SAMENVATTING ANU- PRINCIPLES OF ANIMAL
NUTRITION
INTRO LECTURE
Learning outcomes: Be able to judge the nutritive value of an ingredient or diet for a particular animal (species)
Be able to analyze the (chemical) composition of ingredients, diets and/or excreta
Understand differences in digestion and utilization among and within animal species
Be able to understand and apply systems for protein and energy evaluation of (new) feedstuffs for certain animals
Production (meat, milk, eggs, fibre) animals
Dairy cattle, pigs, poultry, rabbits, fish, goats, sheep, etc
Efficient production/minimization of environmental impact
Animal health and welfare
Efficiently utilising dietary nutrients
Companion animals
Cats, dogs, horses, rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets, fish, etc
Optimization of health, welfare, longevity, vitality, immune function, colon health, antioxidant status, etc
Optimizing physiological functions through nutrients
Global Compound Feed Production
Total global production: 1.1 billion tonnes
Annual turnover: US$ 400 billion
On-farm production: 300 million tonnes
Poultry: 45%
Ruminants: 20%
Pigs 26%
First animals where waste converters. From 1930 til 1990 selection on FCR started. Onwards functional feedinsoluble fibers
and diurnal feeding. The society emphasizes animal welfare and the environment.
Global annual sales of animals foods, feeds and additives
Feed costs are ~20-85% of the cost of production
Total compound feed market 2018 = 1.1 billion tonnes
Total compound feed consumed = ~30% of total feedconsumed
Petfood market = $US 83 billion
Animal feed additive market 2016 = $US 28.6 billion
Value of feedstuffs
● Energy value
● Protein value
● Physical (feed form) value ?
Composing a complete diet; Combining feedstuffs in one diet based on:
● Palatability (taste)
● Feeding value of feedstuffs
● ‘Optimal’ nutrient contents
● Optimizing value for money: least-cost formulation software
Nutrient conversion
Feed (nutrients), Food (‘product’)
‘Two steps process’ :
, - digestion and absorption
- utilization
Feed for maintenance = ‘fixed' quantity Energy
Feed for production = variable Protein / amino acids
Protein digestion and utilization (pigs /poultry):
Nintake = Ndigested + Nundigested
(100%)- (82-86%) -(14-18%)
Ndigested = Nutilized + Nnon-utilized
(82-86%) (45-60%) (22-41%)
• Faecal losses: NSP, processing, etc.
• Urine losses: amino acid profile, diurnal variation, use of free aa
Nutrient flow and conversion:
- paradigma –
Input is the push system. Output is the pull system
Conversion of nutrients is dependent
on feed and animal
Feed characteristics
Level of nutrients
Palatability
Volume / Structure
Digestibility (endogenous losses) • NSP's • NAF's
Animal characteristics
Max. feed intake capacity
• breed, age, sex
Utilization
• Level of production
Simplified nutrient flow and conversion of N:
Comparative animal nutrition:
the gastro-intestinal tract (GIT)
Foregut fermenters
Hindgut fermenters
Enzymatic digestion – with animal-specific enzymes
Fermentative digestion – the animal ‘hosts’ microbiota
Mono-gastric
omnivorous non-ruminant with non-functional cecum (pig)
, herbivore with functional cecum, non-
ruminant (horse)
Poly-gastric
omnivorous (poultry)
Poly-gastric
herbivorous (ruminants) ; 3-4 stomach
compartments
• reticulum (netmaag)
• rumen (pens)
• omasum (boekmaag)
• ab-omasum (lebmaag)
Feed evaluation =
nutrient requirements and feed characteristics
Feed evaluation (energy and amino acids)
Energy measures: DE, ME, NE
protein/amino acid evaluation: digestion versus utilization
• ileal versus faecal / endogenous losses
• efficiency of utilization / feeding strategies
methodologies (a.o. in sacco, ileal sampling: roosters)
What are the needs of an animal at a certain stage
Animal characteristic: level of performance (production)
methodologies (dose-response versus factorial approach)
Endogenous losses
Digestive enzymes
Pancreatic juices
Epithelial cells
Mucus
Microbial protein
Nutritionally active factors (NAF)
Requirement for protein= requirement for amino acids
“Maintenance”
Gastro-intestinal tract (GIT) (endogenous losses)
Skin, hair, nails
Organs (liver, kidneys, heart)
“Production”
Milk, eggs
Muscle tissue (carcass) = growth
INTRODUCTION INTO THE PRACTICALS
Composition of Feed
Remarks:
• Composition of dry matter determines the nutritional value of the feed.
• Nutritional value of proteins depends on its amino acid composition
• Nutrition value of carbohydrate fraction depends on the ratio between
structural (i.e. fibre) and non structural carbohydrates (i.e. sugars and starch).
Composition of diet can be known by: 1. Calculation for table value for the
individual feed ingredients: Easy and cheap but less accurately 2. Conducting
analyses in the diet: Expensive but more accurately.
, Analyses are conducted to get more accurate information about the chemical composition of the feed. Table values are always
an average for a specific feed ingredient. Composition of a diet depends also on the accuracy of mixing of the different
ingredients.
Effect ratio of mixing on results
Too much or to less protein can result in a mismatch which could cause an
overdose.
Compromises between costs and accurate information :Proximate or Weender analyses
Proximate analysis Background: Developed during 1850 in Weende (Germany) Weender analysis (proximate analysis) Set of
analytical methods to get a good picture of the nutritional composition of the feed by using simple procedures and equipment.
Great advantage: easy to perform, standardisation and low costs.
Principles of Weender analysis
Approach:
• Divide the composition of the feed in a groups of nutrients
• Use common properties of each group of nutrients for their total determination.
Water : drying sample at 103 ∘ C (used boiling point)
Ash: removing organic matter by burning at 550 ∘ C
Proteins: contain –NH 2 group: Kjeldahl method
Fat: not soluble in water: extraction with non polar solvent
Carbohydrates heterogeneous group
Division into: Crude fibre: organic fraction which is not soluble in acid and alkaline solution N-free extractives:
Contains:
• Starch and sugars (non structural carbohydrates)
• Residue fraction
Analytical procedures are described in national and international guidelines.
Reason:
• To compare results found by different laboratories
• Models to predict animal production are based on correlations found between feed composition and animal performance
Alternative analytical methods
Alternative analytical methods are needed for determination of specific chemical compound such as a specific mineral or amino
acid. They require sample preparation and use of sophisticated equipment and analytical skill: much more expensive.
NIR: Near infrared spectroscopy Used as alternative for the Weende analysis Principle:
• Absorption of solid sample within NIR spectrum
• Correlation between amount of a nutrient and absorption at specific wavelength
Advantage: • All analyses in one run • No sample preparationLow costs
Disadvantage: Correlation varies between different feed ingredients Results are not accepted for scientific work
Chemical calculation
Important : Difference between absolute amount and content.
Example: Absolute amount: 1 kg diet contains 300 g protein Content of protein:
• 0,3 kg / 1 kg * 100 % = 30 %
• 300 g / 1 kg = 300 g/kg