Small Ruminant Nutrition - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

1 / 45
About This Presentation
Title:

Small Ruminant Nutrition

Description:

Yearlings ... mature weight rather than as a yearling will maximize the lifetime production of ... Yearlings. Keep the body condition score between 2.5 and 3.5. ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

Number of Views:1417
Avg rating:3.0/5.0
Slides: 46
Provided by: nmorr
Category:

less

Transcript and Presenter's Notes

Title: Small Ruminant Nutrition


1
Small Ruminant Nutrition
  • Nicole Ferguson, DVM, MS

2
Seminar Overview
  • Anatomy and Physiology
  • Nutritional Stages
  • Nutritional Diseases
  • Hypocalcemia
  • Hypomagnesemia
  • Copper toxicity
  • Enzootic ataxia
  • White muscle disease
  • Grain overload
  • Protein overload
  • Bloat
  • Recommendations

3
Small Ruminant Anatomy
4
Small Ruminant Anatomy
  • Four stomachs
  • Rumen
  • Reticulum
  • Omasum
  • Abomasum
  • True stomach
  • Most developed stomach in the neonate
  • Rumen contractions
  • Should occur 2-3 times per minute

5
Rumen Anatomy and Physiology
  • Rumen
  • Numerous protozoa of various sizes
  • Neutral pH of 7-7.5
  • Green-yellow color
  • Aromatic
  • Gram-negative rods primarily
  • Papilla serve to absorb volatile fatty acids, the
    major source of energy
  • Correct function requires roughage with stems of
    a minimum of 1/2-1 long

6
Reticulum and Omasum
  • The reticulum is closely associated with the
    rumen.
  • The reticular groove is a connection from the
    mouth to the omasum, bypassing the rumen.
  • This groove is active in neonates with milk
    bypassing the rumen and entering the omasum and
    abomasum when the groove is closed.
  • In adults, especially with goats, liquids
    administered in the mouth may stimulate closure
    of the groove.

7
Abomasum Anatomy and Physiology
  • The abomasum is considered the true stomach in
    ruminants and has similarities to our stomach
    with regards to acid production.
  • When the reticular groove is closed, liquids that
    bypass the rumen are absorbed in the abomasum.
  • This is the largest stomach in the neonate with
    a transition from a liquid diet to a forage diet,
    the rumen becomes the largest stomach.

8
Body Condition Scoring
  • Not applicable to neonates
  • Some scores range from 1-5
  • Ideal BCS of 2.5-3
  • Requires feeling the spinous processes and
    transverse processes in the lumbar region

9
Nutrient Requirements
  • Will vary according to age and stage of gestation
  • Energy
  • Protein
  • Minerals
  • Vitamins
  • Fiber

10
Nutrient Breakdown Energy
  • Energy
  • First limiting nutrient
  • Requirements vary depending on stage and level of
    production, level of activity and intended animal
    use
  • Requirement is usually met with medium- to
    high-quality forage
  • Dietary deficiency
  • Poor growth rate
  • Low body condition score
  • Decreased fiber production
  • Increased disease susceptibility

11
Nutrient Breakdown Protein
  • Minimum of 7 required for rumen bacterial growth
    and function
  • Quantity is more important than quality!
  • Grass hay protein content varies from lt6-gt12
  • Legume hay protein may be gt28
  • Non-protein nitrogen (urea) commonly used to
    increase the protein content of a diet

12
Nutrient Breakdown Minerals
  • Calcium and phosphorus
  • Sodium and chloride
  • Magnesium
  • Potassium
  • Sulfur
  • Copper
  • Cobalt
  • Iron
  • Iodine
  • Zinc
  • Selenium

13
Nutrient Breakdown Vitamins
  • The rumen normally synthesizes B vitamins in
    healthy animals
  • Fat-soluble vitamins are the only requirements in
    healthy animals
  • A growth, bone development, vision, skin
  • D requirements are met with sunlight exposure
  • E antioxidant, associated with selenium, found
    in good quality forage
  • K no supplementation is needed in a healthy
    animal required for normal blood clotting and
    sight

14
Nutrient Breakdown Fiber
  • Required component of the adult ruminant diet
  • Dietary fiber content gt 50
  • Rumination requires the presence of fiber!
  • Limited fiber
  • wool pulling
  • Decreased milk production
  • Pelleted roughage is not a substitute!

15
Nutritional Stages
  • Lamb and kid
  • Yearlings
  • Adult male
  • Adult female
  • Show animals

16
Lamb and Kid
  • Neonate
  • Requires 10-20 of body weight in colostrum
    within 12 hours of birth
  • 10-20 of body weight in milk daily (a 20 lb
    lamb or kid should receive ¼-½ gallon of milk
    divided into 4-6 feedings daily)
  • Milk replacers 20 protein, 20 fat, whey
    proteins
  • Creep feeding
  • Must be palatable if going to be successful
  • Start by 3-4 weeks of age
  • Must consume 0.5 lb daily until weaning if
    increased performed is to be attained
  • Should provide an additional 1 lb of weight gain
    for each 4-7 lbs of feed consumed

17
Weanlings
  • Early weaning at 3-4 weeks of age
  • Preferably delay until 8-12 weeks of age
  • Stressful!
  • Accustom animals to drinking out of a water
    trough and eating out of a bunk prior to weaning
  • Offer free-choice good-quality hay for the first
    2 days of weaning
  • Introduce to a concentrate feed offered at 1 of
    body weight per day

18
Finishing
  • Can finish on high-quality forage
  • Feedlot or dry lot situations
  • Open areas
  • Confinement bars
  • Combination
  • Stepwise feeding program where lambs and kids get
    more grain as they get larger
  • High grain diet during this period may predispose
    to urinary stones, enterotoxemia and bloat

19
Finishing
  • Slowly introduce animals to this diet over 2-4
    weeks and vaccinate against problematic diseases
  • High risk of production diseases

20
Yearlings
  • Small-framed animals can have acceptable
    conception rates at 55-60 of their projected
    mature weight
  • Large-framed animals can have acceptable
    conception rates closer to 70 of their mature
    weight.
  • Breeding at a mature weight rather than as a
    yearling will maximize the lifetime production of
    that animal.
  • Most females gain 0.25-0.5 lb daily from weaning
    until breeding.

21
Yearlings
  • Keep the body condition score between 2.5 and
    3.5.
  • Most males gain 0.75 lb daily during this period.
  • Monitor males for production-related diseases!

22
Adult Male
  • Maintain prebreeding BCS of 3-4 as they will lose
    weight during the breeding season
  • Feed a concentrated energy-protein supplement 4-6
    weeks before breeding season
  • 1-2 lb of concentrate daily is reasonable
  • Outside of breeding season, maintain on a
    maintenance feed

23
Adult Female
  • Maintenance
  • Pasture or range settings suffice
  • Breeding
  • Flushing increased nutrition (energy) before and
    during early breeding increases the ovulation
    rate
  • Do not overcondition!
  • Provide lush pastures or supplement with 0.33-1
    lb of 10-20 crude protein grain/head/day
  • Start 2 weeks before male is introduced and
    continue for 2-3 weeks after
  • BCS of 2.5-3 are optimal

24
Adult Female
  • Early-middle gestation
  • Requirements not greatly increased over
    maintenance
  • Maintain BCS of 2.5-3 and monitor every 2-3 weeks

25
Adult Female
  • Late gestation
  • 70 of fetal growth occurs during the last 6
    weeks of gestation
  • Substantial increase in energy needs
  • Feed between 1/3-1 lb grain daily per head
    depending on size of animal
  • Maintain BCS of 2.5-3
  • Promote adequate energy intake
  • Ewes 2.2 lbs daily during final 4 weeks
  • Does 1-2 lbs daily during final 4-6 weeks

26
Adult Female
  • Lactation
  • Peak milk production 2-3 weeks after birth
  • Rapid decline 8-10 weeks after birth
  • Requires adequate levels of proteins prior to
    lactation
  • Addition of fat to increase the energy density of
    the diet (do not exceed 4-5 of the diet)

27
Hypocalcemia
  • Primarily a problem in dairy goats
  • Ewes susceptible in late gestation and early
    lactation
  • Greatest calcium demand for non-dairy animals is
    3-4 weeks prior to birth
  • High producing dairy goats have problems after
    birth
  • Signs
  • Stiff gait, tremors, tetany, constipation,
    decreased rumen contractions, etc.
  • Diagnosis
  • History and signalment
  • Serum Ca lt 4-5 mg/dl

28
Hypocalcemia
  • Treatment
  • 50-100 ml of a 23 calcium borogluconate solution
    IV
  • 50-100 ml of calcium chloride SQ
  • Monitor heart rate stop if slows or the rhythm
    changes!
  • Prevention
  • Diet low in calcium
  • Low cation-anion ratio

29
Hypomagnesemia
  • Grass tetany
  • Problem in animals grazing lush pastures during
    early spring
  • Reduced absorption of magnesium due to high
    nitrogen and potassium levels in the forage
  • Clinical signs
  • Ewes 2-4 weeks after lambing
  • More common in ewes with twins
  • Excitability, convulsions, muscle spasms,
    increased respiratory rate, dead in pasture

30
Hypomagnesemia
  • Diagnosis
  • Serum magnesium lt 1.5 mg/dl or post-mortem
    magnesium levels in CSF, urine or anterior eye
    chamber fluid
  • Treatment
  • 20-25 calcium borogluconate and 50 ml of 4-5
    magnesium
  • Prevention
  • Offer high-magnesium mineral supplements before
    growth of lush forage and before lambing

31
Copper Toxicosis
  • More common in sheep
  • Results from chronic accumulation in the liver
    due to getting excess dietary Cu in relation to
    molybdenum or sulfate
  • Sources of excess Cu
  • Trace mineral mixtures and feeds for cattle and
    horses
  • Clinical signs absent during accumulation phase
  • Acute disease
  • Off feed, lethargy, depression, diarrhea,
    weakness, hemolysis, jaundice, port-wine colored
    urine

32
Copper Toxicosis
  • Diagnosis
  • Blood Cu levels 10-20 x normal (50-200 µg/dl)
  • Kidney Cu levels postmortem (gt 100 ppm)
  • Liver Cu levels postmortem (gt 350 ppm)
  • Treatment
  • Usually unsuccessful
  • Prevention
  • Avoid high dietary Cu, high Cu-Mo ratio,
    Cu-containing foot baths, etc.

33
Enzootic Ataxia
  • Neurologic disease seen in lambs and kids due to
    copper deficiency in the ewe/doe diet
  • Weakness and ataxia (swaying when walking)
    between 2 weeks and 3 months of age
  • Diagnosis by doing copper levels in serum
  • Many of the changes due to copper deficiency are
    irreversible
  • Treatment not attempted

34
White Muscle Disease
  • Nutritional muscular dystrophy
  • Deficiency of selenium and/or
  • vitamin E
  • Affects skeletal and heart muscle
  • Most common in young, rapidly growing animals
  • Clinical signs
  • Heart form down, respiratory distress, death
  • Muscle form most common, stiff gait, tremors,
    firm muscles, painful

35
White Muscle Disease
  • Diagnosis
  • Clinical signs
  • Elevated muscle enzymes
  • Selenium deficiency
  • Vitamin E deficiency
  • Treatment
  • Vitamin E/selenium injection short acting
  • Prevention
  • Selenium and vitamin E supplemented in feed
  • Selenium/vitamin E injection
  • Dams before birth
  • Kids/lambs after birth

36
Grain Overload
  • Rumen acidosis
  • Forage-fed animals suddenly introduced to a high
    concentrate diet
  • Fermentation of carbohydrates ? decrease in rumen
    pH ? lactic acidosis ? death of rumenal protozoa
    ? fluid from circulatory system drawn into the
    rumen ? dehydration and shock
  • Chronic changes
  • Liver abscesses
  • Laminitis
  • Fungal rumenitis

37
Grain Overload
  • Clinical signs
  • Anorexia, depression, weakness
  • Severe dehydration, toxemia
  • Colic, distended abdomen, diarrhea
  • Diagnosis
  • Rumen pH lt 5.5
  • Few protozoa
  • Large gram-positive rods

38
Grain Overload
  • Treatment
  • Correct shock, dehydration, acid-base
    abnormalities
  • IV fluids with 5 sodium bicarbonate
  • Anti-inflammatories
  • Rumen transfaunation
  • Thiamine supplementation
  • Systemic antibiotics
  • Penicillin
  • Prevention
  • Introduce concentrate feeds slowly over 2-3 weeks
  • Rumen buffers
  • Minimum crude fiber content of 20

39
Protein Overload
  • Urea-ammonia toxicity
  • Dull, depressed, muscle tremors, frequent
    urination and defecation, excess salivation,
    increased respiration, ataxia, tetanic spasms and
    death
  • Treat with vinegar and water via stomach tube
  • Do not feed excessive levels of protein or
    non-protein nitrogen

40
Bloat
  • Frothy bloat
  • Diets promoting formation of stable froth
  • Ingestion of legume forages or hay, lush cereal
    grain pastures
  • Free gas bloat
  • Diets promoting excessive gas formation
  • Grain diets in animals unadapted to diet
  • Failure to eructate
  • Esophageal obstruction
  • Various other conditions
  • EMERGENCY!

41
Bloat
  • Pass stomach tube of free gas bloat
  • Frothy bloat administer DSS or poloxalene, hand
    soap, vegetable oil
  • Prevention
  • Limit access to above dietary changes
  • Add ionophores (monensin) to diet

42
In Summary
43
Nutritional Recommendations
  • Free choice fresh, good quality water
  • Each ewe/doe with at least 1 foot of water trough
    space
  • Energy
  • Structural carbohydrates bulk of diet
  • Fat 4-5 maximum
  • Protein
  • Minimum of 7 dietary crude protein needed for
    normal rumen bacterial growth and function
  • Minerals
  • Calcium-phosphorus ratio between 11 and 21
  • NaCl at 0.5 of diet

44
Nutritional Recommendations
  • Make feed changes slowly!
  • Avoid excessive carbohydrates and protein in diet
  • Ensure appropriate stocking density for forages
  • See handout on herd health for stocking
    recommendations

45
Any Questions?
Write a Comment
User Comments (0)
About PowerShow.com