Animal HusbandryAgrowon
Green fodder is important in animal feed
In terms of balanced diet of the animals, there should be correct amount & proportion of dry fodder, green fodder and nutrients. Generally, animals receive the nutritional values necessary for their physical growth and the milk production, from the green fodder.
Variety of Fodders-
• Dried fodder and green fodder are the two varieties of the animal fodder.
• The healthy green fodder consists of monocot and dicot fodder crops.
• For green fodder Jowar, Corn, Bajara, Hybrid Napier, Ginigrass, Oat, Dinanath, Yashwant, Jaywant grass are the monocot crops. For dicot fodder crop, Cowpea, Lucerne grass, Barseem stylo can be taken.
• From nutrient point of view, dicot fodder crops are more nutritious, because they contain more percentage of proteins. Monocot fodder contains 4 to 7 percent of proteins whereas dicot fodder contains 15 to 20 percent of proteins.
Importance of Green Fodder in Animals Diet
• Green fodder has more water as compared to dry fodder. Green fodder is tasty to eat and hence animals like to eat green fodder. So, fodder is not wasted.
• It provides easily soluble sugar. Due to this, green fodder is easy to digest.
• The dicot fodder provides minerals and proteins to the animals.
• Green fodder is nutritious because of its juicy and tasty nature. Green fodder helps to fulfil the hunger of animals.
• By feeding green fodder, health of the animals maintained properly.
• Since the green fodder provides fresh nutritional contents, it has a good effect on the health of animals.
• Due to the supply of Vitamin A (Carotene) to the body, it helps to reduce the night-blindness of the animal. Their skin also remains good.
• In green fodder, maximum nutritients are in soluble form. Due to this, there is no stress for the digestion of these contents on the animal’s body.
• Important acids like Arginine, Glutamic acid are provided to the body.
• If the green fodder is completely missing from the feed of pregnant animals, the new born may be weak, blind or with any other physical disability.
Reference- Agrowon 26th December 17
46
0