| CODE | RFS2200 | |||||||||
| TITLE | Animal Nutrition | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 6 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Rural Sciences and Food Systems | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Students examine in detail the biology of digestion and nutrient metabolism and the assessment of feedstuff quality in forage-based feeding systems. This study-unit applies the principles of nutrition to the development of diets and feeding programs for the various species of animals of agricultural importance. It will enable the students to analyze strategies for meeting nutrient requirements and avoiding nutritional problems, and to assess feed efficiency and feed costs for the enterprise. Lectures cover the principles that are common to all species, and the labs and tutorial sessions focus on more specialized topics that are relevant to the management of food animal production. Study-unit Aims To familiarise students with: 1) the advanced principles and practices associated with digestion, absorption, and metabolism of nutrients as related to domestic monogastrics and ruminants. 2) the different digestive systems present in Farm animals and the various feed ingredients available for diet formulation. 3) To familiarise students with analytical procedures in feed analysis. 4) To highlight the importance of developing diets and feeding programs for the various species of animals of agricultural importance. Learning Outcomes 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: 1) Compare and contrast the different digestive systems of animals. 2) Define the different components of a diet. 3) Define the agricultural importance of different animals and hence different nutritional requirements. 4) Comprehend the principles of applied animal nutrition. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: 1) Perform feedstuff evaluation. 2) Rationalize formulation to meet specific nutrient needs of livestock. 3) Construct nutrient partitioning to meet the various needs of the animal. 4) Compose balanced diet formulation. 5) Rationalize formulation on least cost basis. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings - E.W. Crampton, L.E. Harris. Applied animal nutrition: the use of feedstuffs in the formulation of livestock rations. 2nd ed. Freeman, 1969. 753 p. 7167-0814-0. (Main Library). - Leonard A. Maynard, John K. Loosli. Animal nutrition. 6th ed. McGraw-Hill, 1969. 613 p. 07-041048-8. (Main Library). - Animal Feeds, Feeding and Nutrition, and Ration Evaluation CD-ROM (Hardcover) by David Tisch (Author). - Livestock Feeds and Feeding by D. C Church. - Nutritional Ecology of the Ruminant by Peter J. Van Soest. - Animal Feed Formulation by Pesti. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Pre-requisite Study-units: AGR2602 or related study-unit Co-requisite Study-units: RFS2600 or related study-unit |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Tutorial | |||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | George Attard |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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