Nutrients and Nutrient
Requirements
Topic 3041
Anna Blight
Modified by Ashlee Gibson
Nutrients
Any feed component that
functions in the support of life
20 Chemical Elements in Nutrients
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Carbon (C)
Calcium (Ca)
Chlorine (Cl)
Cobalt (Co)
Copper (Cu)
Fluorine (F)
Hydrogen (H)
Iodine (I)
Iron (Fe)
Magnesium (Mg)
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Manganese (Mn)
Molybdenum (Mo)
Nitrogen (N)
Oxygen (O)
Phosphorus (P)
Potassium (K)
Selenium (Se)
Sodium (Na)
Sulfur (S)
Zinc (Zn)
Six Basic Classes of Nutrients
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Water
Carbohydrates
Fats
Proteins
Vitamins
Minerals
Composition of Feeds
Concentrates
Roughages
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Cereal grains
Oil meals
Molasses
Dried milk
products
Hays and straws
Silage
Cut green feeds
Grazed forages
Concentrates
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High in energy
Low in fiber
Highly digestible
Includes corn, wheat, barley, oats, milo,
soybean meal, linseed meal, and
cottonseed meal
Roughages
• Less digestible
than concentrates
• Bulkier, coarser
feed
Water
• Most important
nutrient
• Contains
hydrogen and
oxygen
• Transports other
nutrients
• Helps maintain
normal body
temperature
Water Consumption in ONE day
Species
Gallons
Dairy Cattle
28-50
Beef
6-20
Horse
5-15
Pig
5-8
Sheep
1-3
100 Turkeys
15
100 Chickens
9
Carbohydrates
• Major energy
source
• Contains carbon,
hydrogen, and
oxygen
• Found in grains
and hays
Types of Carbohydrates
• Starches
– Grain, root crops, other plant materials
• Sugars
– Simple sugars (monosaccharides)
– Double sugars (disaccharides)
– Milk and fruit
• Fiber
– Plant cell walls and cellulose
– Fermented by bacteria in foregut of ruminant and
hind gut fermentors (require in their diet)
Fats
• Fats and oils are
primary energy
source
• 2.25 times more
energy / pound
than
carbohydrates
• Contains carbon,
hydrogen, and
oxygen
Protein
• Only nutrient class that contains
nitrogen
• Protein in feeds contain average of 16%
nitrogen
• Building blocks of the body
• Proteins compose most of the muscle
mass
Important factors in feeding protein:
When feeding protein
• The amount of protein.
• The quality of protein.
• The compliment of amino acids in
proteins
Ruminants vs Non-Ruminants Protein
Ruminants can make essential amino acids
• Done by rumen bacteria
• from simple forms of nitrogen
Urea
• Only used for Ruminants
• Protein substitute
– Source of nitrogen of rumen organisms to produce
bacteria
• Used only in small amounts
Protein from animals
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Fish meal
Meat and bone meal
milk
blood meal
Protein from plants
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Soybean oil meal
Soybeans
Cottonseed meal
Canola
Legumes
Plant Protein
• Location of Protein in
feed material
• The "germ" is the
part of the grain
kernel which usually
contains available
protein.
Minerals
• Elements other than carbon, hydrogen,
oxygen, and nitrogen
• Macrominerals are required in larger
amounts
• Microminerals required in smaller
amounts
• Necessary for healthy body functions
Vitamins
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Organic nutrients, contain carbon
Provide for very specific body functions
Required in very small amounts
16 known vitamins in animal nutrition
A, C, D, E, K, choline and the B-complex
vitamins
•Two basic functions run by energy
are maintenance and reproduction
•Supplied by nutrients containing carbon
•Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins all supply
energy
•Energy evaluation of feeds is measured
by total digestible nutrients, digestible
energy, energy for metabolism, and
net energy
Importance of Nutrition
Energy supplied by nutrients are
used to drive a variety of body
functions and power animal
movement
Healthy and productive livestock
require proper nutrition
Reference
Taylor, R.E., Field, T.G.
(1998).
Scientific Farm Animal
Production.
Upper Saddle River:
Prentice Hall. Pp.
269-282.