need it?

Livestock feed is the food given to farm animals, also called simply “feed”.

The farmer must supply the right quantity and quality of feed for these reasons:

• Growth: young animals need feed to build body tissues and increase in size.
• Repair of worn-out tissues: feed replaces body cells that are damaged or worn out.
• Energy: feed supplies energy for movement, body heat and other body activities.
• General well-being: a balanced feed keeps animals healthy and helps them resist disease.
• High production: well-fed animals give more milk, meat and eggs.

How are animal feeds classified?

There are four classes of animal feed: basal or energy feeds, concentrates, roughages, and supplements and additives.

Feeds differ in composition and use, so they are grouped mainly by the amount of fibre and moisture they contain.

What are basal or energy feeds?

Basal feeds are feeds that supply energy to animals and have a crude fibre content of less than 18%.

• Share of ration: they usually make up 60 to 90% of a livestock ration.
• Cereals: maize, rice, millet and guinea corn.
• Roots and tubers: yam and cassava.
• Need for supplements: basal feed alone cannot meet the growth and maintenance needs of farm animals.

What are the characteristics of basal feeds?

• Carbohydrate: high in carbohydrates or starchy food.
• Fibre: low in fibre.
• Protein: low in protein.
• Vitamins and minerals: lacking in vitamins and important minerals.
• Digestibility: highly digestible.
• Acceptability: liked by most farm animals, especially monogastric animals.

What are concentrates?

Concentrates are feeds or feed mixtures with high nutritive value and low fibre, rich in energy or protein.

• Energy concentrates: high in energy, for example maize and other grain feeds.
• Protein concentrates: high in protein, for example fish meal, blood meal, groundnut cake, palm kernel cake, cottonseed cake and coconut cake.
• Mineral sources: bone meal and oyster shell supply minerals.
• Form: they may be whole grain feeds or a mixture of basal and supplement feeds.
• Use: they are usually fed to monogastric animals and can be used as supplements for some herbivores.

What are the characteristics of concentrates?

• Fibre: low in fibre.
• Nutrients: may be high in protein or high in energy.
• Digestibility: highly digestible.
• Nutritive value: a good source of energy, protein, minerals and vitamins.

What are roughages?

Roughages are feeds that are high in fibre, bulky and relatively less digestible.

• Fibre content: crude fibre is above 18%.
• Bulk: they add bulk to the feed of animals.
• Nutritive value: they are poor in nutrients, so animals fed on roughage need supplements.
• Users: they are fed mostly to ruminants (cattle, sheep and goats), because other animals cannot digest them well.
• Forms: they are the vegetative parts of plants, either fresh or dried and preserved.

What is succulent feed?

Succulent feed, also called fresh forage or wet roughage, is green plant material with a high moisture content.

• Examples: grasses, legumes, cereals and root crops grown for grazing or for silage.
• Silage: succulent feed stored in airtight containers such as silos to keep it fresh.

What are fodder or dry roughages?

Dry roughages are plant materials that have been dried and stored for feeding animals, mostly in the dry season.

• Hay: the young and succulent parts of grasses, legumes and other plants, cut and dried. It is a cheap source of food for ruminants in the dry season and is higher in nutrients than straw.
• Straw: the remains of crops or grasses after the ripe seeds have been harvested. The remains are cut, dried and fed to animals in the dry season.
• Chaff: the husk separated from grain during threshing. It comes from grains such as maize, rice and cowpea.

What is the difference between hay and straw?

What is the difference between succulent feed and dry roughage?

What are the characteristics of roughages?

• Fibre: high in fibre.
• Nutrients: low in protein and digestible carbohydrates.
• Digestibility: poorly digested.

What are supplements and additives?

Feed supplements are materials added to the main feed to supply nutrients that the main feed lacks.

• Method: they may be given separately or mixed with the feed.
• Protein supplements: cottonseed cake, soya bean meal, groundnut cake and fish meal.
• Mineral supplements: eggshell meal, oyster shell meal, bone meal, salt licks and limestone.
• Vitamin supplements: vitamins added to the feed or water.

Feed additives are substances added to feed in small amounts to improve growth, health or the keeping quality of the feed.

Evaluation

1. What is livestock feed?
2. State four reasons why farm animals must be fed.
3. List the four classes of animal feed.
4. Give three examples of basal feeds and three examples of concentrates.
5. Differentiate between hay and straw.

Assignment

Write a short note on roughages that covers the following:

• four characteristics of roughages;
• what silage is and the containers in which it is stored;
• why animals fed mainly on roughage need supplements.