The diet of sheep

The importance of nutrition

The productivity of farmed productive ruminants are determined by their genotype and are affected by their health and breeding environment.

By term breeding environment, we imply housing conditions, treatment of animals, and their nutrition. Nutrition is a crucial element of breeding all productive animals since it directly affects the yields and health. In addition, the required. The cost of feeding farm animals is a critical factor for the economy of breeding. The dieting is, therefore, an essential part of the viability of a livestock unit.

Diets

But what is a diet? The total of the compound feeding given to a day assigned to the animal is called a diet. If this diet meets the animal’s daily needs with a deviation of ± 5%, then it is called a balanced diet, and as long as this balanced diet is made with the lowest possible cost is then called a sensible diet. The goal of all nutrition activities performed in a unit is to prepare rational diets.

Preconditions for the composition of a rational diet

The animals’ needs for nutrients, energy and food intake.

1. The needs of productive animals for nutrients and energy have now been assessed and recorded in special tables by species of animals (cattle, sheep and goats, pigs, chickens, rabbits, other animals) and category (lactating, fattening, pregnant, lactating, working, egg-laying, etc.) to which we turn to determine these needs.

2. The feed content in dietary and nutritional value. The average nutrient content substances and energy of the most common currently used feed has been identified and recorded in unique tables that are known as “feed value” tables in which and will we appeal.

3. The dietary restrictions on the use of different feeds. Feed is not given uncontrollably. Based on their chemical, physical and nutritional properties, they have limitations in their use. Detailed analysis of the properties and limitations of use of different feed is the subject of the science of Bromatology.

4. The price of each feed per unit weight. Essentially the rational diet is a mixture of the currently available feed, which covers the needs of the animals for which it is intended. These selected simple feeds must be the most economical so that this mixture is produced at the lowest possible cost.

Feed is generally divided into coarse and concentrated, and the main characteristics of each category are:

Coarse Feed
-A high percentage of cellulose
-Large-volume
-Low digestibility
-Poor in digestible energy
-Low density
-Poor on cellulose
-Low volume
-High digestibility
-Rich in digestible energy
-High density

Concentrated Feed

-Poor on cellulose
-Low volume
-High digestibility
-Rich in digestible energy
-High density