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Six Fundamental Nutrients

What are the nutrients birds need? Can you name the fundamental nutrients from your basic classes? We are talking about six essential nutrients that are needed for proper growth, for proper production. Number one: water. Very important. The most neglected. Number two: carbohydrates. Number three: fats. Number four: proteins. Number five: vitamins. And number six: minerals.

I have highlighted number two, three and four because these three nutrients contributes towards the energy. They are energy contributing nutrients. Carbohydrates and proteins provide 4 kilocalories per gram versus fats, very high, energy dense, at 9 kilocalories per gram. Vitamins and minerals, although provided in very small amounts, they do not contribute to energy. But they are needed as coenzymes or cofactors for the proper metabolism. Their requirements may be in very minimal amount, but they are very important. Water should be high quality. Water should be fed ad libitum. As I mentioned before, birds do not know the difference between carbohydrates, fats or proteins or vitamins or minerals. Birds usually eat to meet their energy needs. The term metabolizable energy is used in poultry. The reason metabolizable energy is used in poultry, you might have learned in other nutrition classes, as urine and feces are excreted together in birds which make it very difficult and impractical to determine the digestible energy value, so metabolizable energy is commonly used. Energy is stored in carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Economics of energy is very important.

For example, the diet energy is 3,000 kilocalories and the body weight at 45 day growth is 2.7 kilograms, it cost about $1.24 per bird. If you increase the energy, 3,300 kilocalories, same body weight, feed cost goes up. We have to make sure that energy needs are properly met to the bird. We don’t want to feed excess energy, excess energy means excess cost.

Coming to talk about the carbohydrates or carbohydrates contributes to the bulkiness of the diet. Typical sources of carbohydrates is cereal grains in the U.S. Most commonly used corn, oats, wheat, rice and barley. Cereal grains provide energy, bulk, at the same time it provides a feeling of fullness or satiety. Corn is used as the major energy source or major cereal grain in U.S. poultry diets. Some parts of western U.S., wheat may also be used. Other sources of carbohydrates include milling products such as corn gluten meal, oat meals, wheat middlings and rice hulls. As I mentioned, corn is the most widely used cereal grain in U.S. poultry diets, very highly digestible, palatable and costly.

Fats and oils. Fats and oils provides high energy, at 9 kilocalories per gram, almost twice the amount of energy provided by carbohydrates. Fats are very important because they provide essential fatty acids. Essential fatty acids are those that cannot be synthesized by the bird and has to be provided in the diet. Fats also provide fat soluble vitamins like vitamin A, D, E and K. The most common sources of fat in the poultry diets are tallow and lard. Tallow is coming as a by-product of rendering industry. Vegetable oils, along with tallow or animal-vegetable blend combined with restaurant grease, by-product of the restaurant industry, is also used in poultry diets. Other sources of fats and oils include vegetable oils and also full fat oilseeds like canola seeds, linseeds or flaxseeds and soybeans.

Protein sources. Coming from plant proteins and also animal proteins. Plant proteins are the backbone of the commercial diet. Soybean, canola, peas, beans are commonly used. Most of these are high quality proteins. For example soybean, most commonly used plant protein source, protein content anywhere from 44-47.5%. Grains, cereal grains, also contribute to the protein content. As cereal grains are the major chunk of the poultry diets, they can also contribute anywhere from 10-15% of crude protein or CP (abbreviated as CP) to animal diets, poultry diets. Animal protein sources include meat meal, meat and bone meal, fish meal, other animal by-products such as dried egg products. The use of animal proteins in poultry diets is getting a lot more attention especially with the issue of certain zoonotic diseases. Proteins are the most expensive component of the ration, so we have to make sure we don’t want to feed excess proteins because excess proteins, body cannot store them. Other protein supplements, oilseed meals. As I mentioned, soybean meal, the standard. Good for non-ruminants like poultry. Very good balance of amino acid profiles. Best of the plant proteins. Canola meal is also used as a protein source and price is feasible. When we include proteins, we use concentrates, we use limitations, when we formulate rations for poultry. We do not want to feed excess proteins. We put constraints, we put a certain limit. Availability is very high in some of the plant proteins, depending on the type of processing, type of manufacturing. Other protein sources like canola meal, cottonseed meals, peanut, sunflower meal, safflower meal is also used in poultry. Cottonseed meals is usually grown in certain hot areas, contains about 41% crude proteins. Almost all the protein supplements they do have some anti-nutritional factors or toxic factors. For example, cottonseed meal contains gossypol, produces green or mottled eggs. Peanut meal usually used in southern U.S., high quality protein, again, 41-50% crude protein. Sunflower meal around 44% crude protein. Safflower, anywhere from 18-22% crude protein. Animal protein supplements like fish meal, meat and bone meal, they are also high in protein. They also have excellent amino acid composition, but sometimes, depending upon the type of manufacturing or extraction processes involved, these protein supplements could be high in fat. When they are high in fat, there is a potential for lipid peroxidation causing rancidity effects. Some of the other concerns, as I mentioned, with animal proteins is zoonotic disease issues.

Other ingredients in the ration, vitamins and mineral premix. When we talk about vitamins, we have both fat soluble vitamins such as vitamin A, D, E and K, water soluble vitamins, B vitamins and C vitamins. We have macro and microminerals. Usually vitamins and minerals are added as vitamin-mineral premix. The mineral premix could cost anywhere from $250 to $750 per ton. Calcium and phosphorus are the main macromineral component supplemented. Limestone, oyster shells, calcium phosphate, defluorinated phosphate, salt are also included. Among the microminerals, about 26 microminerals are considered essential. Usually, premix is added as a vitamin-mineral premix or individually. Premix are a unique form mixture of one or more of these micro ingredients and a carrier which is used introduce the micro ingredient into the larger mixture. Vitamin-mineral premix are for specific species, type of production or even for certain geographical areas. Vitamin-mineral premix for laying birds is not the same as vitamin-mineral premix for broiler birds or broiler breeder birds.

As I mentioned, feeding of poultry requires high quality nutrients in a very well balanced form containing all the major nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals. Since poultry require higher quality diets than other livestock because limited gut size, limited ability to synthesize by microbes, we have to make sure we provide everything in a very well balanced form. There is a greater use of grains and oilseeds in poultry diets. There is no single true value for any nutrient, there is a bird to bird variation and also feeding requirements depends upon the goal of production.

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