Ruminants growing diet

Like all other animals, poultry require five components in their diet as a source of nutrients energy, protein, minerals, vitamins and water. A nutrient shortage or imbalance in relation to other nutrients will affect performance adversely. Poultry need a well-balanced and easily digested diet for optimal production of eggs and meat and are very sensitive to dietary quality because they grow quickly and make relatively little use of fibrous, bulky feeds such as lucerne hay or pasture, since they are non-ruminants (have a simple stomach compartment). 

In growing ruminants, 10 g sulfur kg diet reduced the daily weight gain signifi-... 

Soybean products are excellent sources of protein and energy for beef cattle. Approximately 7.0% of the SBM utilized in the United States is fed to beef catde. This is a much smaller portion than the quantities utilized by swine and poultry (Fig. 18.1). The purpose of this section is to describe the reason for this relationship and how recent research may increase the use of SBM in beef cattle diets in the future. With over 40 million growing and finishing beef cattle produced in the United States each year, this is a huge potential market for soybean products. To understand why only 7% of the SBM consumed by livestock and poultry is fed to beef catde, one has to begin with a discussion of the digestive physiology of ruminants. 

Much of the safety support comes from the fact that CIA is already consumed in the human diet, especially in ruminant derived products, without apparent adverse effects. However, the isomeric composition of naturally occurring CLA is different from the CIA available as food supplements. Ruminant meat and dairy products contain mainly the cis-9,trans- 1 CLA isomer, whereas commercial CLA preparations generally contain equal proportions of the cts-9,trans- and the trans-l0,cis-l2 CLA isomer. There is a growing body of evidence that these two isomers have very distinct biological functions (1). In addition, the intake of CLA from natural dietary sources was calculated to range from 150—400 mg/day (2, 3), whereas the recommended intake for commercial CLA supplements varies from 1 to 3.4 g/day. The safety assessment of CLA based on the natural occurrence in the diet is therefore limited. 

In non-ruminants, level of feeding rises to 2.0-3.0 times maintenance in poultry, 3.0-4.0 times maintenance in growing pigs and 4.0-6.0 times maintenance in lactating sows, but there is httle evidence for an effect of level of feeding on the digestibility of conventional (i.e. low-fibre) diets. 

Maximmn levels of inclusion are 150 kg/t for ruminant diets, 100 kg/t for adult poultry and pigs, and 50 kg/t for growing pigs and broilers. 

The meal is of low palatability and must be introduced into the diet gradually. Dietary rates of inclusion are generally low, being of the order of 25-30 kg/t of the total ration for adult ruminants, 25 kg/t for layers, broilers and turkeys, and 10 kg/t for calves, lambs, sows, and growing and finishing pigs. The meal is not used for weaner and creep-fed pigs or chicks. 

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