Animal Nutrition: Necessary Nutrients and Minerals in Daily Feed

Proper nutrition of cattle is a crucial factor for maximum productivity. And animal feed is an excellent source to provide optimal nutrition to your cattle. Animals’ health is essential to multiply production and is a major reason for your husbandry business to grow.

Feed that consists of proper nutrients and minerals have a major role in maintaining nutrition balance in the body of an animal. Quality feed complements animal nutrition, which helps in proper growth, enhances metabolism, and quick recovery.

An animal that intake nutritious feed daily stays healthy, which is why a balanced diet is necessary to maintain their health. And animal diet needs to have proper nutrients and minerals to help their body function accurately.

Nutrition: Critical Part in Animal Feed

Giving proper nutrition to animals and selecting the right Feed is a crucial part of the husbandry business. Expecting profit from the husbandry business depends upon what quality of animal feed you provide and whether the Feed has good nutrition value or not.

Carbohydrate

Carbohydrate is the major source of energy to animals’ body. It is also a primary precursor for milk, glucose and fat production, which is necessary to maintain animals’ health. Additionally, carbohydrate is also required for growth, reproduction, movement, and feed digestion. Grain, roots, tubers, and other starchy foods are an excellent source of carbohydrates. Including these foods in an animal’s diet can help in maintaining the balance of carbohydrates in the body.

Fat

Animal daily diet usually has a lower concentration of fat. Providing supplemental fats can impact the concentration of fat in the animals’ bodies. Supplemental fat can improve the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins. Cattle can get supplemental fat from vegetables such as oilseeds. Oilseeds are rich in fat but usually make up a small part of the daily diet. Try including fat in animal feed to give them a diet full of nutrition.

Domestic Animal

Protein

Protein is an essential element for the proper functioning of the body. Also, it is the major building block that plays a role in the growth of the animal. Protein consists of amino acids that are necessary for growth, lactation, reproduction, and proper maintenance. However, a lack of protein can negatively influence the health of the cattle. So, protein is an essential nutrient that helps animals’ bodies to function effectively.

Vitamins

Vitamins are an essential component for cattle, but it is required in less quantity. Vitamin A, Vitamin D, and Vitamin E are the three vitamins that animals have to intake externally, and Vitamin K and B Vitamins are produced internally by their bodies. These vitamins are essential for normal growth, optimum productivity, and good health. Cattle with vitamin deficiency must be provided with vitamin supplements to meet the requirement. But make sure to provide vitamin dose as per the vet’s suggestion.

Water

Water is necessary to keep the cattle hydrated. Installing a proper water supply in the shelter is an ideal way to ensure that your cattle have sufficient water. Especially cattle will need water after consumption of Feed, so make sure shelter has a good water supply. And they will also need water more during the summer season than in winter.

Minerals:  Essential Element in Animal Feed

Several minerals are necessary for growth, bone formation, reproduction, digestion, metabolism, and other body functions. There are many minerals essential for health and each mineral has a specific role in the body, so their quantity requirement varies. Sodium, calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, and potassium are minerals that are required in high quantity. On the other hand, minerals such as iodine, copper, zinc, Sulphur, and selenium are needed in a very small amount.

Adding supplementary minerals to the diet is important to make sure that animals get an accurate amount of these minerals. In order to determine what amount of supplement your cattle requires, you need to know the ratio of minerals in the animal feed.

While providing a mineral supplement to the cattle, it is very important to know the exact amount of minerals present in it. Providing minerals in large quantities may harm an animal’s health and can be responsible for lower production. In some cases, a mineral imbalance can also cause death.

When animals go through bad health conditions, it will ultimately impact production. If you observe any health problem in your cattle, you should be contacting the veterinarian. Bringing any changes in cattle’s diet without consulting with an expert can harm the health of animals.

Vet Checkup

Minerals and its deficiency symptoms

Calcium: Calcium is necessary for the proper development of the skeleton. Lack of calcium can impact the bone formation and growth of the animal.

Phosphorous: If the animals lack phosphorus, you will notice that they are craving wood, hair, and soil. Phosphorous deficiency also results in poor growth and low conception rates.

Magnesium: If cattle are lacking magnesium, then tremors can occur in their muscle.

Sodium: When the animal has sodium deficiency, you will find them chewing or licking wood frequently. And lack of sodium can also impact their growth.

Selenium: Selenium deficiency in an animal can result in weakness.

Animal Feed and its nutrient content

Feeds are widely classified into four groups on the basis of their nutrient content. If you want to provide the right nutrition to your cattle, then giving animal feed from these categories can help maintain their health.

Roughages

Hay, grass, grain hulls, and oilseed hulls are categorized as roughages. These Feed are rich in fiber and protein but low in terms of energy.

Grains

Corn, barley, and oats are excellent sources of energy. However, these grains are low in fiber, and protein content is moderate.

Oilseeds

Oilseeds such as soybeans and canola meals are rich in nutrients. These feeds are high in protein, energy and contain various types of fibers.

Byproducts

Distillers grains, sweet corn cannery waste, bakery waste, grain screenings, and apple pomace comes under byproducts. These feeds are rich in various nutrients and may contain a high level of moisture.

Conclusion

Good nutrition is essential for animals’ health, and this is the reason why animal feed should be provided daily which is rich in nutrients. Negligence in providing animal feed can result in poor nutrition and can cause diseases, which can ultimately decrease productivity. Always make sure that you give your cattle the right diet so that they stay healthy and productive. Especially, you need to take proper care of the young cattle and when they are pregnant.