Feeding for Maintenance/Aging

Question 1

List the components which contribute to an animals daily energy requirements (DER or maintenance) and contrast with resting energy requirements (RER or basal)

Answer 1

• Water
• Energy
• Protein
• Fat, vitamins and minerals

Question 2

Daily Energy Requirements (Maintenance)

Answer 2

• Includes energy involved with eating and metabolizing food and normal activity
• Water: should be 5% of body weight
• Energy: need enough for eating, digestion, movement, usually 1.5 to 2 times more than basal rate (vegetative state)
• Protein: makes sure that the need for essential amino acids is being met
• Fats, vitamins and minerals

Question 3

Resting Energy Requirements

Answer 3

• Water: should be 5% of body weight
• Energy: enough to be awake but not moving or performing
• Protein: need for essential amino acids must be met (10 EAA)
• Fats, vitamins and minerals

Question 4

Maintenance

Answer 4

• No net loss or gain of tissue
• Optimal body condition score= 3/5 or 5/9
• 3 Types of water: ingested, water in diet, metabolic water
• Daily water requirement: 5% of body weight or 50ml/kg (babies need more, obese animals need less)
• If you lose more than 10% water, death is coming

Question 5

Protein Requirements

Answer 5

• Requirement of essential amino acids at the tissue level (PVT TIM HALL)
• Cats: need taurine and arginine to the classic 10
• Equine/Pigs: lysine is the first limiting amino acid when feeding corn and soybean

Question 6

Calculate average dry matter intake (DMI) and daily kcal’s needed to sustain the healthy adult animal

Answer 6

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Question 7

Describe changes in nutritional requirements that occur with aging

Answer 7

1. Energy- lowered activity level will decrease metabolic rate, decreasing overall DER
2. Protein- efficiency of the use of proteins in the diet is decreased, there is a decrease in lean muscle mass
3. Vitamins- require slight increases in vitamins A, B and E
4. Minerals- phosphorus and sodium need to be decreased due to renal and cardiovascular compromise

Question 8

Describe common diet types and feeding methods for adult animals

Answer 8

Horse: 15-20 lbs hay/day
Beef Cow: 20-30 lbs hay/day
Lactating Dairy Cow: 40-60 lbs (dry matter)/day
Sheep: 2-4 lbs hay/day
Dog: 1 cup/ 20 lbs
Cat: 1/2 cup/ cat

Question 9

Small Animal Diet Types

Answer 9

-Can be fed either a dry diet, semi moist diet, canned diet, and supplements/treats
-Depending on the diet there will be more or less moisture included in the food itself
Ex. A dry diet has 6-10% moisture while a canned diet has 68-80% moisture (energy quality also varies)

Question 10

Large animal diet types

Answer 10

• Very few production animals are ever at maintenance due to growth, gestation and lactation
• As energy content of diet increases, intake should decrease (growing up lean results in longer life)
• Forages should be the basis of their diet
• Can be fed either free choice or controlled, supplements (concentrates and grains) MUST be portioned
• Supplements should complement the diet NOT replace forages (need forages for the microbes)