Learn to understand the fundamentals of animal feeding and nutrition.
- Domestic and wild animals
- Pets and livestock
- Essential learning for animal owners
- CPD for people working with pets, on farms, zoos or animal shelters
Whether you own animals as pets, care for animals professionally or have farm animals, this course will guide you through the many different and important considerations for effective animal nutrition.
Some feed types which are suitable for feeding one animal species, may be totally inappropriate for a different animal. Learning about feed composition and animal nutrition requirements is fundamental in any aspect of animal care.
The Feeding Animals Short Course covers 10 lessons including an introduction to feeding animals and industry opportunities, the composition of feed, forage, concentrates, feed additives, managing feed production and supply, feeding small companion animals and pets, feeding livestock, feeding wildlife and finally eating and nutritional disorders in animals.
Course Structure
LESSON 1 INTRODUCTION TO FEEDING ANIMALS AND INDUSTRY OPPORTUNITIES
Eating and drinking anatomical adaptations
Classification of animals – mode of feeding or feed types
Mode of feeding classification
Digestive systems – general and specialised
Recent animal feed industry concerns
Industry opportunities and employment
Working in animal feed industries
Review what you have been learning
LESSON 2 THE COMPOSITION OF FEED
Feed analysis
Classification of feed stuffs & animal protein sources
Protein
Carbohydrate
Fibre
Fats (lipids)
Vitamins
Minerals
Review what you have been learning
LESSON 3 FORAGE
Composition of plant tissues as an animal food
Terms used to describe aspects of feed quality
Pasture / grass
Pasture hays
Silage
Root crops
Trees for fodder
Review what you have been learning
LESSON 4 CONCENTRATES
Review what you have been learning
LESSON 5 FEED ADDITIVES
Review what you have been learning
LESSON 6 MANAGING FEED PRODUCTION AND SUPPLY
Hay and silage production
Grassland management – promoting the health of the pasture
Grassland management – promoting the nutritional intake of animals
Pasture management principles
Hydroponic fodder production
Managing feed supply
Review what you have been learning
LESSON 7 FEEDING SMALL COMPANION ANIMALS AND PETS
Dogs
Cats
Rodents
Rabbits
Ferrets
African pygmy hedgehog
Birds
Fish
Review what you have been learning
LESSON 8 FEEDING LIVESTOCK
Browsers, grazers, intermediate feeders
Pigs
Chickens
Cattle
Sheep
Goats
Deer
Alpacas
Llamas
Horses
Feeding routines and procedures
Review what you have been learning
LESSON 9 FEEDING WILDLIFE
Reptiles
Amphibians
Birds
Mammals
Pandas and their relatives
Marsupials
Lagomorphs and rodents
Wild carnivores
Ungulates
Review what you have been learning
LESSON 10 EATING AND NUTRITIONAL DISORDERS IN ANIMALS
Review what you have been learning
Final assessment
