THE NUTRIENT REQUIREMENTS OF ANIMALS

The animal uses the nutrients obtained from foods for a variety of purposes. This part describes how the nutrient requirements of the animal are quantified and expressed as feeding standards. 

Chapter 14 covers the nutrient requirements for maintenance and growth and explains how growth can be controlled by nutrient supply. 

Nutrient requirements for reproduction are considered in Chapter 15, which also includes nutritional influences on puberty, fertility and fecundity and the requirements for egg production in poultry and growth of the foetus. 

Chapter 16 describes the synthesis of milk components, followed by the requirements for lactation in the main farm animal species. 

Formulation of a ration or diet requires knowledge of the nutrient requirements of the animal (discussed in this part) and the nutritional value of the foods (discussed in Part 3) and, in order to combine these two, the amount of foods the animal can consume. Therefore, Chapter 17 gives details of factors affecting food intake in both monogastrics and ruminants and the methods used to predict food intake. 

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