This course includes:

 

Digestive Physiology of Small Ruminants- Dr. Don Ely describes the parts of the small ruminant digestive system and compares the capacity of each.

 

Cud Chewing- the digestive functions that small ruminants can do compared to monogastrics.​

 

Digestion of Feedstuffs- explains how each part of the digestive system absorbs nutrients from feed.

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Rumen Reticulum Development- explains when and how the rumen-reticulum develops and how that effects nutrients absorbed at different ages of the animal.

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Reading Tags:

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How to Read a Mineral Tag- Dr. Katherine VanValin, University of Kentucky, explains how to read a mineral tag and how to determine if a mineral is meeting nutritional requirements.

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How to Read a Feed Tag- Dr. Andrew Weaver explains how to read a feed tag and how to look for more uncommon information.

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Nutrient Requirements of Sheep and Goats- explains how to feed different feedstuffs with varying nutrient compositions to meet changing nutritional requirements of sheep and goats.

 

Additional practice in working with the nutrient requirements of sheep are provided by Dr. Don Ely:

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Nutrient Requirements Based on Stage of Production- explains how nutrient requirements of sheep change based on stage of production.

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Amount of Nutrients Required by Sheep per Day- explains how to determine the amount of nutrients needed per sheep per day.

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Meeting the Nutrient Needs in Late Gestation- Dr. Don Ely explains how to determine if your late gestation ration is meeting the nutrient requirements of your ewes.

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Supplement: Alfalfa and Grain Mix Ration for Late Gestation- Dr. Don Ely provides another late gestation ration using alfalfa hay and a grain mix, and walks through the steps of determining if the ration meets the nutrient requirements of ewes in late gestation expecting twins.

 

Introduction to Ration Balancing- Dr. Andrew Weaver gives an overview of the sections for balancing rations.

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Part 1: Predicting Dry Matter Intake- explains how to predict dry matter intake, which is used in determining if nutrient requirements are met.

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Part 2: Determining is Nutrient Requirements are Met- explains how to determine if a ration meets the nutrient requirements of goats in different stages of production.

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Part 3: Nutrient Content of Fresh Forages-  explains how to determine if fresh forages can meet nutrient requirements of goats at different stages of production.

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Part 4: Grazier’s Math- discusses grazier's math and how we can utilize the principals of supply and demand from a forage basis to design our grazing systems.

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Part 5: Concentrate Feeds- gives a summary of available feedstuffs and considerations to make when creating rations.

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Part 6: Analyzing Feed Costs- explains how to determine the costs of energy and crude protein in both our concentrate feeds and hay in order to find the least expensive feed rations.

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Part 7: Feeding Kids- discusses nutritional considerations for feeding growing kids.

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Part 8: Determining Cost of Gain- explains how to determine the cost of gain and how to utilize that metric to determine when to sell market kids.