Theory question 101
Animal Nutrition(a) Explain the term ration as used in animal production. (b) Explain how each of the following factors influence feed formulation for farm animals: (i) physiological status of animal; (ii) age of animal; (iii) purpose of production; (iv) availability of feed ingredients. (c) Describe the process of preparing palm kernel cake. (d) Give two differences between broiler starter marsh and broiler finisher marsh.
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(a) Ration: the total quantity of feed given to an animal in 24 hours
(b)(i) Physiological status: pregnant, lactating, sick or recovering animals need more or special nutrients, so feeds are formulated for their condition
(ii) Age: young growing animals need feed higher in protein and easier to digest; older animals mainly need maintenance feed
(iii) Purpose of production: layers need more calcium, broilers more energy and protein, dairy animals more protein for milk, work animals more energy
(iv) Availability of ingredients: decides which ingredients are used, how much feed can be made and its cost
(c) Palm kernels are collected (after cracking the nuts) and dried; kernels are roasted/heated; crushed or ground; the ground kernels are pressed (or solvent extracted) to remove the oil; the residue left is the palm kernel cake, which is dried and bagged
(d) Any two: starter is fed from day-old to about 4 weeks, finisher from about 4 weeks to market; starter is higher in protein (about 22–24%), finisher lower (about 19–20%) and higher in energy; starter has finer particles than finisher
In (d) compare the same feature for both feeds.