Basic dietary requirements
Understanding the basic dietary requirements of an animal is important for
keeping them in good health. This includes knowing:
•
the type of animal and their dietary requirements
•
what makes up a balanced diet
•
what makes a balanced feeding plan.
Types of animals and their diet
Animals are divided into the following groups according to their dietary
requirements: carnivores, omnivores and herbivores.
Carnivores
These animals normally eat only meat or invertebrates. They have a simple
digestive tract and the food passes through fairly quickly. They are often
hunters, so do not necessarily eat every day, and can usually eat large
amounts in one sitting.
Examples of carnivores include:
•
mammals: dogs, cats, ferrets, Tasmanian devils and quolls
•
birds: eagles, owls and the insect eating birds
•
reptiles: snakes and crocodiles
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Figure 1: Eagle—carnivore
Figure 2: Owl—a carnivore
Figure 3: Cat—a carnivore
Omnivores
These animals eat some meat, but also some plant material. Their digestive
system is more complex than carnivoresto allow for digestion of some plant
materials.
Example of omnivores include:
•
mammals: rats and mice, pigs, bandicoots and humans
•
birds: magpies, currawongs and chickens
•
reptiles: skinks.
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Figure 4: Mouse—an omnivore
Figure 5: Rooster—a carnivore
Herbivores
These animals live entirely, or almost entirely, on plant materials. They have
complex digestive systems, enabling fermentation of plant material to break
down the fibre and, as a result passage through their intestinal tract is much
slower.
Examples of herbivores include:
•
mammals: guinea pigs, rabbits, horses, sheep, cattle, koalas and
kangaroos
•
reptiles: some turtles
•
birds: parrots, finches and pigeons.
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Figure 6: Wyandotte—a herbivore
Figure 7: Angus of aberdeen—a herbivore
Basic nutrition
Regardless of the type of animal you are feeding, there are six basic
nutrients which need to be given in the correct amount and proportions. This
will help to keep the animal in good health. The basic nutrients are:
•
protein
•
fat
•
carbohydrate
•
water
•
minerals
•
vitamins.
All nutrients are important in the body:
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•
as building blocks
•
for biochemical reactions
•
as an energy supply (the fuel for the body).
Of these, three are used as an energy source:
•
protein
•
fat
•
carbohydrates.
Energy
Animals will eat until their energy needs are satisfied. An adult cat requires
250 kcal per day (energy is measured in kilocalories—kcal).
This is known as the Maintenance Energy Requirement (MER). This is the
amount of energy used by a moderately active adult animal in a thermoneutral environment.
The MER includes energy expended for obtaining food in amounts
necessary to maintain body weight but does not support additional physical
activity (eg work) or production (growth, pregnancy, lactation, keeping
warm or cool, repair after trauma, surgery, etc).
Energy requirements vary according to the state of activity and health of the
animal.
Production status
MER needs
Adult maintenance (without any
production needs)
MER = 1
Work a day’s hard work (eg sheep
dog, sled dog)
MER = 2–4
Gestation
MER = 1 for first 2 trimesters and
up to MER = 1.5 for the last
trimester
Lactation
MER = 3.0–4.0
Post surgery
MER = 1.25–35
Trauma
MER = 1.5
Burns
MER = 1.7–2.0
Inactivity (an inactive animal will
have a reduced MER)
MER = 0.6
From these figures you can see you would need to feed a lactating dog 3–4
times more than you did before she had puppies.
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Balanced diet
Animals eat to mainly satisfy their energy needs. So, diets have to be
formulated to be in balance with the energy requirements.
This ensures that by the time the animal has eaten, its energy needs will also
have been met wiht its daily requirements of all the other nutrients – protein,
fats, minerals and vitamins.
A complete diet means that it contains all the essential for good
healthnutrients. A balanced diet means that the animal has the correct
quanitities of all the nutrients in their diet.
Life stages
Animal dietary needs are also affected by its age and state of health, more
specifically:
•
growth
•
pregnancy
•
lactation
•
adult maintenance
•
work
•
geriatric
•
repair/convalescence.
A growing animal, for example has increased requirements of all the
nutrients because not only is it more active, it also has to grow muscle, skin,
bones, and other organs.
A lactating animal has similar, if not greater, needs than a growing animal
because, not only has she got to maintain her own body, she also has to
supply everything the neonates need to grow as well!
Feeding plan
A feeding plan is a method of giving food to an animal that is worked out in
some detail prior to feeding the animal. It may be written down in some
form or simply retained in memory. Many commercial feeds are now
including a basic feeding plan on their packaging of animal feed.
Usually, this plan appears in the form of the animal’s weight and a
recommended daily amount to feed it. When designing a feeding plan, it is
very important to consider the life stage of the animal and daily energy
requirements of the animal.
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In many situations, animal’s (such as horses or greyhounds being prepared
for racing), feeding plans must be strictly adhered to.
It is important that you know how to interpret a feeding plan if you are to
feed animals of any species.
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