11/9/2010

Poultry Nutrition

Characteristics of Birds that Impact Their Nutrition

Rapid growth Precociousness for commercially important birds; opposite is altricial Feathering Biped Oviparity

Digestive Anatomy of the Fowl

Pregastric and gastric adaptations

Crop
storage and pregastric fermentation

Proventriculus
glandular stomach
Secretions for digestion

Gizzard
Muscular stomach
Grinding with gastroliths (grit, stone)

Nutrient Requirements
Amino acids
10 of the 22 amino acids which occur in feedstuffs are absolutely essential in the diet f the bi d di t of th bird
Methionine can be converted to cystine Phenylalanine can be converted to tyrosine Glycine and serine are interconvertable

Nutrient Requirements
Amino acids
A deficiency of one amino acid causes reduced utilization of the others Amino acid inadequacy causes
poor growth lower feed conversion reduced egg production reduced egg size increased carcass fat

Diet must be balanced to include adequate levels of all amino acids

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Nutrient Requirements
Amino acids
Nonessential amino acids comprise about 50% of carcass amino acids.
Made quite effectively in the body

Nutrient Requirements
Energy-protein interrelationships
ME is the measure of energy routinely employed in poultry nutrition Birds have specific energy requirements depending on their body size, physiological state, stage of production and environmental temperatures
Energy drives requirements for other nutrients

Excess nitrogen excreted as uric acid

Conserves water

Nutrient Requirements
Energy-protein interrelationships
Beside protein, calcium is critical

Nutrient Requirements
Fatty acids
Linoleic acid is only essential fatty acid

Carbohydrates
Main sources of ME f Starch with small amounts of cellulose, hemicellulose and other fiber constituents Sucrose is readily digested and can be used for energy Lactose is poorly tolerated due to low lactase activity

Nutrient Requirements
Vitamins
All, except vitamin C, are required Vitamin C may improve growth and production under conditions of heat stress

Nutrient Requirements
Minerals
Deficiencies lead to impaired performance and a variety of specific symptoms
Thin Thi eggshells (Ca) h ll (C ) Poor calcification of bone (Ca and P) Perosis (Mg) Exudative diathesis (Se)

P from plant sources is poorly available as it is bound to phytate

30% of plant P is bioavailable

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Typical Rations for Chickens

Ingredient Starter Grower High energy (corn, wheat) 45+ 50+ Medium energy (oats, barley) <15 <15 Vegetable protein (SBM) 25-35 15-25 Meat by-products <8.5 <7.5 Fish products 0-5 <10 Fats or oils <7 <7 Alfalfa meal 0-2.5 0-2.5 Ca and P 0-3.25 0-2.5 Layer 55+ <15 15-25 <7.5 <10 <7 0-2.5 <10

Fish Nutrition

Digestive Anatomy of Fish

Rainbow trout carnivore y-shaped stomach Catfish omnivore (animal) pouched stomach Carp omnivore (plant) no stomach Milkfish planktivore tubular stomach with muscular gizzard

Digestive Anatomy of Fish

Type of digestive tract depends on food preferences Has little effect on overall nutrient requirements

Nutrient Requirements
Protein Species Rainbow trout i b Catfish Broilers Swine Beef cattle Feed gain 1.5 1 1.8 2.5 4.0 8.0 g/kg diet 350 3 0 300 200 160 100 g/kg gain 2 525 480 500 640 800 g/kg diet 3000 3420 2950 3300 2500 DE g/kg gain 00 4500 5472 7400 13,200 20,000 DE protein 8.6 86 11.4 14.8 20.6 25.0

Nutrient Requirements of Fish

Energy
DE = Intake energy (GE) fecal energy ( ) (FE)
Inclusion of fibrous feeds increases losses of FE Feces must be collected without leaching of nutrients

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Nutrient Requirements of Fish

Energy
ME = DE gill excretions (ZE) urine ( ) excretions (UE)
Difficult to determine because of the need to force feed and restrain the fish in metabolism chambers with the aid of a collar for simultaneous collection of fecal, gill and urinary excretions

Nutrient Requirements of Fish

Energy
NE = ME heat increment
Heat increment is composed of
waste formation and excretion product formation digestion and absorption

The major cost in mammals and birds in the energy required for the ingested amino nitrogen to be deaminated and excreted Cost is less in fish because they eliminate end products of protein metabolism (ammonia, bicarbonate, carbon dioxide) without the need to synthesize urea or uric acid

Nutrient Requirements of Fish

Energy
NE = ME heat increment
Heat increment is 20 to 30% of intake energy for livestock but only 5 to 15% for fish

Nutrient Requirements of Fish

Energy
Retained energy (RE) = NE maintenance
Maintenance is composed of
basal metabolism voluntary intake thermal regulation

Maintenance energy in fish is 1/10th to 1/20th that of homeothermic animals of similar size

Nutrient Requirements of Fish

Energy
Retained energy (RE) = NE maintenance
Fish expend less energy maintaining position in the water than terrestrial animals do in maintaining their posture Decrease in maintenance means more is retained!!

Nutrient Requirements of Fish

Energy
Practically, ME offers little advantage over DE in evaluating useful energy in feedstuffs for fish because fecal energy accounts f most of th b f l t for t f the excretory losses Energy losses the gills and urine by fish are smaller than nonfecal energy losses by mammals and birds, and they do not vary among feedstuffs as much as do fecal losses

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Nutrient Requirements of Fish

Protein
10 amino acids are essential High concentrations (35 45%) of dietary (35-45%) protein necessary for maximal growth rates of fish do not mean that they use more protein as is the case with vertebrates
On average both retain about 30% of dietary protein

Nutrient Requirements of Fish

Fatty acids
Linoleic (18:2) and linolenic acid (18:3) are required by freshwater fish Eicosapentaneoic acid (EPA; 20:5 n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6 n-3) are required by marine fish

Nutrient Requirements of Fish

Carbohydrates
No dietary requirement has been demonstrated Glucose, maltose and sucrose yield best growth rates Some growth rate benefits when carbohydrate present in diet

Nutrient Requirements of Fish

Vitamins
Water soluble required if antibiotics p present in diet No additional requirement for any vitamin otherwise

Minerals
Absorbed from environment via gills and skin