SUMMARY OF FEEDING STANDARDS

1. Feeding standards are statements of the amounts of nutrients required by animals.

They may be expressed as nutrient requirements or, with the addition of a safety
margin, as nutrient allowances. In the UK, the energy and protein requirements
of growing ruminants and pigs are those published by AFRC (1993) and BSAS
(2003), respectively. Alternative standards are available from other countries.
2. Energy requirements for maintenance are generally estimated from fasting heat
production (i.e., basal or fasting metabolism) or feeding trials. Fasting
metabolism is proportional to the metabolic liveweight of the animal (typically
W0.75). An average value for mammals is 0.27 MJ/kg W0.75, but this will vary
depending on the age and sex of the animal and the plane of nutrition.
3. Energy requirements for maintenance also include an additional energy
allowance for the muscular activity associated with searching for, harvesting and
chewing food.
4. When animals are kept at low environmental temperatures, their heat losses, and
hence their energy requirements for maintenance, are increased. An animal’s
thermoneutral range is defined by its lower and higher critical temperatures and
is affected by climatic conditions (sun, wind and rain), the insulating properties
of the animal and its environment, and food intake. In young animals, brown
adipose tissue may be metabolized to produce heat.
5. Protein requirements for maintenance are estimated from endogenous urinary
nitrogen and metabolic fecal nitrogen excretion. There are also small losses of
nitrogen in hair and scurf. In ruminants the protein requirement for maintenance
can generally be met by microbial protein synthesis. 6.
6. Animal growth follows a sigmoid curve with time, but different parts, organs and
tissues grow at different rates. The relationship between tissue weights and body
weight can be described by so-called allometric equations. Typically bone and
muscle are early-maturing tissues, whereas fat is a late maturing tissue. Energy
and protein requirements for growth are derived from measurements of the
chemical composition of gain. Requirements change as animals mature and are
modified by breed, sex and rate of gain.
7. Different feeding standards adopt different approaches to estimate energy and
protein requirements for growth. Protein requirements for pigs and poultry are
generally more detailed than those of ruminants and horses because they include
estimates of requirements for specific amino acids. 8.
8. In sheep, the energy and protein requirements for wool growth are relatively
small. However, wool requires higher levels of sulphur-containing amino acids,
 copper and zinc. In practice wool growth is predicted from energy or protein
supply.
9. Net mineral requirements for maintenance and growth are calculated from
endogenous losses and the mineral content of body tissues. They are then
translated into dietary requirements using appropriate availability factors.
10. Vitamin requirements are usually determined from feeding trials, which are
complicated by the difficulty of selecting appropriate criteria for adequacy of
supply.
11. Although animal nutrient requirements are determined by patterns of growth,
both growth and body composition can be modified by nutrition. For example, a
low followed by a high plane of nutrition may increase fat deposition. The
objectives of controlling growth through nutrition are to use nutritional resources
to achieve a high rate of gain and to produce a carcass that meets the requirements
of the customer.
12. As fat is no longer considered a desirable component of meat, control of growth
is often aimed at increasing muscle and reducing fat growth. In some countries,
repartitioning agents (synthetic hormones) may be used to increase muscle
growth.