Animal Health and Nutrition

Nutrient Management and Animal Diseases

Health and nutrient management goes far beyond nitrogen and phosphorus. Johne's disease, Clostridial disease, Salmonellosis, and BVD are some of the health issues of concern. See Frequently Asked Questions for more information on these diseases.

Horses and Parasites

Parasite Prevention and Control - horses pick up parasites by ingesting grass, feed, or water that is contaminated with parasite larva and eggs. Don't feed on the ground. Use feeders, racks, bunks or mangers for feeding hay and grain. This will prevent feed from getting mixed with feces.

Turkey Virus

Turkey virus sequenced (Feedstuffs: November 5, 2001). The virus - associated with Poult Enteritis Mortality Syndrome (PEMS) has caused problems for southeastern poultry producers since the early 1990s and is now circulating throughout the U.S. PEMs is a highly infectious, transmissible disease of young turkeys that causes servere diarrhea, stunted growth and high death rates in young turkey flocks.

Colonic Bacteria in Beef Cattle

Limited intake, low grain diets may reduce colonic bacteria (Feedstuffs: December 17, 2001). Because undigested starch may reach the colon of finishing steers fed high grain diets, it has been reported that switching cattle from high-grain diets prior to slaughter may reduce the prevalence of both generic and acid resistant Escherichia coli.

Phosphorous Requirements in Dairy Cattle

Think "pounds," NOT "percents": Cows consume pounds not percents. Phosphorus requirements can vary by production and stage of lactation. It is not accurate to list an animal's phosphorus requirements using a range in percents. Check out the Excel spreadsheets to evaluate what an animals actual requirement is.

Phytase in Poultry Feed

Phytase, HAP corn combination may reduce P excretion: A series of studies was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of using microbial phytase and high-available P corn in combination with reduced dietary P to reduce P excretion while maintaining optimum broiler performance. The authors of this article are from the University of Delaware. (Feedstuffs, June 3, 2002).

Use of Added Lysine in Swine Feed

Use of added lysine may not differ between sources: Feedstuffs, February 24, 2003. Page 10. Research at the University of Nebraska examined the effect of supplemental lysine source (crystalline versus protein-bound) on the growth performance and protein deposition of nursery pigs. Results of their research were released in the 2003 Nebraska Swine Report. Bottom line: Based on the results of their trial, it was concluded that there are no differences in the efficiency of utilization between soybean meal-bound lysine and crystalline lysine for growth and protein deposition in nursery pigs. It should be noted that the study utilized individually fed pigs and application to commercial conditions may not duplicate results. Pigs on the trial did not experience feed intake restrictions and the lack of differences in these criteria suggest that incomplete utilization of crystalline amino acids occurs when pigs are given restricted access to feed and that difference in utilization is minimal when pigs are given ad lib access to feed. The researchers theorized that when pigs have ad lib access to feed, an improved balance of amino acids is absorbed, leading to similar rates of oxidation of excess indispensable amino acids.