Applied Animal Nutrition-I

Providing supplemental feeds during a drought

SUPPLEMENTAL FEEDING DURING  DROUGHT PERIODS

Energy

• Drought conditions, energy may be the most limiting nutrient for grazing animals.
• Hay, grain, and crop processing byproducts such as molasses can be used.
• Low quality forages can be processed suitably to increase their digestibility.

Protein

• Pastures under drought conditions may be deficient in protein.
• This can be corrected by providing supplemental crude protein in the form of soybean meal, sunflower meal, safflower meal, ground nut oil cake or NPN sources.

Minerals

• The same salt and mineral mixture should be provided during drought as during normal conditions.
• However, during drought, phosphorus supplementation is even more critical.
• A mixture of 50 percent trace mineralized salt and 50 percent dicalcium phosphate supplied free choice to the herd will meet the phosphorus requirement.
• The salt mixture should be placed close to stock watering locations.

Vitamin A

• Lack of vitamin A may become a problem when animals are grazed on drought-affected pastures during the summer.
• Vitamin A is lacking in forages growing under drought conditions.
• Animals should receive vitamin A supplements.
  • Available crop residues such as straws, stovers, and other byproducts of crop production can be used for stretching tight feed supplies during drought conditions.
  • Top feed resources such as tree leaves, pods, bark etc play an important role during drought conditions.