Balanced nutrition for cats. Balanced and complete food

Davydov V.B., veterinarian.

“The food should be typical for the given type of animal”

L.V. Toporova Doctor of Sciences professor, head Department of Animal Nutrition

MGAVM and B. im. K.I Scriabina

Theory and practice of feeding pets

We made the epigraph of this work a statement from a specialist in the field of animal nutrition for a reason. It is this phrase that reflects the whole essence of the problem of feeding animals and is the main rule of feeding any animals (and humans). This is especially true for highly specialized species of animals, such as herbivores and carnivores, since mixotrophs (bear, pig and... humans) are characterized by a varied diet, but at the same time, they also have their own laws of norms and quality of food consumed.

The reason for writing this article was the ongoing debate about what to feed dogs and cats, what diet is best for them. Although we must pay tribute to most of the issues and problemization of feeding - the merit of the manufacturers of ready-made commercial feed and nothing more.

Before we begin to consider the issues of feeding a dog, let's take a short historical excursion regarding dog nutrition.

According to approximate historical data, a dog has lived next to a person for about 50,000 years, i.e. man has been feeding the dog for many thousands of years. The question is, how did canids survive without commercial food and why were they healthier than today's animals? Food has only existed for the last 40-50 years, and it is in recent decades that there has been an increase in the number of chronic animal diseases, when it is practically impossible to find a healthy pet. This is noticed by the owners themselves, whose dogs 20-30 years ago were not so seriously and seriously ill, when, before they were born, the puppy wanders around Moscow clinics in a vain search for a solution to a health problem.

Since in this work we do not set the goal of criticizing and overthrowing commercial food as a class, but discussing various aspects of the issue of feeding pets, the reader should also understand some positive aspects of ready-made quality food. They are as follows:

For some incurable diseases, when the doctor is not able to solve the problem, ready-made food can minimize the external symptoms of the disease, thereby providing the sick animal with a normal life. Such conditions include, for example, persistent intestinal atony in cats and dogs, when the animal’s reluctance to consume raw fiber (especially in cats with a meat diet) does not allow the doctor to cope with the pathology with a natural diet. Other incurable conditions of the intestines and other organs and organ systems.

I would like to note that we are talking specifically about incurable diseases, and not about severe pathology that the doctor does not want to treat. This is exactly how doctors abuse “medicinal” foods, adapting the animal to pathology, due to their reluctance to treat it.

Here it is necessary for owners and doctors to understand the concept of “medicinal food”. In fact, there is not a single medicinal food that can cure any disease. By analogy with human dietary nutrition, where diet only improves the course of a particular disease, and almost never cures it. Thus, limiting protein foods during gout will never cure gout itself (metabolic disorders in the form of uric acid diathesis persist). Restricting food in obese people will never cure the underlying cause of obesity (hormonal disorders or psychosomatic disorders). An allergy will never go away if you eliminate the allergen from your diet. All these measures improve the condition, and no one claims that they are not needed. But the reader should have an idea of what medicinal food is. This knowledge will allow you to understand that the disappearance of any symptom when switching to dietary food is not a cure, but an adaptation, a temporary (even long-term) disappearance of a painful symptom. With further latent progression of the underlying pathology, the disease can take on even more severe forms.

2. Convenience is an indisputable advantage. But even here the owners abuse. If the food is dry and does not spoil too quickly after being in a bowl for a long time, this means that the bowl should always be with food. In most of these cases, the animals overeat.

Main disorders in feeding pets

Feeding the animal food that is not typical for this type of food. Carnivores - carbohydrates (porridge, bread, pasta, etc.). Herbivores - excessive feeding of protein-containing food, in particular, large amounts of oats to horses leads to a variety of problems: from colic to exacerbation of rheumatism and periodic ophthalmia of the eyes. It has been scientifically proven that an excess of carbohydrates in a dog’s diet leads to a number of disorders, the main one of which is a decrease in resistance and various parts of the immune system, which is accompanied by chronic inflammatory processes that owners try unsuccessfully to cure with antibiotics. By the way, the same dry food (any kind) contains a huge amount of carbohydrates, up to 50 percent.
Excessive amounts of food. Owners, out of imaginary pity or love, feed animals huge amounts of food for 20 minutes. walks in the morning and evening. Excess calories go towards fat deposition and a whole range of other pathologies. The main argument of such owners is the phrase, “He asks so much, my heart bleeds, and I give him a sandwich with sausage.” You can go very far with such arguments, dear owners. An animal needs a tiny amount of food (relatively speaking, of course), only to maintain basic vital functions, the most important of which is lying on the couch. Even after feeding, the animal should not become full. Malnutrition of food or pickiness, forcing owners to rush around the apartment with a spoon of food after the dog, clearly indicate overfeeding. Thus, the main advantage of ready-made diets is convenience.

There are several reasons for this, here are the two main ones:

Veterinarians in most developed countries, receiving education at universities, from the very first year of training in feeding dogs and cats receive information about commercial feed as the only way to feed. In this regard, veterinarians who have received such education cannot imagine any other way of feeding in principle. This is also facilitated by the conservatism of medical approaches abroad, where one’s own philosophical research is not welcomed, when any deviation from the academic rules of diagnosis and treatment can be regarded as a medical error. The introduction of business into education is also of great importance. This is the most effective way to promote dry food - training specialists, as they say, on the vine.
The second reason is the same convenience. Dry food is convenient for both owners and doctors. The former do not need to provide a natural diet, etc., the latter do not need to treat incurable pathologies. In most cases, the veterinarian seeks a solution to the disease by changing the dry diet: from one to another until the painful symptoms disappear, considering this a recovery, which, in fact, is a delusion.

A balanced diet – is it necessary?

On the one hand, it may seem that the need for a balanced diet is obvious, because it is good when a dog or cat gets as much and as it needs. But it's not that simple. As mentioned above, the most important feeding rules are typical for a given type of animal and moderation (no overeating). The animal or human body has enormous adaptive capabilities and a temporary deficiency or temporary excess of one or another component of an animal’s diet does not pose a big threat to health. Thus, if the two specified rules for feeding the animal are observed, the need for special balancing of food disappears completely. The concept of balanced food is introduced into the minds of doctors and patients by food manufacturers with one sole purpose, to complicate the process of feeding an animal, playing on the concerns of dog and cat owners about the health of their pets. Therefore, this concept is nothing more than a marketing slogan - “a balanced diet - a healthy animal.” In fact, this is not so. A very simple argument for these conclusions is the example of animals whose diet has never been balanced. Wild animals, stray animals, and animals living in rural areas eat very differently, but are healthier than most pets. Doesn't this surprise you?

A balanced diet is necessary for productive animals: sports animals, animals that produce milk, meat, etc. The purpose of keeping such animals is to obtain maximum benefit (profit). Such a diet is needed by a cow that, instead of 3 months. lactation lasts 10 months. A fattening bull that must gain a certain weight by a certain age. A sports horse that sometimes experiences unimaginable stress. All of the listed animal species experience non-physiological (non-natural) stress, which requires the most accurate calculation of the diet, since a lack of food will lead to a lack of production or illness, and an excess of food will lead to unnecessary economic costs. In this regard, a balanced diet in relation to pets is nothing more than a beautiful phrase.

Important! When feeding animals, it is necessary to maintain not so much a balanced diet as consistency of natural food components and moderation in their quantity. As you can see, we are not talking about any numbers or percentages. See epigraph.

Let me give you a clear example from my own practice. After several years of caring for a mongrel dog, the family decided to take the dog into the apartment. After a short time, the animal began to suffer from pyodermatitis (skin lesions), although no problems were observed while living on the street. The case is significant in that even the dog’s street lifestyle was more physiological than the indoor one. In order to find out the reasons, you need to make a difference between apartment and yard maintenance.

Regular consumption of food, which is rare on the street (there they are more likely to not finish eating than to pass it on);
Less long exercise than before;
A higher temperature in the apartment than outside, which does not allow the dog to expend extra calories to warm the body;
Lack of fresh air in sufficient quantities.

The example clearly demonstrates the greater unnaturalness of apartment living, compared even to street living, in those aspects that directly relate to the issue of the quality and quantity of food consumed, as well as energy consumption. Thus, when keeping a dog, cat or other animal in an apartment, it is necessary to bring the way of food and life as close as possible to the natural one.

The whole complex of violations already exists and the only question is the strength of the animal’s body itself, that is, how long and well the body will withstand this unnatural load. Of course, the above does not mean that in order to cure a Shar-Pei or Shepherd it must be thrown out into the street, but it is necessary to change what can be changed. Namely: 1. Specific consistency of the components. 2. Moderation in the amount of food.

Even if the owner is poor and is not able to feed the dog correctly, I will say, “Feed as much as you have enough money, but do not overfeed with cereals and other carbohydrate foods and do not be surprised if these rules are not followed if the animal gets sick.

What is the reason for poor tolerance to natural foods, in particular meat?

Quite often, owners report poor tolerance to raw meat. The dog experiences diarrhea or vomiting, which complicates the process of natural feeding or makes it even impossible. This fact does not mean at all that meat is a bad food for a dog and therefore harmful, but this is due to the fact that raw meat requires maximum efficiency of the dog’s digestive tract, in particular the stomach, where the main digestion of lump meat occurs. Thus, intolerance to raw meat indicates the presence of diseases in a dog in a variety of ways, and in most cases this is reduced acidity, hypoacid, anacid gastritis, when the stomach cannot cope with what it should cope with. In other words, the dog is sick. Dry food, since it does not contain native meat (only large peptides - elements of the protein structure of meat), does not require gastric digestion at all; we can say that with a dry diet, the dog does not need a stomach at all. All that is required of the dog is to eat the food and absorb the nutrients in it with a small participation of intestinal juice and pancreas.

The fact of meat intolerance is often misinterpreted by both pet owners and doctors in favor of a natural diet, which forces owners to switch their dog or cat to a dry diet. The absence of problems in a dog is perceived as health, but in reality it is not. Some doctors recommend switching to a dry diet in order not to want to treat the dog’s intractable condition (it’s easier this way). However, in fairness it must be said that sometimes switching to a dry diet will be the solution when the dog is terminally ill or too old to painstakingly treat, but only sometimes, and not in all cases, as is the case now.

For whom is economy class food produced?

This is not a question of nutrition, but of morality. It is known that most doctors, and even owners, strongly recommend feeding with so-called premium food, they are more balanced, they use natural preservatives (less harmful). With the composition of economy class feeds, everything is different: the raw materials from which they are made, preservatives, and balance, to put it mildly, leave much to be desired. The question arises: if everyone is convinced of the potential harmfulness of economy class feed, then for whom are they produced and why? Economy class feeds differ from premium class feeds (except for composition) in cost. Thus, it can be assumed that this segment of the feed market is aimed at owners whose budget cannot afford expensive feed and, knowing its potential harmfulness, manufacturers continue to produce it. How does this compare to demonstrating caring for the animal or using science to create food? It turns out that producers turn a blind eye to the issue of morality, and at the expense of the pockets and health of the owners themselves, to whom the usefulness of dry diets has already been imposed. I guess there is something to think about.

About mixing different foods in the diet of a dog or cat

This is also a pressing question that owners face: should they feed only food or can it be mixed with regular food. Dry food is designed for the dog to be fed only with it (after all, it is balanced) and manufacturers do not welcome the addition of other (regular dog) food, as it seems like everything is already there. This is logical, because if you add, for example, meat to the dry food norm, you will increase the protein load on the animal. But at the same time, manufacturers advise adding wet food from the same company to the dry diet. How is this imbalance reconciled? It turns out that there is a double standard of feeding: the first is not to add regular food (there will be an excess, for example of protein); the second - you can add if the wet food is from the same company, while claiming that the wet food is pieces of meat. It is also not clear what feeding norm will need to be based on, the one written on the packaging or something else. A misunderstanding arises, which owners will always interpret for the worse, that is, to the detriment of the animal. All this is not at all compared with the principle - “we are trying so hard to keep your pet healthy” and is more compared with the principle of increasing sales of not only dry food, but also wet food.

What is natural food for an animal?

The concept of natural nutrition has come into use with a massive passion for non-natural nutrition, the appearance of commercial feed on the market and its active promotion. It is rare to meet an owner who has an idea of what natural nutrition is. It is generally believed that natural food is everything except commercial feed. But actually it is not. Natural animal nutrition does not mean naturalness as such, but the “naturalness” of food for a given type of animal. Is meat a natural product? Yes, for a dog or cat, but for a horse - no. Are oats a natural product? Yes, for a horse, but not for a dog. The dog does not eat hay, but hay is also a natural product for the rabbit. Therefore, if you feed your dog or cat porridge, bread (maybe not only) or feed your horse half a bucket of protein-rich oats, then this diet has nothing to do with a natural diet.

Feeding reptiles

Quote from the book by Dr. D.V. Vasiliev about ready-made food rations for reptiles:

“In the late 80s. dry food for aquatic turtles was actually produced only by Tetra. Now on the international market, and even in our pet stores, a lot of factory-made food for turtles has appeared - both for aquatic and for land ones. Typically, the annotations for such products report “a unique technology that allows you to preserve all the necessary components,” “a completely balanced diet,” and “scientific development.” Food is most often dry granules, plates or a mixture of natural dried food with the addition of granular vitamin and mineral supplements.

Foods for land turtles most often contain legumes (mainly alfalfa) in the form of flour, balls, cubes or plates. The mixture additionally contains fats and proteins (mostly of plant origin), a complex of essential vitamins and minerals. Although such foods, on average, contain 12 - 28% protein and 14 - 19% crude fiber (i.e., adequate for the diet of land turtles), they may lack many amino acids from animal proteins (lysine, methionine, cystine, tryptophan, threonine ), water-soluble vitamins and many important microelements. The activity of fat-soluble vitamins decreases quite quickly, and at the same time the taste is impaired. Land turtles rarely show interest in them, usually only when mixed with natural food. The price of such food is significantly higher than the price of natural products (even if you buy them in a supermarket). Feed may contain preservatives and the balance of calcium in relation to essential vitamins is not always maintained. It seems that with a wide variety of natural plant foods, the problem of feeding a land turtle can be completely solved without the help of commercial products.

As for aquatic turtles, feeding them usually causes more difficulties for their owners. Therefore, dry food might be more beneficial in this case. Unfortunately, many of them do not meet the declared quality.

Most pelleted aquatic turtle foods are made from fishmeal, small crustaceans and plant additives. The processing and granulation process involves high-temperature phases that destroy less durable components. Some of these foods do not even contain essential vitamins. The quality of fishmeal (the main component) also depends on the technological process, fishing season and types of fish. Sometimes the feed not only does not induce normal growth, but is not even sufficient to maintain an equivalent energy balance. Dry formulas for aquatic turtles are usually modified fish foods in which the vitamin and mineral component is added separately and is often not eaten by the turtles.

While canned food for small pets is now well standardized and certified, the same cannot be said about food for reptiles. For example, a 1994 study of three commercial iguana products in the United States (10) found serious disadvantages compared to diets containing natural foods.

Reputable private turtle collectors usually try to plan their own diet and avoid commercial feed. Large professional collections, such as zoos, do the same. For pet turtles, using dry commercial food makes more sense, as it makes caring for the turtle much easier. In addition, the quality of such feed is much better than a completely inadequate diet or a single type of feed, such as cabbage. Unfortunately, turtles, especially young ones, do not eat well even high-quality granulated food with special flavoring additives. They need to be specially accustomed to this by adding dry granules to live food or natural plant foods. If the turtle starts taking this food, it will make life much easier for its owners. In our practice, several times we came across red-eared turtles raised almost exclusively on dry food. The most reputable brands of commercial feed include Repto Min (Tetra), Nutrafin (Hagen) and Turtle Food Flakes (Wardley).

As you can see, feeding ready-made food even to reptiles can pose a health threat. From which we can draw an important conclusion: in the vast majority of cases, ready-made animal feed cannot replace the natural diet of animals, and therefore an important task is the maximum adaptation of the home diet to the natural one. In the vast majority of cases this is possible.

This was officially stated by the President of the Association of Veterinary Doctors of Russia S.V. Sereda, here are his words: “A natural diet for a dog is, of course, better than commercial food.”

How much food should be given with a natural diet?

The amount of food for a dog or cat is largely an individual question, since there can be completely different physiological conditions, ranging from pregnancy to a sedentary lifestyle (which happens more often than an active one). However, there must be certain guidelines. So, for a dog under 6 months of age. (the period of most active growth for most small and many large breeds) the amount of food should be 7% of body weight for dogs over 6 months of age. the amount of food is halved and amounts to 3.5% of the mass. The calculated amount of food is the total daily amount, i.e. given in 2-3 doses. For example, for a dog weighing 30 kg. Over 6 months the volume of the diet should be 3.5% of 30 kg and equal to 1 kg. in a day. Of this 1 kg, half is meat and offal (500 g), and the other half is dairy food (500 g). At the same time, each dog must consume plant foods, which, being difficult to digest, are an essential component of the diet necessary for the formation of normal intestinal flora. Plant foods are given ad libitum in finely chopped and raw form (cabbage, carrots, lettuce, apples, etc.). However, it is not recommended to feed potatoes, bananas and other sweet and starchy fruits and vegetables.

As we have already said, an important mistake in feeding animals is overfeeding (less often, underfeeding); therefore, owners must understand what is considered overfeeding and how to prevent it. A few tips below will help you avoid this:

After eating the calculated amount of food, the bowl should be empty. Even a small amount of uneaten food indicates that even the amount eaten was already excessive and you should reduce the amount so that it is completely eaten.
The animal eats its “favorite” food, but refuses other food (for example, kefir). Pickiness is a sure sign of overeating. The logic of a dog or cat is simple: why eat cottage cheese if there is enough meat.
The dog or cat eats the entire contents of the bowl, but at the same time gains weight (we are not talking about the growth of a young animal). In this case, you should also reduce your diet.
The animal eats the entire contents of the bowl, but does not eat additionally from the food offered or shows signs of satiety (fullness). A reduction in diet is required, since it would be normal to eat more even after the calculated norm and remain a little hungry. This state is normal; the animal should not be brought to a state of satiety.
A dog or cat eats the required amount of food, but at the same time loses weight beyond acceptable standards. This indicates a lack of food and the norm should be increased.

The weight of a dog or cat is considered normal when you can feel the ribs with your fingers; the ribs should not be visible, but can be easily felt with your fingers. When examining a dog in a standing position from the side, the abdominal area should be pulled up, i.e. not be the same diameter as the chest. When examining the dog from above, the abdominal area should be after the last ribs and should be narrower than the chest.

If your dog or cat does not meet the parameters described above, then the animal is likely overweight or underweight. If it corresponds, then the weight is close to normal. You can use weighing only to track weight loss or gain, but you cannot use the weight specified in the breed standards; they are very relative and almost always higher than medical standards.

The above recommendations for feeding standards are absolutely valid for most breeds of dogs and cats in a state of health. Some conditions or breeds, as well as changes may be necessary for various diseases, may require dietary adjustments, which you can discuss with your veterinarian.

Almost every cat food manufacturer calls their products complete and balanced. But is this really so? Can ready-made food be balanced and complete or is it just a myth?

You can often hear that this or that is due to its balance and completeness. But can we talk about this as reality? Could such food exist in principle? And if it is real, then can a balanced feed have deficiencies or excess nutrients? In fact, even the manufacturers of the best pet foods cannot guarantee that their products are 100% quality.

In trying to answer this question, the first thing to consider is that feed quality is determined according to standards developed by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). But these standards, which manufacturers are guided by, cannot be considered perfect. Today, the science of pet nutrition is still at its development stage, and no one knows everything that needs to be known. Therefore, we can say that the concept of cats itself is largely conditional, since it is based not so much on knowledge as on negative experience. After all, veterinarians will learn the next detail of animal nutrition only after they regularly encounter a problem related to it.

The second problem is that it is very difficult to estimate the exact amounts of individual nutrients and ingredients. After all, a batch of a product usually assumes the presence of some nutritional value based on an analysis of previously released batches. However, depending on the soil and weather conditions under which a particular product was grown, as well as on what auxiliary substances were used (for example, plant fertilizers or animal feed additives), the amount of nutrients may vary.

Thirdly, the standards do not stipulate the maximum amount of mineral and vitamin supplements, limiting themselves to determining the minimum level of nutrients. For example, when a manufacturer purchases vitamins and minerals from a third-party supplier without conducting its own analysis, it is likely that its feed will contain an excess amount of minerals and vitamins, which is no better than a lack of them.

Excessive amounts of minerals in feed can lead to unpleasant consequences.

For example, crops grown in different regions of the country can differ significantly in their selenium content. And if this is not taken into account or is not detected at all, then mineral mixtures containing selenium can even make the food toxic.

One broad spectrum analysis carried out in the US on prepared foods found that some minerals were 3 to 4 times higher than AAFCO recommended minimum levels! One of the minerals that is most likely to exceed recommended levels is manganese. Excessive amounts of iodine threaten the thyroid gland and can lead to hyperthyroidism.

In addition, it is worth noting that the heat treatment to which the components of finished feed are subjected at various stages of production changes the quality of the ingredients both for the better and for the worse. For example, carbohydrates are absorbed much better after it, but proteins can become denatured, which can be regarded as a negative factor. As for vitamins, under the influence of heat they can be completely destroyed, and fats can be damaged. And since manufacturers of prepared feeds are well aware that ingredients suffer certain losses during heat treatment, they strive to compensate for the losses by adding vitamins and minerals to the feed. But such compensation cannot be called equivalent.

Another important negative factor is the mistakes made by the manufacturers themselves.

Numerous analyzes of feed from various manufacturers show that no matter how much a manufacturer is concerned about its reputation, at some point all feeds fail at least one test for protein, magnesium, calcium and other substances. As a result, if a cat is fed food from only one company and one brand, it may develop health problems. Of course, this result does not allow us to call the food balanced.

In those days when ready-made pet food was just beginning to enter the lives of cat owners, they were generally divided into two types: for kittens and for adult animals. Now the number of varieties of food has increased and affects almost all periods of an animal’s life. You can find food for animals with sensitive skin and sensitive stomach, food for a wide variety of breeds, for castrated and sterilized animals, low-calorie food for couch potatoes, hypoallergenic food, for cleaning teeth from plaque and tartar, food for animals with certain diseases and so on. The list can be continued for a very long time. And all these foods are declared by the manufacturers as balanced and complete.

At the same time, the standards for nutritional additives for prepared foods remain the same as those established for cat foods in 1991. And, despite all the discoveries that have occurred during this time, nothing has changed in the standards. Moreover, the same table is used for both adult animals and kittens. Manufacturers of foods that are recommended for any disease must provide supporting documents to the US Food and Drug Administration that the composition of the food corresponds to what was stated in the advertisement.

A very serious factor affecting the health and production functions of animals is balanced feeding. This is where attention to the “little things” is important, which in practice are not small things at all.

It is known that with 1 liter of milk, 30-35 g of protein, 26-40 g of fat, 48 g of lactose, 1.2 g of calcium, 0.9 g of phosphorus, and a large amount of vitamins and microelements are excreted from the cow’s body. The most important components of the diet that influence the reproductive functions of cows are energy, protein, vitamins A and E, microelements Cu, Zn, Co, I and Se. An animal that produces 30-40 liters of milk per day will lose many times more of these substances than a low-yielding animal. That is, the higher the cow’s milk yield, the more demanding she is regarding the composition of the diet and the quality of the vitamin and mineral premix.

Highly productive animals have a more intense metabolism and a higher physiological and toxic load on the liver. In particular, the toxic load may result from increased nitrogen production in the body. This happens when cows are fed diets containing too much protein (excess concentrates), using their own protein reserves as an energy source, or increasing the proportion of green feed in the diet. Increased nitrogen release is accompanied by an increase in urea content in the blood, which has a toxic effect on the body, suppresses ovarian activity and can even lead to the death of the embryo.

All processes in the body are closely interconnected. One more fact can be cited to confirm this. Immediately after calving, the animal's feed consumption decreases, chewing of cud decreases, as a result of which the formation of saliva is reduced. Saliva contains sodium bicarbonate, a deficiency of which leads to the development of rumen acidosis (due to lack of alkali). Acidosis is directly related to the condition of the hoof blood vessels and contributes to the development of lameness. Other factors affecting animal health must also be taken into account. Thus, the calving process itself is a serious stress factor, which affects all organs and systems, as well as the body’s immune defense. Many infections that remained latent during the dry period become active after calving.

Thus, one should take a very serious approach to the preparation of animals for calving, the conditions of their feeding and housing, and special attention should be paid to highly productive animals.

The effectiveness of using balanced diets when feeding high-yielding dairy cows is still greatly underestimated. A balanced diet affects not only the amount of milk yield, but also determines the composition of milk. How this affects the farmer's income depends on the payment system established by the dairy processing enterprise. But even if the dairy only pays per kilogram of milk supplied, the impact of a balanced diet on income will already be significant. It will be even greater if the factory takes into account kilograms of fat and protein contained in milk when paying.

However, a balanced diet affects farm income not only through increased revenue from milk sales. The use of balanced diets improves the health of cows, reduces costs for veterinary drugs and services, and also prevents losses from decreased milk yield, which are inevitable in case of animal illness. In addition, the use of balanced feed affects reproductive functions. Thus, in cows that received an inadequate diet at the beginning of lactation, heat often occurs in an erased form, while animals that are successfully inseminated on time bring additional income to their owners. Since health and reproductive problems are the main reasons for culling animals, it is easy to conclude that a balanced diet is a truly important factor in determining farm profitability.

It is necessary to pay more attention to the preparation and balancing of feeding rations for dairy cows. It's not just the cost of feed that needs to be taken into account - it's especially important to consider the animals' nutritional needs and feed intake. Feed consumption, in turn, depends on how the feeding of cows is organized on a given farm. Cows that eat feed well reach optimal body condition faster and a positive energy balance is established in the body. Factors that reduce feed intake include heat stress, lack of drinking water, irregularities in the frequency, timing or sequence of feeding, excessively high or low moisture content in feed and “social” stress that occurs when animals communicate. Maximum intake of a balanced diet is very important to maintain high milk yields.

Practice shows that investments in training farm personnel in the principles of scientifically based animal feeding are extremely profitable! So, a good diet begins with quality silage preparation. After this, it is necessary to determine the indicators of its nutritional value, which can vary greatly due to differences in weather conditions during harvesting of forage crops, soil composition, and so on. It should be remembered that without a good feed analysis it is impossible to calculate rations!

In the Netherlands, annual milk production per cow continues to increase, and in 2009 the average annual milk yield of Black and White Holstein cows is expected to be more than 9,600 liters per cow, with milk containing 4.39% fat and 3.49% protein (!). This will be achieved largely thanks to balanced and rational feeding.

lipid animal feed

The system of rationed animal feeding includes the following components: norm, diet structure, type of feeding and its regimen, methods for monitoring the usefulness of the given feed, and others. The list of indicators included in the calculation of recipes is constantly expanding. Thanks to rationed feeding, it was possible to significantly increase the productivity of farm animals.

Concept

Nutrition is of paramount importance for them, since through it representatives of the fauna receive nutrients, vitamins and energy that ensure their vital functions.

Those feeds that enter the animal’s body are processed under the influence of various juices. One part of them is used to build their tissues, replacing some cells. The other is necessary to maintain the functioning of internal organs and maintain a certain body temperature.

Inadequate feeding of animals and low-quality feed contribute to a decrease in their productivity and lead to various disorders and diseases.

Main indicators taken into account during dosed nutrition

Animal feeding standards are established based on the following basic indicators:

The content that determines the volume of feed given. It must be taken into account to ensure that the animal receives sufficient and non-excessive nutrition. So a cow should be given 2-3 kg of dry matter per 100 kg of live weight.
The amount received from units. They are used in different sizes. Currently, oat feed units (units), energy (EKE), and metabolic energy (ME) are used.
Nitrogen content in digestible substances. Digestible protein is usually taken into account, while crude protein is taken into account in poultry. Both of them include amino acid content in their feeding norms and rations.
The zootechnical supply of 1 unit is also taken into account. digestible protein, which for cattle ranges from 100 to 110 g.
In addition, the need for crude fat, fiber, sugar and starch is taken into account in animal feeding standards and rations.
The content of macro- and microelements in the feed is also subject to regulation. Of the former, the main ones taken into account are calcium, magnesium and phosphorus, and of the latter - zinc, copper, cobalt, iodine, etc.
The provision of the diet with vitamins A, D, E, carotene is calculated; for pigs and poultry, the presence of B vitamins is taken into account.

Feed classification

The following groups of feed products are used when feeding:

The latter include:

dried animal products;
bard;
spent grain;
flour dust;
bran;
meal;
cakes;
compound feed.

Their inclusion in this classification group is due to the fact that they contain the largest number of feed units when compared with other feed products.

Animal origin of feed

The animal feeding diet includes such feed. They contain complete protein, are rich in minerals, some in vitamins, and are well digestible and processed by livestock and poultry.

Dairy feeds include the following:

whole milk - necessary for young animals in the first weeks of life;
colostrum is a secretion of the mammary glands during lactation of animals in the first days of its passage, contains less sugar, but more vitamins, minerals, protein and fat compared to milk, is used when feeding newborns to remove original feces;
skim milk - whole milk after fat has been removed, mainly used in the diets of calves, weaned piglets and sucklings;
buttermilk is a by-product of butter production (mainly obtained from sweet cream), nutritionally similar to skim milk, used in feeding older calves and pigs;
whey is a by-product of cheese making, inferior in nutritional value to skim milk and buttermilk, and is used for fattening.

Also, the following types of flour are included in the diets of farm animals as animal feed:

The latter and meat and bone are rich in phosphorus and calcium. All animal feeds have a higher crude protein content compared to other feeds.

The concept of norms

If, while feeding animals, there is a lack of certain nutrients or elements in the diet, this can lead to:

to the development of vitamin deficiencies;
delayed growth and development;
decreased productivity;
the emergence of viral diseases.

If animals are fed ad libitum, they can eat more than they need and exceed the amount that the body can process and absorb. As a result, digestive disorders and other pathologies may appear, which can lead to their death. For breeding animals, obesity as a result of overfeeding is harmful.

The feeding rate is the energy and nutrient content that fully satisfies the needs of a particular animal of a particular sex and age group. If feeding is carried out in accordance with their needs, it is called rationed. It must be complete and balanced.

The concept of feeding rations

Based on the dosed amount, feed rations are prepared, which is understood as the totality of all feed consumed by a specific animal in a certain time period. In this regard, their daily, seasonal and annual norms are distinguished.

Choosing the right diet on your own is quite a difficult task, since they are standardized according to a large number of indicators that need to be balanced. Therefore, there are special programs that calculate rations for each species and age and sex group of animals depending on the available feed on the farm.

They have their names depending on what types of feed predominate in them:

voluminous - if concentrates account for up to 10% of the unit content;
dry - if the main feeds are straw and hay;
juicy - if the majority of the diet consists of root vegetables and silage.

In pig farming, concentrated, concentrated-root and concentrated-potato types of diets predominate.

Feeding requirements

Just like for people, animals must have an exact time to eat their food. This is due to the fact that feeding at the wrong time adversely affects the activity of the digestive glands, digestion and absorption of nutrients.

Other principles of feeding are as follows:

number of times feed is distributed to satiate animals;
the diet must contain various feed products, they must be given to livestock and poultry in such a sequence as to stimulate their appetite;
new ones are introduced into it gradually, since their sudden addition can lead to digestive upset and the animals’ refusal to feed.

Control of feed completeness

It is carried out using the following methods:

veterinary-biochemical;
zootechnical.

With the help of the former, milk, urine, and blood are examined to determine the health status of animals and metabolic disorders.

Using zootechnical methods, they establish the conformity of feed with the requirements of the relevant standardization documents, as well as with the reference book “Norms and rations for feeding farm animals.”

Control is carried out during medical examination of animals and when deviations from the normal values of certain indicators are detected. The first is held in spring and autumn. Routine animal examinations should be carried out monthly.

Feed nutritional assessment

It is mainly produced by digestible substances. The latter refers to those of them that, at the end of the digestion process, enter the lymph and blood. The substance digested by the body is calculated as the difference between its content in the feed and its mass concentration in the feces.

There is the concept of “digestibility coefficients,” which is understood as the ratio of a nutrient digested to the total amount consumed. Feeds are considered to have better nutritional value when these indicators are high in relation to carbohydrates, fats and proteins.

Factors influencing digestibility

First of all, this process is influenced by the species of animals and birds. Grain and succulent feeds are best digested by ruminants: sheep, goats, cattle. Roughage is the worst affected by this process in pigs and horses. Poultry does not digest fiber well.

In addition, this indicator may be different for identical animals of the same sex and age group. This is especially true for mixed diets. As animals get older, nutrients are processed less efficiently.

As the amount of fiber in the diet increases, the digestibility of the diet decreases. It is also affected by the level and availability of protein. To control the diet, their protein content is determined, which is the ratio of the sum of digestible fiber, dietary fiber and fat, multiplied by 2.25 to the digestible protein. For pigs it should be 12:1, for ruminants - 10:1, for young animals - 5-6:1.

Animals digest feeds of varying degrees of processing differently. They should be fed not with individual ingredients, but with feed mixtures that are complete and balanced.

The digestibility of feed also depends on its quality class, which is determined after storage before distribution to animals. Many feed products reduce the amount of nutrients, which reduces their digestibility and feed value.

Finally

The article discusses the basics of animal feeding. More detailed information is provided in specialized textbooks for livestock specialists and veterinarians. Diets are balanced in terms of energy content and essential nutrients: crude protein, fat, fiber, amino acid composition, content of macro- and microelements, vitamins. The data for each ingredient is summarized and the resulting data is ultimately compared with the norms for each group of animals of a certain sex and age group.

1.Evaluation of animals by exterior and constitution.

The exterior of an animal is its appearance, external forms as a whole and the characteristics of individual parts of the body (statistics). The exterior determines the type of constitution, breed of animals, intrabreed types, individual body features, direction of productivity (meat, lard, dairy, wool, etc.), sex and suitability of animals for industrial technology.

The shape of the udder, the size and location of the teats are important external indicators of the suitability of cows for machine milking. The most desirable are widely spaced, well developed nipples. Cows with goat udders and pear-shaped teats are not suitable for machine milking.

The most important features characterizing the exterior of the animal are the following: head, neck, withers, chest, back, lower back, rear third of the body, limbs, udder, external genitalia. The development of skin, muscles and bones is assessed. Descriptions of articles begin with the head and end with the limbs. Much attention is paid to physique flaws.

animal constitutions. The constitution of animals is a set of morphological and physiological characteristics of an animal associated with the direction of productivity and the ability to respond in a certain way to environmental influences.

Types of constitution.

Strong type of constitution characterized by good development of skin, muscles, bones and a strong physique.

Animals of dense constitution They have elastic, dense skin, poorly developed connective tissue, good muscles, strong bones and a harmonious physique.

Rough type of constitution characterized by thick skin, underdeveloped subcutaneous connective tissue, voluminous muscles and massive bones.

Animals have a delicate constitution the skin is thin and elastic, the subcutaneous connective tissue and muscles are not voluminous, the skeleton is light.

Animals have a loose constitution thick, pasty skin, under which there is highly developed connective tissue. The muscles are bulky, the bones are not strong enough.

The constitution determines the health and productive qualities of animals: early maturity, ability to fatten, fertility, nature of productivity, quality of offspring, life expectancy, etc.

Animals with a strong and dense constitution are characterized by increased vitality, good health and resistance to diseases. They ripen early and fatten well, are highly fertile, productive, produce valuable offspring, and are capable of long-term economic use.

Animals with a rough constitution are late-ripening, poorly fattened, have high fertility, but are unproductive and do not produce high-quality offspring. They are disease-resistant and long-lived, but keeping them on the farm for a long time is not economically justified.

Animals of delicate constitution have low fertility, rather high, but rapidly decreasing productivity. Their offspring are characterized by reduced viability; the animals leave the herd early.

Animals with a loose constitution are distinguished by high meat productivity, are early maturing and well-fed, and have the ability to deposit large amounts of fat under the skin, in the muscles and on the internal organs. Milk and wool productivity in animals of this type is not sufficiently developed.

The main factors determining the constitutional types of animals are heredity, feeding and housing conditions, training, crossing, selection, etc.

2.Complete feeding of agricultural crops. Animals.

Feeding of farm animals should be carried out in accordance with current zootechnical standards, taking into account the species, age, productivity, fatness and physiological state. Energy plays an important role in ensuring a high level of nutrient metabolism and complex processes associated with animal performance (65%). The level of energy nutrition is determined taking into account energy costs for maintaining life and for production. Lack of energy nutrition leads to low absorption of feed nutrients, ketosis of dairy cows, ewes, exhaustion of the whole body with subsequent undesirable consequences. Recently, the problem of protein nutrition has become especially acute, given the urgent need to increase animal productivity and major changes in feeding technology and feed production. Protein has become one of the limiting factors in the livestock production system. The lack of protein in the diet or its inferiority in amino acid composition has a detrimental effect on the reproductive function of animals, inferior offspring are born, the body's resistance decreases, the incidence of animal diseases increases, metabolism is disrupted, productivity decreases, and their performance deteriorates. general state. The level of lipid nutrition significantly affects the growth and development of animals. Feed fat is not only a source of energy and a material for the formation of fat in the body of animals, it is essential for the normal absorption and transportation of carotene and fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, K. Fat deficiency leads to dermatitis, liver and kidney diseases, and dysfunction of reproduction. The optimal fat content in the diet of cows should be 70% of that excreted in milk, for young cattle - 3-5, for pigs - 2-4, for poultry - 3-8% of the weight of concentrated feed. Feed carbohydrates are not only a source of energy, they are involved in the formation of body fat and milk.

An imbalance of sugar and starch in the diet leads to a disruption in protein-fat metabolism, which leads to an increase in the level of ketone bodies in the body and the development of acidosis.

The optimal level of fiber in the dry matter of the diet should be: for cows - 18-28, young animals - 16-24, calves - 6-12, for sheep - 15-25, for pigs - 4-12, for poultry - 3-6% . In addition to organic substances that have a certain nutritional value, animal diets must be provided with sufficient quantities and in appropriate proportions of vitamins, macro- and microelements. For a lack of macro- and microelements, metabolism is disrupted, rickets, osteodystrophy, parakeratosis, anemia and many other diseases develop.

Vitamins are needed to maintain normal functioning of the body and increase its resistance against various diseases. They participate in the metabolism of proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, minerals, and also provide the functions of the reproductive system, intrauterine development, biochemical processes of oxidation and reduction; promote the synthesis of a number of amino acids and better utilization of feed nutrients. A lack of one of the vitamins in the diet leads to functional disorders in metabolism and a decrease in animal productivity. 3. Patterns of individual development of animals

Knowledge of the individual development of an organism is necessary, first of all, because in the process of growth and development an animal acquires not only breed and species characteristics, but also peculiarities of constitution, exterior, and productivity inherent only to it. In ontogenesis, hereditary continuity and variability of the characteristics of the parents are carried out; it occurs as a result of the action of internal factors of the body and environmental conditions.

Under height understand the process of increasing the size of an organism and its mass, which occurs due to the accumulation of active, mainly protein, substances in it. Growth is accompanied not only by an increase in mass, but also by a change in body proportions, which determines new qualities.

Under development animals understand the qualitative changes that occur from the moment of cell fertilization to the adult state of the organism.

The ontogenesis of farm animals is characterized by the following basic patterns: periodicity of growth and development; unevenness of these processes at all age periods; rhythmicity.

In domestic mammals, embryonic and postembryonic development is clearly distinguishable, occurring after birth. Each of these stages can be divided into several periods. Thus, embryonic development is divided into: embryonic and fertile periods.

Germinal period begins with the formation of the embryo and lasts until the formation of the fetus (with the rudiments of all organs).

Fetal period ends with the birth of an animal.

Postembryonic period begins with the moment of birth and ends with the death of the animal. There are five periods in postembryonic development:

IN neonatal period the body adapts to living conditions outside the mother’s body, the formation of many functions: hematopoiesis, thermoregulation, urination and others. The main food during this period is first colostrum, and then mother's milk. The duration of the newborn period is 2 – 3 weeks.

Milk period in cattle it lasts 6 months, in lambs 3.5–4 months, in foals 6-8 months. The main food is mother's milk, along with this, the young animals gradually become accustomed to plant foods.

IN puberty In animals, sexual functions develop. In cattle, puberty occurs at 6–9 months, in sheep and goats at 6–8 months, in pigs at 4–5 months and in mares at 12–18 months.

Period of physiological maturity characterized by the flourishing of all functions: maximum productivity, highest productive ability. In cattle it occurs between 5 and 10 years of age, in sheep from 2 to 6 years, in pigs from 2 to 5 years.

IN aging period all functions are lost. Reproductive capacity and productivity decrease.