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We are surrounded by choices these days as we set out to buy food for our pets. There are many different foods in many different price ranges, all claiming to be just what your pet needs. How do we know what is really best, especially when we do not have quite all the information?

Digestibility of a product is a critical piece of information that is currently not quantitatively stated on pet food bags because, as of yet, there is no centralized or standardized official testing procedure that results in comparable data that can be put on pet food bags. Digestibility is an indicator of how thoroughly a feed is processed and utilized by the animal that eats it, and it is affected not only by the quality of the food but by the health status of the animal eating it. For instance, an animal riddled with intestinal parasites will digest far less of its food than will a parasite-free animal, regardless of the quality of the food. Therefore, extensive digestibility trials with large numbers of animals are required to truly estimate the digestibility of a given feed.

Most of the values shown on a feed tag or bag are derived by chemical analysis of the feedstuff. Chemical analysis, however, does not address the palatability, digestibility, or biological availability of nutrients in a food. Thus it is unreliable for determining whether a food will provide an animal with sufficient nutrients needed for growth, performance, or lactation. For instance, protein analysis is based on the measure of nitrogen in a feedstuff, since nitrogen is a key element in protein. However, merely measuring nitrogen is not indicative of protein quality (meaning amino acid composition), and nitrogen is a component of many other biological compounds, such as amine sugars. The analysis for fat does not indicate what kind of fat it is, and the fiber analysis likewise does not indicate the source or digestibility of the fiber, only that it is there. Technically, it is possible to make a “food” out of lawn fertilizer (nitrogen), motor oil (fat) and wood chips (fiber) that will have the same protein, fat and fiber analysis as your favorite pet food! The tag would look great, but the feeding value would be horrible!

So how do you really make sure you are buying a quality product? You can fairly easily determine palatability yourself. If your pet doesn’t like the food, it’s not very palatable, at least not to your pet. Digestibility and biological availability can be trickier, but not impossible, to determine. The two are interrelated, as more digestible feeds are made from higher quality ingredients that will provide more nutrients that can be readily absorbed and utilized by your pet. Stool size and consistency are major indicators of feed quality: large, soft stools, perhaps with mucus present, are indicative of poor-quality, poorly utilized ingredients that are resulting in a lot of waste. That which goes all the way through the animal is not available for utilization! Poor growth rates in young animals or weight loss in lactating animals is a clear sign that the feed is not meeting their needs, regardless of the nutrient analysis. Dull coats can be a sign in adult animals that they are not getting what they need. And if your pet needs to eat more of a given food in order to maintain its weight, that’s a sure sign that the food is not a very high quality feed.

Since higher quality feeds made from higher quality ingredients will generally cost more, price can sometimes be indicative of quality (certainly a high price tag can be put on a low quality feed, but seldom will a truly high-quality feed be offered at basement bargain prices). If you’ve always been a price tag shopper, consider this: If you pass up Feed A because it costs $23 for 40 pounds and buy Feed B at $20 for 40 pounds, but your pet must eat 25% more of Feed B in order to get the nutrients it needs, have you saved money? Let’s see. If your dog needs 1 pound/day of Feed A, that is 40 servings at 57.5 cents per serving. Your dog will need to eat 1.25 pounds of Diet B to get the same amount of nutrients, meaning you get only 32 servings from the bag, at a cost of 62.5 cents/serving. Not such a great deal after all! Checking feeding directions to determine estimated consumption can be of some help, but beware – one cup of one food may not weigh the same as one cup of another food, so you may end up comparing apples and oranges when reading recommendations on bags. Weight is a better measure than volume when determining intake.

Reputation is another indicator of quality. Established pet food companies that conduct digestibility trials, as well as maintaining a customer service department to interact with consumers, are more likely to be putting out a quality product that they are happy to stand behind. If there isn’t an 800-number on the bag, then you can probably assume the company isn’t very interested in your comments. If they are not testing their feed but rather formulating based on calculated nutrient content (which is based on chemical analysis), then neither you nor they will really know how digestible it is until you feed it.

Remember that nutrition is a complicated process involving not just the presence of nutrients but also their availability and digestibility and therefore their usefulness to the animal. Long-term subclinical nutritional deficiencies or imbalances due to lower quality foods can take a toll on the longevity and eventual quality of life of pets who may appear to be healthy on the outside. Don’t take shortcuts with your pet’s nutrition!

They give us so much—aren’t they worth the very best?

Dr. Mikelle Roeder, Ph.d, P.A.S

Cold weather presents horses with some specific nutritional and management demands. As winter approaches it is a good idea to evaluate horses, housing and feeding programs to insure that horses get through the cold weather in good shape.

All warm-blooded animals have a critical temperature. This is the temperature below which the animal must produce additional heat to maintain normal body temperature. Mature horses in good flesh have a critical temperature around 30° F during early winter. After developing a winter coat and gaining 100 pounds, the critical temperature drops to 15° F. It is estimated that young horses, horses in thinner condition and those that have not developed a winter coat, may have a critical temperature around 40° F. When wet, windy conditions are present, the critical temperatures will be higher as well. In order to produce extra body heat, an increase in feed energy is required. Horses will require an estimated 15 – 20% more calories for each 10° F the ambient temperature falls below critical temperature. However, thin horses or horses with short hair may need even greater increases in dietary intake to maintain normal body temperature.

It is important that horses come into winter carrying enough body condition. The additional body fat serves as insulation and energy reserves in times when the thermometer dips below the critical temperature. Once cold weather sets in, it is difficult to put weight on horses. Thin horses get colder and use so much energy trying to stay warm, there often aren’t enough calories left for weight gain. Young horses and broodmares in late gestation, may not be able to consume enough of a high fiber diet, such as hay, due to restrictions in digestive system capacity. These horses must have access to good quality, highly digestible feeds in order to meet the additional energy requirements due to cold weather and higher production levels.

Historically, horsemen have often changed their rations from summer to winter to accommodate increased calorie needs. Typically, this is done by increasing the amount of hay and changing from oats to corn or a sweet feed. Feeding additional hay provides extra calories and also helps maintain body temperature due to the internal heat produced during digestion of fiber. The change from oats to corn or a sweet feed is based on the impression that corn or sweet feed is a “hotter” feed than oats. This concept of oats being a summer feed and corn a winter ration has some merit, but also has some flaws.

Nutritionally, oats and corn compare as follows:
Fiber,%    Protein,%
Oats    10.7    11.8    1200
Corn    2.2    9.0    1500

One pound of corn has more energy and is lower in protein and fiber than one pound of oats. Not only does corn have more energy per pound than oats, corn also weighs more per unit of volume. One scoop full of corn has about 45% more calories than the same scoop full of whole oats. This has led to the idea that corn is a “hotter” feed than oats. Actually, because of the higher fiber level in oats, oats produce more internal heat during digestion than corn, it just takes more oats to provide enough calories.

Corn or oats alone can provide adequate calories but not adequate protein, vitamin or minerals. The best option for the horse year-round is a nutritionally balanced diet of good quality hay and a high-quality, well fortified commercial feed. During the winter months, provide as much shelter as possible, especially from wind and wet weather, and Calories/lb increase feed intake to help maintain body condition. Then as warmer weather arrives, continue to feed the nutritionally balanced diet, simply reduce the amount fed. When a well balanced feed is used, the only adjustments necessary are to increase or decrease the amount fed, depending on body condition or energy demand.

Monitoring water intake is another very important consideration during winter weather. Mature horses in temperate climates will normally drink from 5 – 8 gallons of water per day. Increasing the amount of hay in the diet will increase the water consumption, up to 9 or 10 gallons of water with an all-hay diet. During cold weather, water intake can decline dramatically. Increased hay intake combined with decreased water intake contributes to the risk of impaction colic. This is especially a problem when horses are kept in stalls for several days due to inclement weather because confinement tends to slow intestinal motility. In cold weather, water should be kept fresh and free of ice to insure adequate intake and horses exercised whenever possible. Also, adding one or two ounces of salt to the feed may stimulate water consumption.

By Karen E. Davison, Ph.D., Managing Equine Nutritionist, Purina Mills, LLC

Now is the perfect time for beef producers to make management decisions that will affect the health, productivity and profitability of the herd over the next production cycle. The following are tips and guidelines to consider.

1. Wean based on pasture quality and quantity:
When pasture quality declines below that required to support calf growth, and/or quantity declines to the point that calves cannot compete with cows for the available forage, calves will start to loose body weight. It is a myth that calf growth will be maintained by milk production; by the time calves reach 400 pounds, and especially when forage availability is low, milk intake will supply as little as ten percent of the calfs nutritional requirements, and some cows will voluntarily dry off. When this occurs it is more beneficial and economical to wean the calves as it:

• Is easier and more economical to supplement the calves than the whole herd,
• will extend the grazing for the cow herd, and
• will reduce the extent of body weight loss in the cow herd, especially for first calf heifers.

“A research project at Kansas State University a few years ago showed that cows on unsupplemented pasture who continued nursing calves until December lost about 150 pounds and 1.5 points in body condition score by their next calving. If calves must be left on the cows this late, pasture must be supplemented.” (Heather Smith Thomas, cattletoday.com, Oct. 29, 2002)

2. Preg–check cows and heifers:
At weaning, preg–check all animals that were bred, and cull those that are open or will calve late. Open cows are too expensive to maintain on limited and costly feed resources these days, as can be cows that will calve outside a 70 to 90 day calving window. Late calvers will generally wean small calves the following year and be even harder to breed back in time to calve within the target window.
This is also a good time to check the cows to detect and deal with problems that might affect future health or productivity, such as age, teeth condition, illness or injury.

3. Assess body condition and group cows/heifers for fall/winter feeding:
Target for a moderate body condition (4–6 on a 9 point scale) going into the colder weather of winter, as well as before calving. If possible, group thinner cows with bred heifers after weaning and place them on a higher plane of nutrition than the rest of the herd so that the higher nutritional requirements of the still growing heifers will be met, and the thin cows will have an opportunity to gain weight before the coldest part of the winter sets in and thus be in better condition for calving. Research shows that cows in good to moderate body condition can lose weight equivalent to two body condition scores without affecting calving or reproductive performance as long as their nutritional requirements are fully met from four weeks prior to calving and onward. Therefore, by grouping animals according to nutritional requirements and feeding accordingly, there is tremendous opportunity to save feed and labor.

4. Deworm and vaccinate:
Cows should be treated at weaning for internal and external parasites picked up during the summer and fall grazing seasons, as these increase feed requirements and susceptibility to disease during the winter. This is also a good time to give semi–annual vaccinations for diseases such as lepto, vibrio, IBR and BVD, the risk of which also increases as animals are congregated for winter feeding and calving. Your local veterinarian should be consulted to determine what the cows need to be treated for and which products should be the most effective in your area. Obviously, there is little reason to treat animals that are to be culled, so save the cost.

“Lice are one of the most costly and underrated parasites of cattle, accounting for millions of dollars lost each year due to reduced feed conversion, weight loss, anemia and sometimes even death. During the last cold months of winter and into early spring, lice can be a constant cause of irritation putting additional stress on cattle and draining energy reserves.” (Heather Smith Thomas, cattletoday.com, Oct. 29, 2002)

5. Have feed analyzed:
It is not possible to make progress in reducing feed costs and ensuring nutritional requirements are met without having feeds, and especially forages, analyzed for nutritional content. At a minimum, they should be analyzed for dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), fiber (ADF) and the minerals calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P), either by wet chemistry or NIR (Near Infrared) scan. Fiber analysis is essential for the lab to be able to estimate energy content as TDN (Total Digestible Nutrients) or Net Energy (NEm or NEg). Feed of different types, different cuttings and even from different fields should be analyzed separately. It may also be advisable to sample and analyze fall grazing materials such as stockpiled grass, crop residues, swath grazing, straws etc. if this has not been done before. Then, it will be possible to allocate specific feedstuffs according to stage of production and nutritional requirements over the winter feeding period.

6. Develop feeding plan/programs:
There is a tendency for beef cow–calf producers to over–feed cows between weaning and calving, and then underfeed them from late gestation through calving and rebreeding. This is very wasteful and costly. Post–weaning, cows have their lowest nutritional requirements and will do well on a diet of 48–50% TDN and a minimum of 7% CP. During the last month of gestation, calving and rebreeding, they require a diet with 60–62% TDN and a minimum of 10% CP to be healthy and productive. This is a substantial difference in feed quality that requires planning to determine how it is to be achieved with the resources at hand, and to prevent over–feeding and fattening of the cows during the “dry” period. If higher quality feeds than required are available, they can be limit fed to save feed and cost, or diluted with lower quality purchased feeds if economical sources are available. Your local feed supplier or government extension agent may be available to assist you in developing appropriate diets for each stage of production. Waiting to “see what happens” is almost always more expensive, and hard on the cattle.

7. Evaluate feed inventory:
The fall is the best time to evaluate your feed inventory and its adequacy for the coming feeding season. Once the analysis has been done, and your feeding plan has been developed, consider the length of feeding period(s) and the weather conditions being forecast, and then total up the amount of each class of feed you will require to make it through the feeding season and compare it against the inventory on hand. Be sure to include a 10–15% margin for error and an appropriate value for spoilage in storage and wastage during feeding (these latter two may be greater than you think). If the current feed inventory is not adequate to comfortably make it through the full calving season, NOW (i.e. the fall) is the best time to make adjustments, by either limiting early season feeding rates, making arrangements to buy more feed (greatest availability and lowest cost) or decreasing the size of the herd.

8. Adjust feeding rates for cold weather:
Beef cattle feed (energy) requirements increase by roughly two percent (2%) for every degree Celsius that effective temperature (measured as wind chill) drops below their lower critical temperature (about 0°C or 32°F with a normal winter coat), when they must start to actively generate heat to maintain core body temperature. If feed intake does not increase sufficiently to compensate for the drop in temperature, energy supplements will need to be provided to prevent loss in body weight and condition. Care must be taken when feeding poor quality forages, and especially straw, as the drive for intake, along with poor digestion, can cause rumen impaction during cold weather.

9. Check waterers and feeding areas:
Dry matter intake is dependent on water intake, and both are especially important during fall grazing and winter feeding when poorer quality roughage is fed. The fall is a great time to ensure all water sources are operating, clean and will remain free of ice when cold weather arrives.

It is also a great time to check and set up the winter feeding area (e.g. fencing and feeders) and feeding equipment to ensure that everything is ready when winter feeding needs to begin. This includes ensuring your TMR mixer receives its annual service, including changing the oil in the planetary gearbox, removing and cleaning under the auger of vertical mixers to check for wear and that oil lubrication parts are in good repair, checking and rotating or changing blades as required, and ensuring that the weigh bars and scale are working correctly.

10. Reduce feed wastage:
One of the easiest ways to increase cow–calf profitability is to decrease feed wastage. Feeding on the ground has been shown to waste up to 60% of feeding value through selection and trampling. Hay and bale feeders will reduce wastage but it can still reach up to 30% in traditional feeders, and increases as forage quality declines. Research at the University of Michigan showed that wastage varied by feeder type, being 3.4, 6.1 11.4 and 14.6% for cone, ring, trailer and cradle feeders when fed relatively good quality (35% ADF) mixed alfalfa–orchardgrass round bales.

Bale feeding still presents a challenge on how to feed forages, supplements and opportunity feeds in a way that each animal gets what they require; over consumption by older and more aggressive cows is also a form of wastage. For this reason many producers are experiencing the benefits of using a vertical auger, TMR mixer for feeding. With a vertical mixer, hay can be processed into a ration that minimizes sorting and virtually eliminates waste. Intake of poorer quality forages can also increase by as much as 30% helping meet requirements on lower cost feeds. Finally, it is then easy to weigh the feed and mix in grain, supplements and mineral and vitamins, as required, to balance the ration for a given stage of production, and to minimize feed cost while optimizing animal health and performance. Conservative estimates have shown that the value of a TMR mixer should be a minimum of the combination of 10 to 15% in annual feed cost, through feed savings, plus 10–15 % of the value of the animals marketed annually, through improved animal performance.