Animal Nutrition Science

Book Preface

The Many Facets of Animal Nutrition

Animal nutrition is one of the most diverse disciplines in the animal sciences. Its sub-disciplines range from the biochemistry of nutrient use and digestive physiology, through nutritional genomics and the mathematical modelling of nutrient requirements, to the ongoing development and refinement of animal feeding systems. There are two reasonably distinct areas of study: the first is the basic biochemistry and physiology of the discipline and the second involves the application of these concepts to the design of feeding systems. These two areas are usually considered separately. This is not because one is ‘scientific’ and the other ‘practical’ (an incorrect and sterile distinction), but because the biochemical and physiological topics are general in nature, while studies of feeding systems must, necessarily, be focused on each animal type and the relevant welfare, production and economic considerations.

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgements

1. Nutritional Ecology

2. The Nutritive Value of Animal Foods: Introductory Concepts About Foods, Nutrients and Food Analysis

3. Methods of Evaluating the Availability of Nutrients in Foods

4. Physico-chemical Composition and Digestibility of Forages and Cereal Grains

5. The Nutritive Value of Concentrate Foods

6. Secondary Substances in Concentrates and Roughages

7. Digestion and the Supply of Nutrients

8. Water Use and Requirements

9. Minerals: Their Functions and Animal Requirements

10. Vitamins

11. Voluntary Food Intake

12. Quantitative Nutrition: Requirements for Energy and Protein

13. Ration Formulation

14. Nutritional Investigations: Measures of Nutritional Status

15. Nutrition and the Environment

16. Nutritional Genomics

17. Animal Responses to Stock Food Processing

18. Feed Mill Design and Management: an Introduction

Index