🌾 Livestock Nutrition and Balanced Ration

This lesson covers core livestock production and management concepts for practical farm application and exam-oriented preparation.

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Nutrition-Definition-Ration

Class 12: Nutrition-Definition-Ration-Balanced ration-Desirable characteristics of a ration.

General classification of feeding stuff

Concentrates Additives

roughages, straws, hay etc.

Leguminous, berseem lucerne, cowpea, etc.

Non-leguminous maize, sorghum bajra, etc.

Green roughages (succulent)

Animal sources meat meal etc.

Vegetable sources

Carbonaceous, maize, jowar tapioca, barley, etc.

Proteinous groundnut cake tilcake, etc.

Vitamin supplement

Antibiotic Hormonal Mineral supplements

Nutrition involves various chemical reaction and physiological process which transforms

Food into body tissue ( milk, meat, egg, wool )and activities (Work power).Nutrition involves

ingestion, digestion, and absorption of the various Nutrients and their transport to all the body

cell and the removal of unusable elements and waste products of Metabolism.

Nutrients are defined as the substances which can sustain or aids in the support of the life.

Lavoiser-French Scientist is referred as father of Nutrition. There are two aspects in Animal

Nutrition

1. Science of Nutrition – It is the work of Animal Nutritionist

2. Art of feeding of animals.- Good stockman ship.

RATION :

is the feed allowed for a given animal during a day of 24 Hours.

Balanced Ration.

Balanced ration which provides essential nutrients to the animals in such proportion

and amount that are required for the proper nourishment of the particular animal.

S.No.	Concentrate	Roughages
1.	10 % Moisture and 90% Dry matter	Dry fodder--10 % Moisture and 90%

Col1	Col2	Dry matter Green Fodder---80-90 % Moisture and 10% Dry Matter
2.	Highly Digestible	Comparatively less digestible
3.	Crude fibre less than 18%	More than 18%
4.	Nutritive Value/unit mass is high	Low
5.	Compact in Nature	Bulky
6.	Keeping quality -High	Variable : Dry Fodder – High, Green fodder- Less/low

Desirable Characters of a ration.

1. Liberal feeding ; Satisfy all the physiological status +waste in preparation+Feeding.NOT over

feeding-Doubly Wasteful.

2. Individual Feeding : Avoid Competition ; adequate –individual feeding is always better.

3. Properly Balance : Concentrate; Roughage. a. green fodder i. Legumunious and Non

Leguminous

fodder. b. Dry fodder.

4. Palatable & Variety : Better and balanced mixture of protein, vitamins and other nutrients.

5. Good and Sound : Low quality-unwholesome ingredients, may contain toxic components

poor

quality –reduce feed value.

6. Mineral Mixture : Every Kg milk- 0.7%.-Deficit –depletion cause metabolic disease. milk

contains eg. Ca 3 g and 2.7 g in milk and 3 grams in egg shell.

7. Laxative : otherwise food will be incompletely digested constipation-digestive disorder

utilistion

–nutrients affected-reduction in production.

8. Bulky : Capacious and satiety .

9. Green Fodder : Source of vitamin-‘A’-reproduction-Bulky- laxative-cost wise cheap

unidentified

factors-easily digestible.

10.Avoid change in the diet: Bacterial digestion-Prevalence of specified species-sudden change –

digestive disorder.

11.Maintain regularity : Glandular Secretion-essential for digestion.

12.Properly Prepared : Hard grain-Coarsely ground-Cottonseed soaked-coarse fodder – chaffed

sprinkled salt-molasses-increases consumption.

13.Labour and cost ; ultimate –aim-profit ; 70 % cost of production is attributed to feeding of

animals.

Total Dry matter

1/3 concentrates 2/3 roughages

1/3 Green roughage 2/3 dry

¼ Legumes ¾ grass

Eg. 400 Kg. B.weight 2 – 2.5 % Bwt. – x-9 (8-10)

1/3 concentrate (3.3 kg.) 3 as fed

9 kg.

2/3 roughage (6 kg.)

¼ legumes 0.5Kg. ¾ Non legumes 1.5Kg.

2/3 dry 4 Kg.

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Summary Cheat Sheet

Topic	Key Point
Nutrition meaning	Process by which animals consume and utilize feed nutrients
Ration meaning	Amount of feed given to an animal for 24 hours
Balanced ration	Supplies all nutrients in right quantity and proportion for maintenance and production
Main nutrient groups	Water, carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, and vitamins
Feeding objective	Meet maintenance, growth, reproduction, and production needs
Good ration quality	Palatable, digestible, economical, and nutritionally adequate
Species relevance	Ration formulation differs with age, species, production stage, and purpose
Management role	Proper nutrition strongly affects health, fertility, and output
Exam distinction	Nutrition is the science/process; ration is the daily feed allowance
Exam trap	A ration is not automatically balanced just because feed is supplied daily