Classification of Feed Stuffs & Animal Protein Sources

Energy contents, CP value and fiber contents are the basis of classification. Every feed has a particular name called as IFN(international feed number). Use of feed stuff is considered a lot while classifying feed stuff.

There are 8 different classes of feed stuffs.

• Dry Roughages
• Pasture and grain grass
• Silage and Haylages
• High energy feed
• Protein supplements
• Mineral supplements
• Vitamin supplements
• Non nutritive feed additives

High energy feed.. there are two conditions for the high energy feed.

1. It should contain 70% or above TDN(total digestible nutrients). TDN is a unit of energy in a particular feed stuff. Interconversion units are metabolisable energy(ME), digestible energy(DE) and net energy(NE).
2. It should always contain less than 18% of crude fiber.

Protein…..If sample contains more than 20% protein only, it is a protein. For ruminants, a single amino acid is not a protein source. Crude Protein is total no. of nitrogenous substances present in a particular protein source.

Feed stuffs not following the IFN

Corn silage….. a quality corn silage is containing more than 70% TDN but it is classified as 3.

preparation of corn silage

Corn Silage

Alfa Alfa Hay..It contains more than 25% of crude protein but it is never a protein supplement because it’s basic use is as a roughage source.

alfalfa hay

IFN:

IFN is always a  6 digit code. 1^st digit is representative of the class. It is used as;

1. International trade of ingredients.

2. Computer formulation

3. Sources are defined for the formulation for a particular animal.

Concentrates:

Every concentrate have a particular nutrient in concentrated form/amount. Different concentrates are energy like sources;

1. Grains in animal feed

2. Supplements which include protein, vitamin and minerals.

3. By product feeds.

Grains….common grains are maize, rice, barley and oats.

By product feeds… These include midlings, brans, molasses. Different pulps like citrus pulp, wheat pulp are also by product feeds. For poultry, brewer grain is also considered as a by product feed.

Protein Supplements:

• Protein is polymer of amino acids. All proteins are originated from plant sources. Animal body cannot make a protein itself. It always requires plant to built protein source.
• All the crude protein in any protein stuff is not 100% digestible.
• Any roughages protein digestibility is 60%.
• Any concentrated protein digestibility is 75-85%. So any of the protein source is not a 100% digestible protein.
• Amino acids are of two types. Essential amino acids are those which are necessarily needed to compensate the requirement of non-essential amino acids. E.g. lysine.
• There are three main types of protein sources; animal, vegetable and non-protein nitrogenous sources.

Animal protein source:

All of the animal protein sources are by products of slaughter house facilities. The most common animal protein sources are fish meal, blood meal, meat meal and bone meal. Hydrolyzed weather meal even dried skim milk and whey protein is also the source of animal protein.

Whey protein…is a byproduct of cheese. Dried skim milk and whey protein are only used in young animals.

1. Animal protein sources are not used in the ruminant’s diet because they are readily convertible to NH3 in the rumen and ammonia toxicity is produced.
2. In protein sources dried matter contents should be 92%. All of the protein sources have CP of more than 50%. Fiber value in protein sources is “0” or negligible. Energy value of all the protein sources is high.

Fish Meal:

Protein value is very much variable because of the different species of the fish which we are processing. Some fish has more protein in structure and some has less. So, it’s protein value ranges from 57-80%.

Fish Meal

Fish Meal Preparation

Precautions

• if processing is not correct, then anti-nutritional factor “gigrosine” remains in the fish meal which will cause blood vomits in young chickens.
• All fish meals are originated from marine fish. So, there is high salt contents in these meals.

Blood Meal:

Blood meal is also a very high crude protein containing source. CP value is 84%. Processing and dry matter contents are precautionary measures.

1. Dry matter content should not be high. This shows that some of the proteins are in active source like “trypsin inhibitor” that causes indigestibility of protein in the animals.
2. Energy value of the blood meal is quite good because it contains some amount of lipids in it.

Blood Meal

Meat and Bone Meal:

In many of the countries, its use is banned due to improper autoclaving process and escape of prions even after auto-claving.

Meat and Bone Meal