After reading this article you will learn about: 1. Livestock Nutrition 2. Feeding for Livestock 3. Breeding.
Livestock Nutrition:
1. Roughages:
(a) Roughages are bulky feeds containing relatively large amount of less digestible material i.e., crude fibre more than 18% and low in T.D.N, on air dry basis.
(b) Roughages are sub-divided into two major groups i.e., succulents (pasture, fodder crops, tree leaves and root crops) and silage. Succulent means forage having more than 90% moisture.
(c) Pasture is the most convenient and economic for maintaining larger livestock.
(d) Fodder crops are classified into two groups i.e., leguminous (kharif fodder -cowpea & cluster bean and Rabi fodder- berseem & lucerne) and non-leguminous (kharif fodder-maize, jawar & Sudan grass and rabi fodder- oats & barley).
(e) Tree leaves are utilized for feeding sheep and goats especially during period of fodder crises. Some important leafy fodder trees are pipal, babul, kachnar, bel, jharberi etc.
(f) Root crops i.e., topioca, turnips, mongolds, fodder beet, carrot are used.
(g) Silage is the product obtains by packing fresh fodder in a condition, where it is allowed fermented under aerobic condition without loosing the nutrients.
2. Dry Roughages:
(a) Hay is an animal feed produced by dehydrating or high temperature drying of green fodder to a moisture content of about 15% or less so that the biological process do not proceed rapidly to build-up heat. Most suitable crop for hay making is lucerne.
(b) Straws consist of the stem and leaves of plants after removal of the ripe seed by threshing. They are poor in protein but have highest percentage of crude fibre.
3. Concentrates:
(a) A concentrate is usually a feed or feed mixture which supplies primary nutrients (protein, carbohydrate and fat) at higher level but contains less than 18% crude fibre with low moisture.
(b) These are classified into two groups on the basis of the crude protein (CP) content of air dry concentrates.
(c) First one is energy rich concentrates when CP content is less than 18%. It consists of grains, seeds, bran, flour, hulls, meal, molasses, roots etc.
(d) Another one is protein rich concentrates when the CP content more than 18%.
Feeding For Livestock:
1. Maintain Ration (for non-producing animal):
(a) Digestible Crude Protein and Total Digestible Nutrients:
which is comprised of 0.254 kg DCP and 3.0 kg TON for about 400 kg weighted animal.
(b) Concentrate:
For growing animal, 2-3 kg, pregnant animal 1-2 kg, breeding bull 1-2 kg and working bullocks 1.5-2 kg of concentrate in their ration.
2. Production Ration (for producing animal):
(a) For milch cow, 1 kg of grain for every 3 kg of milk, plus 1 kg of concentrate as a maintenance ration, is given in addition to dry matter (2.5 kg for every 100 kg body weight).
(b) For Buffalo/15kg concentrates for every 25kg of milk plus l5g concentrate as maintenance ration is given in addition to dry matter (3 kg for every 100 kg body weight).
Feeding of Sheep:
They feed on green grasses and other wild plants. When sheep are reared for a particular purpose, they are given protein, minerals and vitamin rich food. The mam constituents of their food are as follows:
i. Leguminous fodder: Urd, mung, berseem etc.
ii. Oil cakes: Groundnut, sesame cake (rich in proteins)
iii. Grains: Maize, barley, oats and jowar.
iv. Lime, common salt: Sterilised bone meal (rich in mineral salts)
Breeding Systems of Livestock:
The aim of the breeding is to evolve outstanding and improved types of animals which can render better service to man.
1. Inbreeding:
The mating of the more closely related individuals (within 4-6 generations) than the average of the population.
(a) Close Breeding:
This means the mating of full sister to full brother/ sire to his daughter/dam to her son. This type of mating should be used only when both parents are outstanding individuals.
(b) Line Breeding:
This means the mating of animals of wider degrees of relationship than those selected for close breeding. It promotes uniformity in the characters.
2. Out-breeding:
Breeding of unrelated animals.
(a) Out-cross Breeding:
It is the practice of mating of the unrelated pure bred animals within the same breed.
(b) Cross Breeding:
It is the mating of animals of different breeds. It is generally where the crossed progeny is directly marketed and are not needed for breeding and further multiplication.
(i) Grading Up: Grading is a process by which a few purebred sires can rather quickly transform a non-descript population into a group of pure breeds.
(ii) Dehorning: This is the process by which the horns of an animal are removed after birth by treating the tender horn with a chemical, mechanical or electrical dehorner.
1. Chemical dehorning – Caustic soda is commonly used for dehorning.
2. Mechanical dehorning – Clippers, saws and rubber bands are used.
3. Electrical dehorning – Electric dehorner (rod)
(iii) Disbudding:
It means the arrest of horn growth at an early stage when the horn root is in the form of a ‘bud’ or button.
(iv) Castrating the bull Calf:
Castration is the unsexing of the male or female and consists of the removal of testicles or ovaries, respectively. Generally castrating is done with the help of Burdizzo’s castrator.
(v) Bedding/ Litter:
Bedding or litter is used primarily for the purpose of keeping animals clean and comfortable.