1. Tropical forage utilisation
Title 1: Utilisation of Forages by Non Ruminants
STUDENTS: Mr. Riyadh Mohammed
:Ms. Navera Persad
:Ms. Anjuli Diaram
:Ms. Desena Bacchus
ASSIGNED To: Dr. Francis Davis

3. Outline of the Presentation
What defines a Non Ruminant?  
What is forage?  
Types of Forages Utilised by Non Ruminants
Forages fed to Rabbits
Forages fed to Horses
Forages fed to Pigs
Forages fed to Poultry

4. Outline of the Presentation
Non Ruminant requirements for Forage
Types of digestive Systems of Non Ruminants
Horse’s Hindgut Ability
Basic Pig Digestion
Poultry Digestive System
Rabbit Caecotrophy
Advantages of Forage Utilisation by Non Ruminants

5. Outline of the Presentation
Discussion  
Conclusion
References

6. List of Figures
Figure 1: Forage consumed egg yolk vs. Commercial feed egg yolk
Figure 2: The Digestive System of a Horse
Figure 3: The Digestive System of a Pig
Figure 4: The Digestive System of a Chicken
Figure 5: The Digestive System of a Rabbit

7. What defines a Non Ruminant?
Monogastrics
Pigs, Horses, Rabbits, Poultry species
Herbivores + Omnivores
Single sacculated stomach which acts as their primary site of digestion with the use of small amounts of microbial activity

8. What is forage?
Forage is any plant material that is consumed by herbivorous or omnivorous animals
Grasses
Herbaceous legumes
Tree legumes
Silages
And crop residues
(Trezona et al. 2011, 4)

9. of Forages Utilised by Non Ruminants
Types
of Forages Utilised by Non Ruminants

11. Forages fed to Rabbits Albizia lebbeck * Clitoria ternatea
Desmanthus virgatus
Buffel grass
Digitaria Woolly Finger grass
Columbus grass
Gamba grass
Elephant grass
Katambora Rhodes grass (Lowry 1992, 258)

12. Forages fed to Rabbits Legumes: Desmodium distortum
Macroptillium letyroides
Clitoria temata
Cassia tora
(Cheeke 1983, 26)

14. Forages fed to Horses Bermuda grass Bahia grass * Star grass
Pangola grass
Weeping Love grass
Prarie grass
Ryegrass,
Dallis grass
Pasplum staggers
Rhodes grass
Kikuyu grass (Skewmaker 2005, 2-3)

16. Forages fed to Pigs
Keys et al 1974 reported that a diet of Bermuda grass with a cell wall content of 30 % was fed to a group of pigs
Sarria 2013: Ensiled Forages: Clitoria teratea, Centrosema brasilianum, Cratylia argentea and Bracharia grass

17. Forages fed to Pigs
Kaensombath et al 2012 and showed that the leaves and stylo of the Taro plant was used as a protein source in the diet of pigs
Forages such as Honohono, Mexican grass and Koa hoale was used to rear pigs in Hawaii with good results

19. Forages fed to Poultry
Borin 2005 offered cassava tops to poultry broilers and white pekin ducks after being sun dried and ensiled to increase palatability and decrease concentrations of hydrogen cyanide.
>>> increase growth rate in their internal organs
>>> gastro intestinal tract had increased

20. Forages fed to Poultry
Horsted 2006 reported that organic hens produced a better quality of eggs when foraging
grass/clover and forbs Fagopyrum esculentum *, Phacelia tanacetifolia and Linum usitatissimum.

21. Fagopyrum esculentum

22. Forages fed to Poultry
A darker colour yolk which is a positive indication of better quality
Fukumoto 2009 also had similar results with the hens in a forage consuming experiment.
Forages in this experiment comprised of Guinea grass, Pigeon peas and the perennial peanut Arachis pintoi.

24. Non Ruminant requirements for Fiber/Forage
Horses 2.5% of body weight
Rabbits: ad libitum
Poultry: 2-3%( Br) vs 7 %(Br) vs 8-10% (Layers)
Pigs: 7 % (Mateos et al 2012)

25. Types
of Digestive Systems of Non Ruminants

26. Horse’s Hindgut Ability
Enzymatic digestion takes place first in the fore stomach and then fermentation occurs in the hindgut.
Stomach: 9-15 l
Small Intestine: l
The caecum is where microbes break down the food and fermentation begins (Wright 1999, 1)

28. Basic Pig Digestion
Stomach is very closely similar to the stomach of humans
Parts of the pig’s digestive system are the mouth, small intestine, pancreas, liver, large intestine, rectum and anus.
Large intestine, little microbial activity takes place to form volatile fatty acids which are absorbed (Rowan et al. 2013, 1)

30. Poultry Digestive System
Mouth/beak
Oesophagus
Crop
Proventriculus
Ventriculus /gizzard
Small intestine
Ceca
Large intestine/colon
Cloaca (Jacob 2011, 4-5)

31. Poultry Digestive System
Crop: Storage
Proventriculus: Acid Digestion
Gizzard: food is mixed and mashed even further by strong muscles
NB: Supplying chickens with grit or small stones can aid in digestion of fiber in the diet by use of the gizzard (Jacob 2011, 4-5)

33. Rabbit Caecotrophy Caecum is the largest organ
Caecotrophy is performed in the proximal colon of rabbit; this process is simply the pelleting of 5 mm pellets by the colon
The colon itself protects these pellets by secreting a mucosal layer which protects them from the stomach acids following ingestion (Halls 2008, 3-4)

35. Advantages of Forage Utilisation by Non Ruminants
Fiber in diets can subsidize feed costs such as in rabbit or horse production systems
Fiber improves the egg quality of laying chickens
Rabbit enteritis is lower in incidence with increased fiber consumption
Fiber in scavenging pig systems allow the poor to produce on a small scale

36. Advantages of Forage Utilisation by Non Ruminants
Fiber in pig diets have proven to decrease pig fat deposition in the back fat
Fiber in ducks have proven to increase internal organ weight and lengthen the gastro intestinal tract
Fiber increases manure production which can be sold to generate increased profits

37. Increasing Utilisation of Fiber by Non Ruminants
1) Making the particle size smaller for easier consumption
2) Adding forage legumes to grass based diets to increase the protein content which would increase intake subsequently
3) Organic acids, immune modulators, phytogenics

38. Increasing Utilisation of Fiber by Non Ruminants
4) Creating the appropriate stomach environment so that the microbes can work more efficiently with the use of Prebiotics, Probiotics, Symbiotics, and enzymes
5) Enzymes such as phytase, xylanase have become very useful in broiler diets for increased growth and utilisation of nutrients

39. Discussion
Non ruminant production systems can represent up to 70% of its costs as being feed costs
Fibers come mainly from forages which are mainly grasses, legumes and tree legumes. These are very valuable resources for those that can utilise them

40. Conclusion
There are many useful grasses, legumes and tree legumes that are available for utilisation by non ruminants
However, without the normal physiology of their gut such as in the horse and the rabbit, utilisation would not be as efficient

41. Conclusion
Additives to poultry and pig diets in the form of Prebiotics, Probiotics, and Symbiotics, enzymes, organic acids and immune modulators have all proven to be successful in better utilisation at different degrees

42. References
“The use of Concentrate Feeds in Livestock Production Systems.” Food and Agriculture Organisation.
Abdel-Khalek, A. M "Safe Alternative Additives to Antibiotics in Rabbit Nutrition: Probiotics and Prebiotics.” Animal Production Research Institute, Dokki, Egypt.
Aganga, A., S. O. Tshwenyane “Feed Values and Anti-Nutritive Factors of Forage Tree Legumes.” Pakistan Jouranl of Nutrition 2 (3):
Amber, K.H., Abd El-Nabi, F.M., Morsy, M.A. and Morsy, S.H.A “Effect of Dietary Supplementation of Probiotic and Prebiotic on Preventing Post Digestive Disorders and Productive Performance of Growing Rabbits.” Egyptian Poultry Science Journal 34 (1):
Batterham, E.S., A.R. Egan. n.d. “Utilization of Food legumes as feed.” ACIAR.
Borin, Khieu “Cassava Foliage for Monogastric Animals: Forage Yield, Digestion, Influence on Gut Development and Nutritive Value.” PhD diss., Swedish University of Agricultural Science.
Bozkurt, M., Küçükyılmaz, K., Cath, A.U. and Çınar, M “The effect of single or combined dietary supplementation of prebiotics, organic acid and probiotics on performance and slaughter characteristics of broilers.” South African Journal of Animal Science 39(3):
Chambliss, C.G., E.L. Johnson, I.V. Ezenwa. (1997) Pasture and Forage Crops for Horses. University of Florida. SS-AGR-65.

43. References
Cheeke, P. R., Harris, D. J. and Patton, N. M "Utilization of tropical forages and alfalfa meal by rabbits." South African journal of animal science 13(1):
Cheeke, P.R., “Feeding systems for tropical rabbit production emphasizing roots, tubers and bananas.” Accessed September 23,
Co-operative Research Centre for an Internationally Competitive Pork Industry “The Use of High Fibre Diets to Manipulate Carcass Tissue Distribution in Finisher Pigs, with Particular Emphasis on Reducing Belly Fat.” Accessed September 23, 2014.
Cymbaluk, N. F “Camparison of Forage Digestion by Cattle and Horses.” Can. J. Anim. Sci. 70 (2):
Davies, R.R. and Rees Davies, J.A.E "Rabbit gastrointestinal physiology." Veterinary Clinics of North America: Exotic Animal Practice 6 (1):
 De Blas, C. and Wiseman, J Nutrition of the Rabbit. 2nd ed. United Kingdom: CABI publishing.
De Blas, C., García, J. and Carabaño, R "Role of fibre in rabbit diets. A review." Annales de zootechnie 48(1):3-13.
De Blas, J.C., Perez, E., Fraga M.J., Rodriguez J.M. and Galvez J.F “Effect of Diet on Feed Intake and Growth of Rabbits from Weaning to Slaughter at Different Ages and Weights.” Journal of Animal Science 52 (6):

44. Question and Answer Secession