Nutrition chp14

Why are energy requirements for poultry expressed in ME rather than DE whereas for swine, both are used?

- Energy requirements are measured as ME in poultry as they excrete urine + faeces together called excreta from cloaca (ME=DE- [faecal + urinary energy]

- DE is used in swine as they urinate & defecate separately (DE= GE-faecal energy)

What types of diets would generally be supplemented with xanthophyll source?

- Xanthophyll is a carotenoid pigment found in alfalfa, corn, petals or marigold & leaves of most green plants.

- Supplemented to layer hens as it makes their egg yolk more yellow, which is desired by consumers.

-Alfatoxin contamination impairs xanthophyll absorption, resulting in pale bird syndrome

How are the nutritional requirements of turkeys different from those of broiler chickens?

- Broilers are young, rapidly growing birds for meat. They are fed a multistage diet, so composition changes with age. Starter diet (3 weeks) contains 23-24% CP, grower diet (3-6 weeks) contains 20% CP and finished diet (past 6 weeks) contains 18% CP. feed contains coccidiostat & a growth promoting antibiotic or copper sulfate.

- Turkeys are raised for meat. Starter diets contain 28% CP, which is reduced by 2% every 4 weeks, up to market age @20 weeks.

(shortened question) If you feed newly hatched emu chicks turkey feed they will obtain leg problems with weakness and deformities after a few weeks. Why? How could this be prevented in the future?

- The weakness will be because the birds gain too much weight too quickly.

- This can be prevented by letting the birds eat the turkey starter diet with at least 26% protein for 30 mins twice a day and for the rest of the day have free access to alfalfa pellets at 3 weeks old until 8 weeks old, then they can go over to a turkey grower diet instead.

(shortened question) If ducklings are fed only cracked wheat, what deficiencies and symptoms would you expect them to have? How could the problem be solved?

(not sure)

Leg weakness could be a problem due to rapid growth rate

Vitamin requirements are higher in waterfowl so could be deficient in these

Supplement with choline and niacin

What causes perosis in avian species and how can it be prevented?

- Perosis (slipped tendon) is caused by choline or manganese deficiency.

- It is due to an abnormality of the joint in long bones causing the tendon to slip & pull the leg sideways.

- Water containing supplements will aid in preventing perosis.