🍱Animal Nutrition - Balanced Ration, Feed Types, Rumen Health and Teeth

• Nutrition involves various chemical reaction and physiological process which transforms Food into body tissue ( milk, meat, egg, wool )and activities (Work power). In other words, nutrition is the science of how an animal’s body converts feed into useful products and energy.
• 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. This entire chain — from eating to excreting — must function efficiently for an animal to remain healthy and productive.
• 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. A good stockman knows when, what, and how much to feed each animal based on its age, breed, and productive status.

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Balance Ration

• A balance ration is a ration which provides all the essential nutrients to the animal in such proportion and amounts that are required for the proper nourishment of the particular animal in 24 hours (One Day). The key concept here is that a balanced ration meets the animal’s complete nutritional needs for an entire day — not a single meal.
• Also known as daily ration or simply as ration.
• The ration is fed at the rate of 2 to 2.5% of body weight each day. For example, a cow weighing 400 kg would require approximately 8 to 10 kg of feed daily.

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Ration Constituents

• Concentrates: Feeds that contain less than 18% crude fiber are called concentrates such as grains, oilcakes, grain by products etc. Concentrates are nutrient-dense feeds that provide high levels of energy and protein in a small volume.
• Roughage: Feeds that contain more than 18% crude fiber are called roughage such as hay, silage, fodder etc. Roughages are essential for rumen health as they stimulate chewing, saliva production, and proper rumen function.

• Pasture: Fodder crops grown on the land for grazing animals. Pastures provide fresh, green feed that is rich in vitamins and minerals at low cost.
• Hay: Hay is grass that is cut, dried and stored by humans to be used in future. It is characterized by having low moisture content (not more than 15%). The low moisture ensures that hay can be stored for long periods without spoilage — if moisture exceeds 15%, mould and heating occur during storage.
• Silage: Green grass is a good source of vitamin A which is present in the form of Carotene. Green fodder can be preserved as silage stored for long period (up to months). Silage is a type of fodder made from green foliage crops which have been preserved by fermentation to the point of acidification. Moisture content varies by crop: maize/sorghum silage: 60–70% moisture; grass/legume silage: 70–80% moisture. The fermentation process produces organic acids (mainly lactic acid) that act as natural preservatives, keeping the fodder nutritious for months.
• Ensiling: Process of making silage. In the ensiling process, the absence of oxygen leads to the fermentation of water-soluble carbohydrates to produce organic acids which increase acidity of the material (pH about 4.0). This anaerobic fermentation is the core principle behind silage-making — without oxygen, beneficial bacteria thrive and harmful ones are suppressed.
• Energy feeds: Feeds containing less than 20% crude protein are called energy feeds. Examples include maize, barley, wheat bran, and molasses.
• Protein supplements: Feeds that contain 20% or more protein are called protein supplements. Examples include groundnut cake, soybean meal, cottonseed cake, and fish meal.

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Major Indian Fodder Crops

India’s livestock sector depends heavily on cultivated fodder crops. Key crops to know for exams:

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TDN — Total Digestible Nutrients

• TDN is a measure of the overall energy value of a feed. It is the sum of all digestible organic nutrients — digestible crude protein + digestible crude fibre + digestible nitrogen-free extract + (digestible ether extract × 2.25).
• TDN is expressed as a percentage of dry matter or as kg per kg of feed.
• A dairy cow producing 10 litres of milk per day requires approximately 5–6 kg TDN per day.
• TDN is the most commonly used energy system in Indian livestock feeding standards (ICAR) and in IBPS AFO exam questions.
• High TDN feeds: Maize (80%), Groundnut cake (77%), Molasses (60–65%)
• Low TDN feeds: Wheat straw (40–42%), Paddy straw (38–40%)

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Bypass Protein (Rumen Undegradable Protein — RUP / UDP)

• Ruminants have a unique problem: the rumen microbes degrade a large portion of dietary protein before it reaches the small intestine. This degraded protein is called Rumen Degradable Protein (RDP).
• Bypass protein (also called Undegradable Dietary Protein — UDP or Rumen Undegradable Protein — RUP) is the fraction of dietary protein that escapes rumen fermentation and is directly digested and absorbed in the abomasum and small intestine.
• Bypass protein is critical for high-yielding dairy cows whose protein demand for milk production exceeds what rumen microbes can supply.
• High bypass protein feeds: Fish meal (~70% RUP), Blood meal (~80% RUP), Formaldehyde-treated groundnut cake, Heat-treated oilcakes.
• Formula: Total dietary protein = RDP (degraded in rumen) + RUP (bypass protein)

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Importance of drinking water for dairy animals

• Ad libitum basis (as and when required on free choice basis). This means animals should have unrestricted access to clean drinking water at all times.
• Normally, an adult healthy animal require 75 to 80 litres of water daily. Since milk contains about 87–88% water, for every litre of milk produced, additional two and half litres water is required above maintenance. This makes water the single most important nutrient for dairy animals, as insufficient water intake directly reduces milk production.
• During summer, crossbred cows and buffaloes should be given bath twice daily and at least 100 litres of water per day to manage heat. Bathing helps in thermoregulation and reduces heat stress, which can otherwise cause a significant drop in milk yield.
• Salinity of water is seldom a problem in dairy buffalo feeding. A salt content of up to 5 g/litre of water can be used for buffaloes.

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Types of Ration

Maintenance Ration

• A ration given daily to the animal to maintain in resting non-production condition with good health. This is the minimum nutritional requirement just to keep the animal alive and healthy without any productive output (no milk, no growth, no work).

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Production Ration

• A portion of the ration given daily is more than maintenance requirement for purpose of growth, production, and work. The production ration is the extra feed above maintenance that fuels activities like milk production, weight gain, or draught work. The higher the production level, the more production ration is needed.

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Flushing

• This is a temporary but purposeful increase in nutrition/ feed around breeding time — typically starting 2–3 weeks before mating and continuing through the first 3 weeks of the mating period.
• Its objective is to boost ovulation, conception, and embryo implantation rates. Flushing may also increase the proportion of females that exhibit estrus. By providing extra energy and protein just before breeding, the farmer can significantly improve reproductive success.
• Flushing is most effective in animals that are in average to thin body condition at the time of mating. Animals already in good condition show less response to flushing.

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Steaming up

• Steaming up refers to providing extra concentrate to a pregnant animal in the last 4–6 weeks of pregnancy (G.C. Banerjee). This practice is crucial for preparing the animal for the demanding lactation period that follows calving.
• It provides extra nutrients for the animal and the growing foetus.
• Steaming up also allows the animal to put on extra weight (reserve energy) to promote maximum milk production from the very beginning of the lactation. Animals that are well-nourished before calving typically have a higher peak yield and a longer lactation than those that are underfed.
• Inadequate steaming up increases the risk of ketosis (acetonaemia) in early lactation, as the animal cannot mobilise enough energy from body reserves.

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Calf starter

• Concentrate feed that can be offered as early as day 3–7 of age; meaningful voluntary intake begins at 2–3 weeks of age. Calf starter is high in protein and designed to encourage early rumen development in young calves, helping them transition from a liquid (milk) diet to solid feed.
• Early access to calf starter accelerates rumen papillae development, which is essential for efficient nutrient absorption later in life.

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Challenge feeding

• The practice of feeding higher levels of concentrate to challenge the cow to reach her maximum milk production. This technique is used with high-yielding cows in early lactation to ensure they express their full genetic potential for milk production.

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Creep feeding

• The place of feeding lamb, calves and piglet means only young animals but not adults. A creep feeder is designed with small openings that only young animals can access, ensuring the feed is reserved exclusively for them.
• Creep feeding is a method of supplementing the diet of young livestock, primarily in beef calves, by offering feed to animals who are still nursing.
• Creep feed is sometimes offered to swine, and it is possible with companion grazing animals such as sheep and goats.
• ‘Creep Feeding’, the practice of offering grain to lambs/kids that have not yet been weaned, can help the eventual transition off of milk to a post-weaning diet and can reduce stress at weaning time. Early exposure to solid feed ensures that the young animal’s digestive system matures smoothly before weaning.

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Rumen Health

• Anorexia is lack of appetite. Loss of appetite in ruminants is often the first sign of illness or nutritional imbalance and should be investigated promptly.
• Percentage utilization of protein within animal body denotes it’s biological value. A feed with high biological value means a greater proportion of its protein is actually used by the animal’s body.
• Sodium deficiency in cattles caused dehydration (loss of fluids.) Sodium is essential for maintaining water balance and proper nerve and muscle function.
• Tympanitis is the disorder in cattles caused by excessive feeding of lush legume fodders — particularly berseem (clover), lucerne (alfalfa), and other legumes. Also known as bloat, this condition occurs when gas (mainly from fermentation of soluble proteins and saponins in legumes) accumulates in the rumen faster than the animal can expel it, causing dangerous distension. Frothy bloat is the most dangerous form and is directly linked to legume-dominant diets.
• Ca deficiency causes Milk fever in dairy cattles. Milk fever (or hypocalcaemia) typically occurs within 72 hours of calving when the sudden demand for calcium for milk production exceeds the body’s ability to mobilise calcium from bones.
• Fe deficiency causes Anaemia. Iron is essential for haemoglobin synthesis, and its deficiency leads to reduced oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood.
• P deficiency causes Pica disease. Animals with phosphorus deficiency develop an abnormal appetite and start eating unusual objects like bones, cloth, wood, and soil — a condition called Pica.

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Ketosis (Acetonaemia)

• Ketosis is a metabolic disorder of high-producing dairy cows that occurs in early lactation (first 4–6 weeks after calving), when energy demand for milk production exceeds dietary energy intake.
• The cow mobilises body fat to compensate, producing ketone bodies (acetone, acetoacetate, beta-hydroxybutyrate) in excess. These accumulate in blood, milk, and urine.
• Signs: Drop in milk yield, sweet/fruity smell of breath and milk (acetone odour), nervous signs in severe cases, rapid weight loss.
• Predisposing factors: Over-conditioned cows at calving (BCS > 3.5), inadequate steaming up, sudden diet change, low energy intake.
• Prevention: Proper steaming up, avoid over-conditioning before calving, propylene glycol supplementation.

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Ruminal Acidosis (Grain Overload)

• Acidosis is the opposite of bloat — it occurs when excess concentrate (starch/grain) is fed, causing rapid fermentation of starch in the rumen, producing large amounts of lactic acid.
• Rumen pH drops below 5.5 (normal rumen pH: 6.0–6.8), damaging rumen lining (rumenitis) and ultimately the liver (liver abscesses).
• Signs: Diarrhoea, dullness, reluctance to move, rumen stasis, laminitis (founder) in chronic cases.
• Prevention: Gradual introduction of concentrates, adequate roughage in diet (minimum 40% of dry matter), use of buffers like sodium bicarbonate (baking soda).

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Body Condition Scoring (BCS)

• BCS is a practical tool to visually and manually assess the fat reserves (energy status) of an animal, independent of body weight.
• Scored on a scale of 1 to 5 in cattle (1 = emaciated, 5 = obese). Ideal BCS at calving: 3.0–3.5.
• BCS guides feeding decisions: animals below target need more energy; over-conditioned animals (BCS > 3.5) are at risk of ketosis.
• Key BCS targets for dairy cows:
  • At calving: 3.0–3.5
  • At peak lactation (6–8 weeks): not below 2.5
  • At dry-off: 3.0–3.5

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Teeth in Cattles

• Cattle first develop 20 temporary teeth, known also as deciduous, milk, or baby teeth. These temporary teeth eventually fall out and are replaced with 32 permanent or adult teeth as an animal matures. The age of cattle can be estimated by examining the pattern of tooth replacement, which is a useful skill in livestock management.

• Dentition Formula (ICPM: Incisor, Canaion, Premolars, Molars - pairs)
  • Temporary dentition (20): 0/4 0/0 3/3 0/0
  • Permanent dentition (32): 0/4 0/0 3/3 3/3
• Number of permanent cheek teeth in cow (molar + premolar) = 24.
• Molar teeth do not emerge temporarily in cows and buffaloes. They come straight out permanent. This is an important exam fact — molars appear only as permanent teeth, never as temporary ones.
• Canine teeth are not found in ruminant animals. Instead, ruminants have a tough dental pad on the upper jaw that works against the lower incisors to tear grass.

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Parts of Stomach in Ruminants

• The stomach of a ruminant has four chambers. This multi-chambered stomach is what makes ruminants unique — it allows them to digest cellulose (plant fibre) that non-ruminants cannot.
• The first chamber is the largest and is called the rumen. The rumen acts as a giant fermentation vat where billions of microorganisms break down cellulose into usable nutrients.
• The second chamber is the reticulum (honeycomb). It is named for its honeycomb-like inner lining and works closely with the rumen to move partially digested food.
• The third is the Omasum (book) and the fourth is the abomasum (the true stomach). The omasum absorbs water and minerals, while the abomasum functions like a human stomach, secreting digestive acids and enzymes.

• The ruminant chews grass and shallows and it goes into the rumen.
• When the ruminant has finished eating, the food is brought back up and rechewed. This is called chewing the cud or rumination. If the animal stops ruminating this is a sign of ill health. A healthy cow typically ruminates for 6 to 8 hours per day, and cessation of rumination is one of the earliest indicators of disease.
• Cattle, Goats, Sheep, Buffalo and Camel chew the cud. They are ruminants. They chew the cud (ruminate) for 6 to 8 hours each day.
• The horse, donkey and mule are herbivores but do not chew the cud. They are non-ruminants. These animals have a simple stomach (monogastric) and rely on hindgut fermentation in the caecum to digest fibre.

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References & Sources

1

G.C. Banerjee: A Textbook of Animal Husbandry (8th ed.)Book

2

ICAR — Nutrient Requirements of Animals: Cattle and Buffalo

3

FAO — Milk CompositionWeb

4

MSD Veterinary Manual — Bloat in RuminantsWeb

5

Penn State Extension — Forage Quality and Feed AnalysisWeb

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Summary Cheat Sheet