| Isaac Osuga

Feeding standards of Non-Ruminants

The feeding standards for poultry and pigs are shown in the tables presented below. These are based
on Kenya bureau of standards and National Research Council specifications. There are published
books from NRC such as Nutrient Requirements of Poultry, 9th Revised Edition (1994) and Nutrient
Requirements of Swine, 11th Revised Edition (2012) that contain these standards.
Poultry feeding standards

Nutrient Chick Grower Layer Broiler Broiler

starter mash mash starter finisher
Moisture, (maximum) 10 10 10 10 10
ME, Kcal/kg (maximum) 3000 2550 2750 3000 3000
Crude protein, % (minimum) 18 18 16 22 18
Crude fibre, % (maximum) 6 6 6 6 6
Crude fat, % (maximum) 6 6 6 6 6
Calcium, % (minimum) 1 1 3.4 1 1
Available Phosphorus, % (minimum) 0.4 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.45
Lysine, % (minimum) 1.1 0.6 0.75 1.2
Methionine, % (minimum) 0.44 0.3 0.38 0.46 0.4
Pig feeding standards
Nutrient Creep feed Sow and weaner Pig finisher
Moisture, % (maximum) 10 10 10
DE, Kcal/kg (maximum) 3400 3200 3000
Crude Protein, % (minimum) 18 16 14
Crude fibre, % (maximum) 6 6 6
Crude fat, % (maximum) 6 6 6
Calcium, %(minimum) 1 0.75 0.6
Available phosphorus, %(minimum) 0.75 0.6 0.4
Lysine, % (minimum) 0.9 0.8 0.6
Methionine, % (minimum) 0.55 0.41 0.32

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Feed intake
The formula prepared on the basis of feeding standards as above works adequately so long as an
animal is able to consume adequate amounts of the feed. However, the animal does not eat individual
nutrients. At cell level, where the nutrients are needed, the animal appropriates the nutrients required
for specific functions. The best possible feeding method is one, which ensures continuous flow of all
nutrients.
A common concept has been that formula feed meets all the animal requirements. This is not so and
the animal must eat adequate amounts at the correct time. Therefore, the need for proper feeding
programs must be emphasized.
By way of illustration consider the following example. A laying hen consumes 120g per day. This,
based on the standard, translates to an intake of: 19.2 grams of crude protein and 330 Kcal of ME. If
for some reason (bulk, palatability, trace nutrient deficiency, environmental temperature etc) it
consumes only 100 grams, then it gets only 16 grams of crude protein and 275 kcal of ME. These
changes will be reflected on productivity.
Nutrient density
Generally, animals consume feed to satisfy their energy requirements. If the energy density is low (e.g.
feed too fibrous or bulky), the feed intake is high. However, there is a limit on the amount of feed the
animal can consume due to physical limitation of the stomach. This limits nutrient intake. On the
other hand, high energy content reduces feed intake. Though the animal will satisfy the energy
requirement, the low feed intake results in inadequate intake of other nutrients.

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CLASSIFICATION OF FEEDSTUFFS
1. Feedstuff - Can be defined as any component of a diet that serves some useful function.
2. Most feedstuffs provide one or more of nutrients such as protein, lipids, carbohydrates,
minerals, or vitamins.
3. Some feedstuffs are included to modify the diet’s characteristics rather than simply providing
a nutrient - e.g., Emulsify fat, provide bulk, reduce oxidation, provide flavor, color, etc
Feedstuffs have been classified into the following 8 classes:
(1) Dry forages and roughages - All forages and roughages cut & cured, and other
products with more than 18% crude fiber or containing more than 35% cell wall (NDF)
(dry basis). Usually low in net energy per unit weight because of the high cell-wall
content.
(2) Pasture, range plants and forages fed fresh - All forage feeds either not cut (including
feeds cured on the stem) or cut and fed fresh - Grazed parts (growing & dormant),
greenchop, food crop residues, etc.
(3) Silages & haylages - Includes only ensiled forages, but not ensiled fish, grain, roots
and tubers.
(4) Energy feeds - products with less than 20% CP and less than 18% crude fiber or less
than 35% cell wall on dry basis - e.g., grain, mill byproducts, fruit, nuts, roots, tubers,
etc.
(5) Protein supplements - Products that contain 20% or more of protein (dry basis) from
animal origin (including ensiled products) as well as oil meals.
(6) Mineral supplements - Bone meal, steamed, Calcium carbonate, Limestone, etc.
(7) Vitamin supplements - Ensiled yeast, Carotene, Fish, salmon, oil, Wheat germ oil, etc.
(8) Additives - Antibiotics, Antioxidants, Probiotics, Coloring material, Flavors,
Hormones, Enzymes, Emulsifying agents, Buffers, etc.

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NUTRITIVE VALUE OF FEEDS

The value of a feed and its usefulness to an animal are determined by what it contains (chemical
composition) and how much of it is eaten (intake). How the feed is digested by the animal (digestibility)
is also important.
Feed analysis
Feed analysis determines what is present in a feed—it measures only one part of a feed’s nutritive
value. Feed analysis is done with special equipment in a laboratory, although in the future it will be
possible to do analyses on-farm.
Proximate analysis is the chemical analysis of feed to assess its nutrient content. Table 1.1 shows
the results of a proximate analysis of a feed.
Table 1.1: Brewers’ grain—proximate analysis
Component Value
Dry matter (DM) 26.0%
Nitrogen 3.2%
Crude protein 19.8%
Acid detergent fibre 30.1%
Digestible dry matter 67.1%
Metabolisable energy 10.1 MJ/kg DM
Dry matter, metabolisable energy, crude protein and digestibility are some of the components
determined. What do these components mean?
Dry Matter (DM)

• Dry matter intake (DMI)

Energy

• Gross Energy (GE)

• Digestible Energy (DE)
• Metabolisable Energy (ME)
• Net Energy System (NEl, NEm,NEp)
• Total Digestible Nutrients (TDN)
Protein

• Non protein nitrogen (NPN)

Carbohydrates

• Fibre
✓ Neutral Detergent Fibre (NDF)
✓ Acid Detergent Fibre (ADF)

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✓ Lignin
✓ Crude Fibre (CF)
• Non-structural carbohydrates (NSC)
• Non-fibre carbohydrates (NFC)
Fats and oils

• Crude fat
Digestibility

• DMD
Dry matter
Dry matter (DM) is the feed material remaining after a feed sample is dried so that all moisture is
removed. This is done by placing a feed sample in an oven maintained at 105°C for 24 hours, the
water (H20) evaporates and the residual dry feed is the dry matter. Feeds contain variable amounts of
water. At immature stages of growth, most plants contain 70 to 80% water (i.e., 20 to 30% dry matter).
However, seeds do not contain more than 8 to 10% water (i.e., 90 to 92% dry matter). Milking cows
drink from 4 to 5 kg of water for each kg of dry matter they eat. Cows need access to fresh, clean
water most of the day.
The dry matter contains all the nutrients (except water) required by the animals. The concentration of
nutrients in a feed is commonly expressed on the basis of the amount of dry matter (DM) as opposed
to the amount of fresh feed (as-fed) because:

• The amount of water is variable and thus, the nutritive value of different feeds is more
easily compared when nutrient concentration is expressed on a dry matter basis.
• When expressed on a dry matter basis, the concentration of a nutrient in a feed can be
compared directly to the concentration of that nutrient required in the diet of the animal.
Dry matter intake is the quantity of moisture-free feed consumed by an animal in a 24-hour period.
Some nutrients in a feed (such as crude protein, neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre and
minerals) are calculated as a percentage of the ration’s dry matter; others (such as energy) are calculated
as a value per kilogram of dry matter.
Organic matter and minerals
The DM of a feed may be divided into organic matter and inorganic matter. Compounds that contain
carbon (C), hydrogen (H), oxygen (O) and nitrogen (N), are classified as organic. The inorganic
compounds or minerals are the other chemical elements (calcium, phosphorus etc.). When a feed
sample is placed in a furnace maintained at about 550°C for 24 hours, the organic matter is combusted
(i.e., burned) and the residual matter is the mineral part of the feed also referred to as ash. In plants,
the mineral content ranges from less than 1% to about 12%. Forages usually contain more minerals
than seeds or grains. Animal by-products containing bones may contain as much as 30% minerals
(primarily calcium and phosphorus).

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Energy
The total energy in a feed is called its gross energy. Not all of this energy is available to the animal –
some of it will be lost in the faeces. The remaining energy is called digestible energy – the portion
of energy from the feed which is available after digestion. During the process of digestion, energy is
lost in the manufacture of waste products which leave the body in the urine or as gas belched from
the rumen (methane), and through excess heat production by an animal. The remaining energy is now
available to the animal for body maintenance, milk production, pregnancy and body conditioning.
This energy is called metabolisable energy.

Feeds may have similar gross energy contents but may vary in the metabolizable energy. This energy
is expressed as megajoules of metabolisable energy per kilogram of dry matter or MJME/kg
DM. The higher the MJME in a feed, the greater the energy the feed provides to the animal.
NB: The Megacalorie (Mcal) is commonly used as a unit of energy, but the Joule (J) is the official unit
of measurement.

Proteins
Proteins are composed of one or several long chains of amino acids. When nitrogen is not part of a
protein structure such as in ammonia or urea, it is referred to as non-protein nitrogen (NPN). Non-
protein nitrogen has no nutritive value in simple stomach animals. However, in ruminants, NPN can
be utilized by ruminal bacteria to synthesize amino acids and proteins that will benefit the ruminant.
A Danish chemist, J.G. Kjeldhal, developed a method in 1883 to quantify nitrogen. On the average,
proteins contain 16% nitrogen. Thus, the percentage of protein in a feed is usually calculated as the
percentage of nitrogen multiplied by 6.25 (100/16 = 6.25). This measurement is referred to as crude
protein (CP). The word "crude" refers to the fact that not all nitrogen in the feed is in the form of

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protein. Often, crude protein overestimates the percentage of "true" protein in a feed. The percentage
of crude protein in forages ranges from less than 5% (crop residues) to more than 20% (good quality
legumes). Oilseed meals may contain from 30 to 50% crude protein and animal by-products more
than 60%.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates make up about 75% of a plant’s dry matter.
i). Fibre
Fibre provides the structural support for plants and cell walls. Feeds high in fibre are called roughages
or forages. There are a number of measures of a feed’s fibre content.
a) Neutral detergent fibre (NDF) is a measurement of the amount of plant cell wall or ‘fibre’
in forages. When a forage is boiled in a detergent with neutral (pH 7) detergent, all the contents
of the cell dissolves except for the cell wall or NDF. NDF contains carbohydrates (cellulose
and hemicellulose) that are partly digested by the rumen bacteria but are not digested by the
animal’s intestines.
b) Acid detergent fibre (ADF) is the residue of lignin and cellulose remaining when the plant
cell wall is treated with an acidic detergent solution. ADF is a useful measurement of the
minimum fibre level in a ration, and is used to help calculate the energy value of a forage.
c) Lignin is the least digestible portion of the plant. It binds together the other carbohydrates in
the plant and gives the plant rigidity.

ii). Soluble carbohydrates

Non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) are the carbohydrates that are not part of the plant cell wall
(NDF). They are present in the cell contents. NSC are also called non-fibre carbohydrates or NFC.
NSC include soluble sugars, starches and pectins. Sugars are an instant energy source for the rumen
microbes. Starches and pectins are storage carbohydrates that are fermented more slowly than sugars.
NSC are more completely and rapidly digested in the rumen than the NDF carbohydrates. They can
also be digested in the animal’s intestine. The ration should contain 30–40% NSC in its total dry matter
content.

Fats and oils

Fats and oils are sources of energy. They have a similar structure to carbohydrates, except that they
contain three fatty acid chains. For this reason they are called triglycerides. During breakdown
(oxidation), they liberate 2.5 times more energy than carbohydrates of the same weight.
The crude fat of a feed is estimated by the ether extract method. This method determines all the
components in the feed that are soluble in ether—all the fats and oils as well as gums, resins and
waxes. Ether extraction is not usually done in the feed analysis laboratory unless it is requested. For

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this reason, the true metabolisable energy of a feed may be higher than that reported from feed analysis
if the feed contains fats or oils (for example, oilseed meal).
Digestibility
The organic part of the feed consists of everything except the mineral component (ash). The organic
matter contains the energy of the feed, and there is a direct relationship between feed organic matter
and gross energy. A proportion of the organic matter of the feed is indigestible—it contains lignin and
some cellulose.
The digestibility of a feed is the proportion that can be digested by an animal. Digestibility is a guide
to the energy value of a feed. It is commonly measured as a percentage (%).

Dry matter digestibility (DMD) = feed DM – faeces DM × 100%

feed DM
NB: The digestibility of any other feed component is also calculated in the same way.
As grasses mature, the organic matter content becomes more indigestible because the lignin content
increases.

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