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Feeding ExoticsMay 1, 2013
What we can do today
• Can easily formulate specialized diets for livestock and pets
• Know very precise nutrients in common feedstuffs
• Con formulate to specific stages using wide range of ingredients
• Physiological stage• Level of production• Age• Clinical diagnosis• Size, breed• Level of activity
Nutrition in Zoo’s– Traditionally filled by:
• Veterinarians• Zoo Keepers• Curatorial Staff
– Limited nutrition programs with PhD heads• Only 8 of more than 230 AZA institutions (less than 5%)
– Omaha
– St. Louis
– Indianapolis
– San Diego (2)
– Lincoln Park
– Brookfield
– Disney’s Animal Kingdom
– Busch Gardens
Goals of Feeds and Feeding Exotics
• Promote health and longevity
• Support production – breeding programs for many species
• Provide environmental enrichment & aid in animal training
• Least cost
Ecology tells us what they eat.
Nutrition needs to tell us what’s in “what they eat”.
One of the biggest challenges of formulating for exotics is not knowing the nutrients in “wild” feed stuffs
Challenges of Feeding Exotics
• Limited data on nutrients of “wild ingredients” • Limited data regarding actual requirements for given
species– Must use extrapolations
• Management constraints– Group housing, mixed species exhibits, feeding times,
exhibit design• Limited ingredients
– Available ingredients will not match ingredients the animals actually consume in the wild
Process of Diet Formulation
• What is it? • What is its anatomy and physiology like?
– How do you classify an animal?
• What is the “Natural History”? – Feeding strategies– Feeding behaviors– What does it eat in the wild
• Do we know the nutrients in those feedstuffs?
• Is there a model species I can use to compare requirements?
Classifying Animals – How to figure out the best model
• By feeding strategy
• By digestive tract physiology– Autoenzymatic
• Digestive processes carried out by enzymes that the animal secretes into the digestive tract
– Alloenzymatic• Digestive processes are accomplished
primarily through enzymes secreted by organisms in the gut
Classification By Feeding Strategy
Classification By Feeding Strategy
Digestive Tract Physiology
Feeding Strategy Examples
Alloenzymatic digesters
Foregut fermenters
Ruminants
Grazers Cattle, bison, oryx, gaur
Browsers Giraffe, okapi, deer, moose
Mixed Sheep, goats
Non – ruminants
Omnivores Peccary
Herbivores Hyrax, hippo, kangaroo, wallaby
Hindgut fermenters
Cecal Rabbit, ostrich
Ceco- Colonic Horse, zebra, elephant, rhino, tapir
Anatomy and Physiology
• What does the GIT look like?
Foregut fermenters – Determining the “best model”
Extrapolations – Sometimes it makes perfect sense
Other times it doesn’t!
African hunting dog: Strict carnivore
Maned wolf: May consume up to 70%
vegetation (fruit)
Bat-eared fox: Insects
Ruminant Extrapolations
Hind gut fermenters - Extrapolations
Comparing A/PRelative Capacity
(% of total GIT weight)
Compartment Elephant Rhino Horse
Stomach 14.0 21.4 8.0
Small Intestine 6.7 5.2 30.0
Cecum 18.1 23.1 15.0
Colon 61.2 50.3 47.0
Total ceco-colonic fermentation (%)
> 75% 73% 62%
Clemons and Maloiy, 1982
Considerations• Heat and cold stress• Nutrients in feedstuffs• Minerals in feedstuffs – Mineral Interactions• Vitamins in feedstuffs
– Or losses as with fish• Feeds to support appearance
– Carotenoids and feather pigmentation• Food for training and enrichment• Clinical diet management• Exhibit design• Exhibit mates – mixed species
Environmental Enrichment & Training
Benefits of Food Enrichment• Variety• Provide nutrition• Promote natural foraging behaviors• Stimulate senses• Animal Welfare• Public perception
Animal Training
• High value food items • Often contribute a significant amount of
calories, and nutrients• Can be expensive• Extremely important for animal
management