May 11
13
Understanding the Moisture Content of Feed in Ostrich Farming
Modern agriculture requires precision if the farmer is to optimize their profit potential and this principle is as important in ostrich farming as it is in any other sector of agriculture. Understanding the impact of moisture content in feed ingredients is essential to enabling the ostrich farmer to accurately calculate the total daily nutrient intake of their livestock.
When discussing rations and daily feeding rates there are two bases used. One is “Dry Matter” Basis and the other is “As Fed” Basis also known as “As Is” Basis. When purchasing complete rations, the feeding rate will be expressed on an “as fed basis”. When discussing feeding rate or nutrient analysis of an ingredient it is essential to know if it is expressed on an “As Is” basis or “Dry Matter Basis”.
When rations include home produced ingredients, whether it is grazing, silage or hay – it is extremely important to know the moisture content of those ingredients to be able to calculate the total nutrient intake of the animals fed.
“Dry Matter” Basis means that the nutrient content in the ingredient is calculated assuming all moisture removed.
“As Fed” Basis assumes the feed fed includes the moisture content in the weight.
It is essential to know the nutrient content of that ingredient and the moisture content in order to calculate the total daily nutrient intake. It becomes tricky estimating “nutrient content” and thus establishing “daily nutrient intake” when moisture increases significantly – as in feeding fresh grass or silage. The table illustrates the variations found in the different types of feed. The younger the fresh forage (grass or lucerne) crop, usually the higher the moisture content.
Grass and Lucerne can be fed as a grazing, cut fresh and brought to the stock (zero grazing) or conserved as silage, hay or dried meal.
Another important variable when working with these forage crops is the impact of stage of growth and time of the season on their nutrient content thus when livestock are grazing a whole new set of variables come into the calculations. Growing forage crops change their nutrient content daily depending on stage of growth, time of year, rainfall and moisture content. Daily consumption needs to be estimated to ensure the rest of the rations are balanced to provide all the nutrients the birds require. Clearly this requires very high management controls, when compared to harvesting the forage crops and conserving them to feed as part of a balanced ration. Conserving forage crops locks in the nutrients thus eliminating daily variables and making it easier to formulate balanced rations.
We can see from this discussion the importance of knowing not only the amount of feed the birds are consuming but also the importance of the moisture content to establish their total daily intake of nutrients. Understanding these principles is essential to establishing a commercially viable ostrich farming business.
