On farm feeding
Basic approach to feeding game and practical tips to reduce risk on the farm
Dr . Craig Shepstone Wildlife Nutrition Services
0833051380 | craig . shepstone @ gmail . com
When considering feeding animals on a game farm , one must consider the risk that goes along with it . It is important that the farmer , manager does everything in their power to minimise risk . It is sad if something happens on the farm that could have been prevented .
The biggest challenge regarding this topic is the lack of understanding of what can go wrong when purchasing , mixing , storing and feeding feed / raw materials to animals .
When considering an animals gut , be it a foregut fermenter ( ruminant ), or a hindgut fermenter like the rhino , one can take the total volume of food ingested and divide it into 3 equal parts .
Full belly / animals nutritional requirements = 1 + 2 + 3
For the purpose of this article , feeds are broken down into supplements , semi adlib feeds , full feeds and roughage ;
When feeding an animal , the animals food requirement is 1 + 2 + 3
Supplements
Supplemental feed , should be supplied at amounts smaller than or equal to 1 / 3 of the animal ’ s physiological requirements ( ≤1 ).
In terms of practically feeding the animals requirements are equal to 1 + 2 + 3 , where 1 is the supplement and the rest ( 2 + 3 ) = grass or available roughage . In other words , when an animal receives a supplement it should get the necessary nutrient requirements for its particular physiological state in ≤1 of the 3 segments shown in figure one .
Supplements are normally concentrated feed , supplied to the animals in small amounts .
Figure 1 : projecting the gut in thirds .
They are usually found in the form of pellets or meals , which can be purchased , or mixed on the farm .
• In short supplements are small amounts of concentrated nutrients that assist the digestion of the natural forage the animals eat .
• Designed to give the animal what nature can ’ t for optimal production and reproduction at any specific time of the year ( dry and green months ).
2016 JULY 5