Fodder
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| It has been suggested that Animal feed be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) |
In agriculture, fodder or animal feed is any foodstuff that is used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, including cattle, goats, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. Most animal feed is from plants but some is of animal origin. "Fodder" refers particularly to food given to the animals (including plants cut and carried to them), rather than that which they forage for themselves (see forage). It includes hay, straw, silage, compressed and pelleted feeds, oils and and mixed rations, and also sprouted grains and legumes.
Contents |
[edit] Common plants specifically grown for fodder
- Alfalfa (lucerne)
- Barley
- Birdsfoot trefoil
- Brassicas
- Clover
- Grass (for grazing as pasture and for cutting and storage as hay or silage)
- False oat grass
- Fescue
- Bermuda grass
- Brome
- Heath grass
- Meadow grasses (from naturally mixed grassland swards)
- Orchard grass
- Ryegrass
- Timothy-grass
- Maize (corn)
- Millet
- Oats
- Sorghum
- Soybeans
- Trees (pollard tree shoots for "tree-hay")
- Wheat
[edit] Types of fodder
- Compound feed and premixes, often called "pellets" or "nuts"
- Crop residues: stover, copra, straw, sugar beet waste
- Fish meal
- Freshly cut grass
- Meat and bone meal (now illegal in many areas due to risk of BSE).
- Molasses
- Oil cake and press cake
- Oligosaccharides
- Conserved forage plants: hay and silage
- Seaweed
- Seeds and grains, either whole or prepared by crushing, milling etc.
- Sprouted grains and legumes
- Yeast extract
[edit] Health concerns
In the past, mad cow disease spread through the inclusion of ruminant meat and bone meal in cattle feed due to prion contamination. This practice is now banned in most countries where it has occurred. Some animals have a lower tolerance for spoiled or moldy fodder than others, and certain types of molds, toxins, or poisonous weeds inadvertently mixed into a food source may cause economic losses due to sickness or death of the animals.
[edit] Growing fodder hydroponically
Recent advances in hydroponics has meant that fodder in the form of sprouted grains and legumes can now be effectively grown in a small scale hydroponic environment. Growing fodder, instead of feeding the "raw" (ungerminated) grain to stock, can greatly increase the nutritional value of the grain.
[edit] See also
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
- Forage
- Pasture
- Grain
- Cannon fodder (metaphorical usage)
ay:Q'achu
bg:Фураж
cs:Krmivo
pdc:Fuder
de:Futtermittel
es:Pasto (ganadería)
eo:Furaĝo
fr:Fourrage
id:Pakan
it:Mangime
he:מספוא
lt:Pašariniai augalai
ja:飼料
sv:Djurfoder
uk:Фураж
wa:Fôraedje
zh:饲料
