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Nutritional conditions overview
Synonym(s): Dietary conditions / problems
Introduction
- All of the processes a living thing undergoes to take in and use food for growth and reproduction is what we term “nutrition”.
- For any animal to maintain its health, as well as grow and be productive, there are specific chemical compounds that must be in their diet in the right amounts Dietary formulations. This is because no animal is capable of producing every one of the necessary components on its own.
- The study of nutrition is about understanding that there is no one ingredient that contains every nutrient an animal needs in the exact concentrations that it needs.
- Providing the right nutrition for poultry means ensuring that what they eat supplies all of the essential amino acids, fatty acids, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and water that they will need to produce the meat or eggs we hope to collect.
- Sufficient supply of nutrients is essential to drive the long-term health and well-being of any poultry flock.
- Nutritional insufficiencies/deficiencies are more likely to occur in smaller-scale, backyard poultry flocks than in commercial poultry production.
- There is a lack of nutritional knowledge and dogma of the backyard poultry owner, as well as a limited specificity of information on the nutritional needs of non-commercial poultry strains/breeds.
- Not surprisingly, the genetic “gap” between commercial poultry strains and that of backyard breeds has greatly increased.
- Current commercial livestock and poultry strains are more efficient in using nutrients and the commercial feeds are better formulated to meet the requirements of the rapidly growing animal, eg nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) excretion per unit of live weight were 55 and 69% less, respectively, from a 1991 commercial broiler strain versus a 1957 commercial broiler strain fed the same diet.
- Also, modern broiler strains have been selected for an increased muscle mass, which has meant that broilers have had to decrease other supporting organs in proportion. Collins et al found that both external parts (feathers, head, neck, preen gland, and wings) and internal organs (heart, liver, lungs, gizzard (ventriculus), and viscera) have decreased in relative size among modern breeds.
ℹ️Print off the Factsheet on Feeding backyard poultry to give to your clients.
Common nutritional issues
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Further reading
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