write the components of Balanced ration for cattle
Answers
Because feed costs are the major cost of producing beef, making the most efficient use of feeds is of prime importance in determining profits. Rations must be properly balanced for cattle to use feeds most efficiently. Ration balancing is another management tool the efficient producer can use to maximize profits.
To begin ration balancing, some basic information about frequently used terms is needed. A ration is the amount of feed an animal receives in a 24-hour period. A balanced ration is the amount of feed that will supply the proper amount and proportions of nutrients needed for an animal to perform a specific purpose such as growth, maintenance, lactation or gestation.
Nutrients are any feed component or group of feed components that are similar in chemical composition and that aid in the support of animal life. Examples of nutrients are proteins, carbohydrates, fats, minerals and vitamins. Nutrient requirements are the amount of nutrients the animal needs for a specific purpose. They are influenced by many factors, such as weight of animal, sex, desired rate of growth, stage of lactation, environment and others. For beef cattle, nutrient requirements may be found in published tables, such as the "Nutrient Requirements of Beef Cattle" published by the National Research Council.
The nutrient composition of a feed is the amount of specific nutrients contained in the feed. They are expressed as a percentage of the dry matter and may also be found in published feed composition tables. A word of caution: feed composition tables contain only average values. Unless your feed is average, the data would not be accurate.
Feed composition tables should be used when you have no other information. A chemical analysis of the feed can be done for a limited cost, and it will give much more accurate information,
Common information provided from an analysis or a composition table will include dry matter, crude protein, energy and minerals.
Dry matter is the portion of the feed left after all water has been removed. It contains the nutrients. Values for dry matter intake shown in nutrient requirement tables are not all an animal will consume, but represent an amount that can be consumed under normal circumstances.
Different feeds contain different levels of dry matter; therefore, it is desirable to balance the ration on a dry matter basis and then convert the various feeds back to an as-fed basis.
Crude protein may also be called total protein. It is determined by measuring the nitrogen content of feed and
multiplying by the value 6.25 because proteins typically contain 16% nitrogen. Not all nitrogen-containing compounds are true proteins. These are called nonprotein nitrogen (NPN) sources. Many of these NPN compounds can have their nitrogen converted to microbial protein in the rumen under proper conditions. Generally, NPN sources are not used well as protein when cattle are on high roughage rations or have high protein requirements, such as young cattle with high rates of growth. True protein sources should be used in these cases.
Energy is not actually a nutrient. It is contained in nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, etc. For practical purposes energy will be considered a nutrient. There are several methods of measuring feed energy values. Some of these are digestible energy, net energy for maintenance and gain and total digestible nutrients. Total digestible nutrients (TDN) is the value most commonly used in simple ration balancing.
Minerals are compounds needed to regulate many metabolic functions in the body. They may be classed as macro or trace minerals depending on the amounts needed. Examples of macro minerals are calcium and phosporus. Iron, zinc and copper are examples of trace minerals.
Other important nutrients are vitamins and water. Rations are not normally balanced for these nutrients, but adequate amounts must be provided for desired rates of growth. Water is particularly important because feed intake decreases when water intake is not adequate.
Roughages are feeds that are relatively high in fiber and low in energy. Hay, straw, cobs, cottonseed hulls and corn stalks are examples of roughages.
Concentrates are feeds or mixtures of feeds that are relatively low in fiber and provide energy as the primary nutrient.
A balanced ration should provide protein, energy, minerals and vitamins from dry fodders, green fodders, concentrates, mineral supplements etc., in appropriate quantities to enable the animal to perform optimally and remain healthy. Imbalanced feeding results in: Low milk production, poor growth and reproduction.
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