1. Dry forages and roughages 2. Pasture, range plants and green forages 3.Silages 4. Energy feeds 5. Protein supplements 6. Mineral supplements 7. Vitamin supplements 8. nonnutritive additives
Contain at least 18% crude fiber, with values up to 50% crude fiber
High is cellulose, hemicellulose and possibly lignin
Low in readily digested carbohydrates such as starch and sugars ◦ Lower digestibility and lower energy values than
concentrates
30% protein for alfalfa and 2-3% for straws Examples are legume hay, grass hays,
wheat straw, cornstalks, corncobs, cottonseed hulls, peanut hulls, and rice hulls
Example are bermuda grass pasture, sorghum-sudan grass, tall-grass prairie species, and wheat pasture
Winter range pasture in range states may contain as little as 15-30% moisture, wheat pasture may have as much as 90% pasture.
Young, well fertilized wheat pasture can have very high crude protein and can be very digestible, late season prairie hay is the opposite.
Produced by ensiling plant material under anaerobic conditions
Plant material undergoes a controlled fermentation that produces acid
The acid kills off the bacteria, molds, and other destructive organisms
The fermentation process reduces the nutritive content of the material
These feedstuffs provide the bulk of the diets of herbivorous species (ruminants and cecal fermenters)
Characteristics include: being immature when harvested, green and leafy, soft pliable stems, free of mold and moisture, palatable, free from foreign material
Legumes generally have a better quality than grass because legumes have a lower stem and a higher leaf content
Forage is generally considered to be of higher quality than a roughage
Variables affecting the nutritive content of forages and roughages:
Maturity at harvest Weather damage Soil fertility Plant species Harvesting method
Digestibility and palatability of a forage decrease with advancing maturity and increasing fiber level
Primarily include: Cereal grains By-product feeds from cereal grains Fruits and nuts All low in protein Contain less than 18% crude fiber or protein
content less than 20% Usually high in starch High in energy content
Cereal grains: Low in crude fiber 2-10% Corn, sorghum, wheat about 2% Barley 6% Oats 10-12%
Fed to ruminants to increase the energy density of the ration
Fed to monogastrics as the primary source of energy for their diets
First limiting amino acids◦ The first amino acid whose lack of availability
restricts the performance of the animal
Three main sources: Plant origin (soybean meal, cottonseed
meal, corn gluten meal) Animal origin ( fish meal, dried skim milk,
tankage) Nonprotein nitrogen (NPN) (urea, purified
amino acids)
More than 20% crude protein Save money by feeding the NPN to
ruminants who convert lower to higher quality
Energy content varies on how much oil was removed in the extraction process
Sources: Salt Bone meal Oyster shell Limestone
Compounds usually supplemented: Vitamins A,D,E for functional ruminants Vitamin K, Riboflavin, folic acid
Catchall category for ingredients added to rations for a reason other than nutritive value
Stimulate growth and production Improve feed efficiency Enhance health Alter metabolism Antibiotics, coloring agents, flavors,
hormones, medicants