Animal Nutrition Terminologies Quiz

Mineral Functions and Deficiencies

• Minerals are essential for various bodily functions, including skeletal formation and maintenance, protein synthesis, oxygen transport, fluid balance, and enzyme activation.
• Specific minerals have distinct functions, such as:
  • Ca, P, Mg, Cu, and Mn for skeletal formation and maintenance
  • P, S, and Zn for protein synthesis
  • Fe and Cu for oxygen transport
  • Na, Cl, and K for fluid balance
• Deficiencies in certain minerals can lead to various health problems, including:
  • Sulfur deficiency: low feed efficiency and slow wool growth in sheep
  • Iron deficiency: anemia, thumps in pigs
  • Copper deficiency: fading hair coat, lameness, swelling of joints, and fragility of bones
  • Zinc deficiency: poor hair/feather development, slipping of wool, rough and thickened skin, retard growth, and anorexia
  • Iodine deficiency: goiter, still births, hairless pigs or wool-less lambs at birth

Animal Nutrition Terminologies

• Feed: any material that includes naturally in both plants and animals, including by-products prepared from them
• Feedstuff: any material, both natural and synthetic, that has nutritional value when properly used in the diet
• Nutrients: substances or elements found in plants and animals that are necessary to support life processes
• Ration: the food given to animals with a balanced mix of nutrients needed within 24 hours
• Enzymes: complex proteins produced in living cells that cause changes in other substances within the body

Carbohydrates

• Carbohydrates have several functions, including:
  • Providing energy for ruminants and monogastric animals
  • Serving as structural components of cell walls
  • Storing energy as fats
  • Comprising nucleic acids and some lipids and proteins
  • Participating in cell-to-cell recognition processes
• There are four main classes of carbohydrates:
  • Monosaccharides: simple sugars, such as glucose, galactose, and fructose
  • Disaccharides: composed of two monosaccharides linked together, such as sucrose and lactose
  • Oligosaccharides: made up of 3-10 monosaccharide units
  • Polysaccharides: long chains of monosaccharide units, such as starch, cellulose, and glycogen

Fats/Lipids

• Fats/lipids are present in both plants and animals and are insoluble in water but soluble in organic solvents
• They provide energy and have structural functions, containing carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen
• Hydrolysis of fats/lipids produces fatty acids and glycerol

Feed Additives and Modifiers

• Antioxidants: protect polyunsaturated fatty acids and fat-soluble vitamins from destruction by peroxidation
• Probiotics: live microbials added to rations to improve intestinal microbial balance
• Prebiotics: non-digestible substances that selectively stimulate beneficial microorganisms in the colon
• Pigmenters: chemical agents used to enhance coloration and pigmentation of the skin or egg yolk in poultry
• Metabolic modifiers: compounds that modify animal metabolisms in specific ways, such as repartitioning agents
• Antibiotics: chemical substances produced by microorganisms that increase growth rate and feed utilization when added to feeds at sub-therapeutic levels

Feeding Methods and Systems

• Ad libitum feeding: animals are allowed to eat as much as they can
• Restricted feeding: animals are limited to 80-85% of their full feed capacity
• Feeding methods: floor vs. trough feeding, group vs. individual feeding, dry vs. wet feeding
• Grazing systems: continuous grazing and rotational grazing, with different carrying capacities and benefits