SUBJECT: AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE
TERM: SECOND TERM
CLASS: SS2
WEEK 5th week
Environmental factors affecting agriculture production
RATION
Diet is the amount of feed given to or consumed by an animal. It is designed to meet physical
and metabolic needs such as growth, milk production, reproduction, etc.
Ration can be defined as the amount of feed consumed by an animal in a day.
Balanced ration is the feed that contains all the essential nutrients in the right quantities for
feeding animals. Components of balanced ration include, carbohydrate, protein, fat and oil,
minerals, vitamins and water.
Factors considered when deciding the type of ration to feed an animal
1. The purpose of which the animal is kept: the purpose for which the animal is kept
determines the type of feed given, for instance animals keep for production purpose are
given more feed than those that are not.
2. The class of animal: animals belong to different classes so does their feed varies.
3. Age of the animal: the age of the animal determines the amount and type of feed given
to it. In poultry chicks between (0-6weeks) require over 20% of protein compared to
growers (618weeks) which requires about 14% of protein.
4. Animal's state of health: healthy animals eat more compared to those that are sick.
5. Management system: the system of management determines the type of feed given to
farm animals. Quality feed are given to animal in intensive system are given more feed
than those in extensive system.
6. Physiological (physical) state of the animals: pregnant and lactating animals tend to
consume more feeds than animals which are not.
Types of Ration
1. Production ration: this is the type of ration given to animals in order to enable them
produce. This ration contains just the right amount of nutrients which enables the farm
animals capable of high production which can be milk, egg, meat production, etc.
Categories of animals which require production ration:
• Lactating animals: for milk production Weaning animals: for increase
growth
• Pregnant animals: for maintenance of fetus
• Broilers: for rapid growth
• Layers: for more egg production
• Steaming up or flushing: for animals before mating to increase ova/ovum.
Fattening animals: for extra addition of flesh or meat.
2. Maintenance ration: this is the type of ration given to the farm animal in other to
maintain the normal functioning of the body system. In other words, maintenance
ration supplies just enough nutrients to enable the animal carryout regular body activity
without gaining or Losing weight.
This enables the animal to maintain its body weight and not for production purpose.
Examples of such kind of ration are straw and hay during dry season.
Ration formulation
Ration formulation involves the careful preparation and combination of all the required food
nutrients in such a way that it meets the nutritional requirements for a particular animal. The
following principles should be considered during ration formulation:
1. The physiological state of the
animals; whether pregnant,
lactating or young animal
2. The availability of feedstuff 3.
The composition of the
nutrients
4. The age of the animal.
5. The familiarity of the feed to
animals 6. Palatability of the feed
7. The cost of the feed.
The careful combination of proteins, vitamins and carbohydrates will provide all the food
nutrients to prepare a balance diet or ration.
Malnutrition in farm animals
Malnutrition is a condition in which the animals shows signs of deficiency in nutrition. This
happens when the ration does not supply all the essential nutrients in the right quantities. In
order words, it is the result of when an animal eats insufficient food or diet that is lacking one
or more nutrients e.g. vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, proteins, etc. Hence this causes
nutritional disease.
S/N Malnutrition Causes Symptoms correction
disease
1 Night blindness Lack of vitamin A In ability to see Feed yellow
clearly in dim light maize
2 Scurvy Lack of vitamin C Lesion around the Feed vegetables
connecting tissues and fruits to
animals
3 Beri-beri Lack of vitamin B1 Lack of appetite, Feed yeast,
(thiamine) fatigue and loss of cereals and
weight vegetables
4 Richet and Lack of calcium, Flexible and curvy Add fish meal,
osteomalacia phosphorus and vitamin bones, soft-shell bone or oyster
D eggs shell to feed