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What your animal eats is very important. Feeding can
affect how fast your animal grows, its health, and the
quality and safety of the meat, eggs or milk that come
from your animal. You should always feed the correct
amount of high quality feeds.
Purchased feeds have a label. Labels have important
information. You should always read the label before
you use a feed.
| • Feed labels: |
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- may tell how much to feed
- include a list of nutrients and feed analysis,
which can help determine the quality of the feed
- will tell if a feed is medicated. |
| • Medicated feeds will have more
information on the labels, including: |
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- the animals it can be fed to
- the chemicals or medications in the feed
- the withdrawal time. |
Withdrawal time is the number
of days from when you
stop feeding a feed or giving a medication before
an animal is
slaughtered or before the milk can be consumed to
assure that
there is no medication residue left in the
animal’s body.
Residue is a portion of the medication or
chemical that remains
in the animal’s body tissues. See
Withdrawal Time animation. |
| • Always feed high quality feeds. |
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- High quality doesn’t mean expensive.
The feeds don’t have to be fancy but should
meet the animal’s nutritional needs.
- Feeds should be clean and free of wire, manure,
mold, rocks or plastic.
- Storage of feeds also will affect quality.
• Keep feeds in a dry, clean place.
• Feeds should be kept away from birds, mice,
rats, pets and any animals the feed is not intended
for.
- Birds, rodents and even pets carry diseases that
may make your animal ill.
• Do not store feeds for a long time.
- Feeds may start to lose their nutritional value
after two months.
• Medicated feeds may require special storage.
The label will tell you if special storage is needed. |
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• Water is an important part of feeding.
You must have plenty of clean, fresh water for
your livestock at all times. Animals will dehydrate
and die in one to three days without adequate
water.
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| III. Housing |
| Before you get your animals, make
sure you have adequate pens and shelter for them. |
| • Pens should be clean, comfortable
and safe. |
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- Overcrowding may affect your animals’
growth and attitude.
- Dispose of the manure and use dry, clean bedding.
- There should be no nails, wire or other sharp
objects sticking out, as these can cut or bruise
animals.
- The feed bunks and water troughs should be clean
and free of manure. |
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• Animals can adapt to a wide range of temperatures
and weather conditions, but they must be protected
from weather extremes.
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- Extremely hot weather may require
additional shade, fans or water misters.
- Extremely cold weather may require additional
shelter. |
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