Animal Nutrition Topic 3043

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Animal NutritionTopic 3043

• Carbohydrates and Fats
• Digestion, Absorption and Feed Consumption
• Anna Blight

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Carbohydrates and Fats

• The primary energy source in feed

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Carbohydrates

• Contains carbon, hydrogen and oxygen
• Digestion breaks down carbohydrates into simple
  starches and sugars

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Carbohydrates

• Sugars and starches are a very important source
  of energy
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• Roughages are an important source for starch in
  ruminant diets (hays and silage, etc.)
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Carbohydrates

• Monogastrics better utilize concentrates (cereal
  grains, oil meals, soybean meals, etc) as source
  of carbs.
• Concentrates are high in energy
• Low in fiber
• Highly digestible

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Fats

• Primary energy source
• Contains carbon, hydrogen and oxygen
• Digestion breaks down fat into fatty acids
• 2.25 times more energy / pound than carbohydrates

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Digestion and Absorption

• The role of digestion is to reduce feed particles
  to molecules
• Molecules can be absorbed into the blood and
  eventually support body functions 

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Digestion and Absorption

• Digestibility refers to the amount of various
  nutrients in a feed, which can be absorbed from
  the digestive tract
• Animals are classified as ruminants or
  monogastrics

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Ruminants

• Cows, goats and sheep
• Rumination Chew cud
• (re-chew a regurgitated bolus of feed)

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Ruminants

• Has a complex stomach consisting of more than one
  compartment
• The four compartments are called rumen,
  reticulum, omasum and abomasom.

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Ruminants

• The rumen is a large fermentation vat where
  bacteria and protozoa thrive and break down
  roughages to obtain nutrients for their own use.
• Animal has mutualistic relationship with
  microorganisms

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Cattle synthesize B vitamins

• Microorganisms in the gut make
  B-complex vitamins
• Can also make some proteins if given correct type
  of nitrogen
• Later these microorganisms are digested in the
  small intestine to provide nutrients for the
  animals use

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Fermentation process

• Microbial fermentation of carbohydrates produces
  volatile fatty acids as waste products
• Animal uses volatile fatty acids as major source
  of energy
• Also produces large amounts of methane gas and
  some carbon dioxide

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Monagastrics

• Pigs, horses, poultry and humans
• Simple stomach, one compartment
• Enzymes present in saliva and in the stomach aid
  in digestion

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Monagastrics

• Carbohydrates break down into simple starches and
  sugars
• Proteins to amino acids
• Fat to fatty acids

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Monogastrics

• Cannot significantly synthesize
  B-complex vitamins or amino acids
• Small intestine receives finished products of
  digestion
• Small intestine is most important area for
  digestion and absorption of feed