• Write
down five
things you
notice
about this
picture.
Nutrition
What’s the big deal?
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•
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Differentiate between nutrition & nutrient
List the 6 basic nutrient groups
Discuss difference between ruminant & non
Discuss the importance of various nutrients
▫ Within the ration
▫ Deficiencies
Nutrition!
• Nutrition:
▫ Refers to the animal receiving a proper and
balanced food and water ration so that it can:
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Grow
Maintain its body
Reproduce
Supply a product
 Work, Eggs, Milk, Meat, Sale of offspring, Fur/Pelts, or
companionship
So then, what’s a nutrient?
• Nutrient:
▫ A single food or group of foods of the same general
chemical composition that support life
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Water
Proteins
Carbohydrates
Fats
Vitamins
Minerals
(Fiber)
They’re
IMPORTANT!!!!
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves
• Digestion!
▫ Process of breaking down food material into
various nutrient forms that can be absorbed
• Two types:
▫ Ruminant
 Cows, sheep, goats
▫ Nonruminant
 Horses, pigs, people
▫ Avian
 Chickens (but they’re weird!)
Ruminant Animals
• “Forage-Consuming”
• “Multi-Stomached”
• Four compartments
▫ Rumen
 Fermentation (microbes!)
▫ Reticulum
 Sorting (hardware)
▫ Omasum
 Many piles—water removal
▫ Abomasum
 True Stomach
The rumen makes up
~80% of the stomach
with a capacity of 5060 gallons!
Ruminant Digestion
• Mastication
• Saliva
▫ Aids in chewing & swallowing
▫ Aids in controlling stomach pH
 pH= The acidity or alkalinity of a substance
▫ Salivary amylase (enzyme) changes starch into maltose
 Enzyme= Complex protein substance produced by the
body and necessary for biochemical reactions
 Biochemical reactions = chemical reactions that take
place in the cells of plants and animals (respiration,
digestion & assimilation)
Non-ruminant digestion
Process
• Food passage: mouth -> esophagus ->stomach
• Stomach:
▫ Breaks down food material
▫ Secretes digestive juices
 Break down proteins and fat
• Stomach -> small intestine
▫ Primary site of digestion
▫ Absorption of carbs, fats & proteins
 Absorption= The taking in of fluids
The Small Intestine
• Doudodenum
▫ Enzymes break
down fats
• Jejunum & Ileum
▫ Active absorption
sites
The Large Intestine
•
•
•
•
•
Undigested food
Cecum
Colon
Anus
Functionality
depends on
species
A few minor exceptions
• Horses
▫ No gallbladder!
 Bile is secreted from the liver
▫ Consumes lots of forage
▫ SMALL single stomach with LARGE cecum &
colon
▫ Roughage, Concentrates
Another exception
• Rabbits
▫ Similar to horses,
EXCEPT:
▫ Coprophagy
 Eat their feces
 Allows system to take
full use of bacteria
Avian
• A completely
different story!
• “Single
stomached”
• Unique organs
• No teeth!
Avian
• Esophagus -> Crop
▫ Crop=enlarged esophagus; storage & softening
• Crop -> Ventriculus (Gizzard)
▫ Largest organ; grinds the food
• Ventriculus -> Small Intestine
▫ Broken down with enzymes; absorption lower
• Intestine -> Cloaca
▫ Junction point
• 2 Ceca—little digestion
Biochemical Reactions
• Respiration
▫ The process by which oxygen is supplied to the
cells and tissues in exchange for carbon dioxide
• Digestion
▫ The breakdown of food materials and the
absorption of nutrients
• Assimilation
▫ Conversion of food material into a form that can
be absorbed
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•
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•
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Supports biochemical reactions
Transports nutrients
Helps maintain body temperature
Helps give the body form
Carries waste from the body
Water
• More important than any other nutrient
• Can survive without food, NEED WATER!
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Loss from blood
Reduced circulation
Decreased O2 carrying capacity
Lowers disease resistance
• Quickly absorbed
Water
• IMPORTANT:
▫ Good, clean, fresh WATER!
• Infectious organisms in H2O will be absorbed as
quickly as the water
• Water = good carrier for drugs or chemicals for
disease control
Water
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•
•
•
Makes up 55-65% of animal’s body
Makes up 90-95% of animal’s blood
Makes up 72-78% of animal’s muscle
Makes up 30-40% of animal’s bone
Water
• Do you think it’s a big deal??
Water
Protein
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Developing and repairing body organs & tissues
Producing milk, wool & eggs
Developing the fetus
Generating enzymes & hormones
▫ Enzyme: Necessary for biochemical reactions
▫ Hormone: Chemicals that are produced in one part of
the body but trigger responses in another part
• Developing antibodies
▫ Antibody: substance produced in response to antigen
• Transmitting DNA
▫ DNA: Genetic material that carries hereditary codes
Protein
• Broken down into
amino acids
• 25 amino acids in
animal feeds
• 10 essential
▫ Cannot be
supplied by the
animal’s body
Essential
Nonessential
Isoleucine
Alanine
Leucine
Arginine*
Lysine
Aspartate
Methionine
Cysteine*
Phenylalanine
Glutamate
Threonine
Glutamine*
Tryptophan
Glycine*
Valine
Proline*
Histidine
Serine
Asparagine*
Tyrosine*
Selenocysteine**
Pyrrolysine**
Protein
• Ruminants
▫ Capable of manufacturing all
AA required if more are given
in large enough quantities
▫ N combines with CHOs
• Poultry
▫ Also require glycine
• Cystine
▫ Can replace methionine =>
essential
• Amounts needed depend on
species and stage of growth
Carbohydrates
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•
•
•
•
Carbon, Hydrogen & Oxygen
Provide ENERGY!!
Support bodily functions (basal metabolism)
Producing heat to keep the body warm
Store fat
Carbohydrates
• Made up of (NFE):
▫ Sugars
▫ Starches
▫ Crude Fiber
• Nitrogen Free Extract
▫ The easily and completely digested sugars and
starches
Carbohydrates
• Crude Fiber
▫ Non-digestible bulk or roughage
▫ Species will determine amount
Fats (Lipids)
• Provide Energy
• Aid in absorbing fat-soluble vitamins
• Provide Fatty Acids
▫ Linoleic, linolinic & arachidonic (Essential)
• Most animals require less than 3%
Fats (Lipids)
• Same chemicals as carbs
• Different composition
• 2.25 times more energy than carbs
Vitamins
•
•
•
•
•
•
Regulate digestion
Develop normal vision, bone & external covering
Regulate body glands
Form new cells
Protect against disease
Develop and maintain the nervous system
Vitamins
• What’s the big deal?
▫ Organic substances required in very small
amounts to aid in biochemical reactions
• Classified by solubility
▫ Fat or water soluble
▫ Solubility: capable of being dissolved. Vitamins
are classified as fat soluble or water soluble. Fatsoluble vitamins can be stored by the body; water
soluble vitamins are stored in limited amounts
Vitamins
• Fat soluble vitamins
▫ Stored and accumulated in the liver and fatty
tissue
• A, D, E & K
Vitamins
• Vitamin A
▫ Required to prevent:
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Poor vision
Respiratory ailments
Digestive problems
Reproductive difficulties
▫ Sources
 Green leafy plants
 Carotene (precursor/provitamin)
Vitamins
• Vitamin D (D2 & D3)
▫ Associated with use of Ca & P
• Deficiency= weak/trembling legs
▫ Rickets
• If getting enough sunlight ≠ problem
• Sources
▫ Good quality, sun cured hay
Vitamins
• Vitamin E
▫ Antioxidant
▫ Fertility in rats
▫ Successful reproduction in others
• Deficiency:
▫ White muscle disease
▫ Breeding, fertility, abortion, & miscarriage issues in
rabbits
▫ Muscle development
• Sources:
▫ Generally not a problem and available in most rations
Vitamins
• Vitamin K
▫ Maintenance of normal blood coagulation
• Deficiency:
▫ Respiratory illness in rabbits
• Sources:
▫ Green forages
▫ Seeds
▫ Good hay
• Coumadin (Warfarin)
Vitamins
• Water soluble vitamins
▫ C vitamins and B complex vitamins
 Thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine, inositol,
cobalamin, (B12), pantothenic acid, folic acid, biotin,
choline, and para-amino benzoic acid
Vitamins
• Vitamin C
▫ Ascorbic Acid
▫ Produced in digestive system
• Deficiency:
▫ Scurvy (guinea pigs & monkeys)
▫ Diarrhea
• Unstable (breaks down quickly when combined
in feeds)
• Sources:
▫ Citrus
Vitamins
• Vitamin B (Thiamine)
▫ One of the first vitamins discovered!
▫ Required for normal metabolism of carbohydrates
• Deficiency:
▫ Decreased appetite
▫ Muscular weakness
▫ Polyneuritis (paralysis)
• Sources:
▫ Raw, whole grains
• Problems:
▫ Raw freshwater fish in ration destroys thiamine
Vitamins
• Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)
▫ Metabolism of amino acids & carbohydrates
• Deficiency:
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Poor hatchability
Deformed chicks
Crippled or deformed young
Eye problems
• Sources:
▫ Whole or skim milk, green forages, & good quality
hay, supplement at low cost
Vitamins
• Niacin
▫ Usually not sufficient in “included” feeds
• Deficiency:
▫ Pellegra (Black Tongue)
▫ Digestive disorders
▫ Stunted growth
• Sources:
▫ Supplement
Vitamins
• Pantothenic Acid
▫ Low in corn, but high in most other feeds
• Deficiency:
▫ Skin condition near beak
▫ Stunted growth in turkeys
▫ Goose Stepping (swine)
• Sources:
▫ Chemical sources, most feed material except corn
Vitamins
• Vitamin B12
▫ Cobalamin
▫ Essential for multiple biochem reactions
• Deficiency:
▫ Growth & reproduction
▫ Blood formation issues
• Sources:
▫ Chemical, fish meal, fish solubles, liver meal, and
dried milk products
Vitamins
• Choline
▫ Transportation and metabolism of fatty acids
• Deficiency:
▫ Slipped tendons (periosis)
▫ Kidney & Liver damage
▫ “Fatty liver”
• Sources:
▫ Most feeds, supplements
Vitamins
• Folic acid
▫ Normal cell development
• Deficiency:
▫ Poor growth
▫ Various blood disorders
• Sources:
▫ Most feeds; supplements not usually required
Vitamins
• Biotin
▫ Carbon dioxide fixation & carboxylation
• Deficiency:
▫ Dermatis
▫ Hair loss
▫ Stunted growth
• Sources:
▫ Most feeds; avidin in raw egg white makes biotin
unavailable to the animal
Vitamins
• Inositol
▫ B-complex vitamin
▫ Deficiency and sources unknown
• Para-amino benzoic acid
▫ Essential for growth of microorganisms
▫ Deficiency and sources unknown
Vitamins
• Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)
▫ Fat metabolism
▫ Transportation and synthesis of unsaturated fatty
acids
• Deficiency:
▫ Poor growth, anemia, & convulsions
• Sources:
▫ Most feed stuffs
Minerals
• Essential to support
▫ Not part of tissue development
• Components of ash
▫ Cannot be burned
• Supply material for building the skeleton
• Produce body regulators
▫ Enzymes
▫ Hormones
• Definition: the inorganic, chemical elements of
a ration
Minerals
• Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen & nitrogen
▫ NON CHEMICAL ELEMENTS
• 16 minerals
▫ Seven macrominerals (Major)
 Needed in the largest quantity
 Most likely to be lacking
▫ 9 microminerals (Trace)
Minerals
• Macrominerals
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Calcium
Phosphorus
Potassium
Sodium
Sulfur
Chlorine
Magnesium
Minerals
• Calcium
▫ Required in highest amount by vertebrates
▫ 99% deposited in bones and teeth
 Essential for bone and teeth development
 Normal blood coagulation & milk production
• Deficiency:
▫ Stunted growth & deformed bones
▫ Rickets (soft, flexible bone)
▫ Osteoporosis & Osteomalacia
• Sources:
▫ Limestone, Oyster shell, bone meal & deflourinated
phosphates
Minerals
• Phosphorus
▫ Closely linked with calcium
▫ 75% deposited in bones & teeth
▫ Essential for metabolism, respiration, enzyme based
reactions & normal reproduction
• Deficiency:
▫ Similar to calcium
• Sources:
▫ Low fluorine phosphates & bone meal
▫ Wheat bran, high protein feeds, milk & most grains
Minerals
• Potassium
▫ Required for osmotic relation, acid base balance &
digestion
• Deficiency:
▫ Decreased feed consumption, slow growth,
stiffness, weight loss
• Sources:
▫ Sufficient in most grains and feeds
Minerals
• Sodium & Chlorine
▫ Form digestive juices, control body fluids, pH and
muscle activity
• Deficiency:
▫ Unthrifty
▫ Sudden death
• Especially important in ruminants
▫ Sodium bicarb neutralizes acid in fermentation
• Sources:
▫ Supplement, blocks, free choice
Minerals
• Sulfur
▫ Forms sulfur containing amino acids
• Deficiency:
▫ Linked with protein
▫ General unthriftiness
• Sources:
▫ Feed stuffs usually “over-adequate”
Minerals
• Magnesium
▫ Carbohydrate metabolism
▫ Nervous system function
• Deficiency:
▫ Low quality forages=main culprit
• Toxicity:
▫ Hypomagnesaemia (Grass tetany)
• Sources:
▫ Usually adequate
Minerals
• Microminerals (Trace)
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Zinc
Iron
Copper
Selenium
Manganese
Iodine
Cobalt
Fluorine
Molybdenum
Minerals
• Iron
▫ Forms hemoglobin
 Red colored, iron-containing protein component of
blood that is responsible for carrying oxygen to the
body tissues
• Deficiency:
▫ Anemia: loss of appetite, swelling, “thumping”
breathing
• Sources:
▫ Ferrous sulfate, iron based injections
Minerals
• Copper
▫ Iron absorption, hemoglobin formation, keratin
synthesis
• Deficiency:
▫ Similar to iron & show up w/ low Cu soils
• Sources:
▫ Most feeds are sufficient
Minerals
• Iodine
▫ Production of thyroxin
• Deficiency:
▫ Goiter
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Swelling of thyroid glands in the neck area
Dead or weak animals
Hairlessness
Infected navals
• Sources:
▫ Most feed & water is sufficient
Minerals
• Cobalt
▫ Component of vitamin B12
▫ Microorganism growth in the rumen
• Deficiency:
▫ Poor appetite, unthrifiness, weakness, anemia,
decreased fertility, slow growth, low production
• Sources:
▫ Supplement needed in Co deficient soils
Minerals
• Fluorine
▫ Reduces dental incidence
▫ Associate with Ca and P utilization
• Deficiency:
▫ Not a major concern
• Sources:
▫ Not major concern in formulating diets
Minerals
• Manganese
▫ Estrus, ovulation, fetal development, udder
development, milk production, growth & skeletal
development
• Deficiency:
▫ Delayed estrus, deformed young, poor growth,
abortions, resorptions
• Sources:
▫ Most feeds contain them
Minerals
• Zinc
▫ Promotes “thriftiness,” wound healing, hair &
wool growth
• Deficiency
▫ Parakeratosis in swine
▫ Ca may make Zn unavailable
• Sources:
▫ Most feeds are adequate
Minerals
• Molybdenum
▫ Component of Xanthine oxidase
▫ Stimulate action of rumen organisms
• Sources:
▫ Adequate in most feeds
Minerals
• Selenium
▫ Absorption & utilization of Vit E
• Deficiency:
▫ Heart failure, paralysis, poor growth, low fertilit,
liver necrosis, muscular dystrophy
▫ Forage producing soils = low selenium
• Source:
▫ Adequate in most feeds
So what do you feed
your pet?
But seriously!
• Brand name pet foods
▫ Usually contain complete and balanced diets
▫ Recommendation for proper amounts
▫ Appropriate labeling
• Deficiencies?
▫ Not common in complete pet formulated diets
▫ Table scraps
▫ Homemade diets