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close this bookBetter Farming Series 08 - Animal Husbandry: Feeding and Care of Animals (FAO - INADES, 1976, 38 p.)
View the document(introduction...)
View the documentPreface
View the documentPlan of work
close this folderWhy learn about animal husbandry?
View the document(introduction...)
View the documentWhy farmers go In for traditional animal husbandry
View the documentAnimals can earn much more
View the documentHow to improve animal husbandry
close this folderFeeding animals
View the documentWhy animals must be well fed
View the documentHow food is used in the animal's body
View the documentNot all animals digest food in the same way
View the documentHow to choose animals' food
View the documentFoods that give nitrogen must be chosen
View the documentValues of certain foods
View the documentWhat is a mineral supplement?
View the documentVitamins
View the documentGiving the animals water to drink
View the documentFood needs of animals
View the documentHow to feed animals
close this folderPasture
View the document(introduction...)
View the documentImproving pasture
View the documentMaking new pasture
View the documentUsing new pasture
View the documentGrowing fodder crops
close this folderStoring grass
View the document(introduction...)
View the documentSilage
View the documentHay
close this folderLooking after animals
View the documentAnimals must be watched
View the documentHow to watch over animals
View the documentHousing animals
View the documentValues of some animal feeds
View the documentSuggested question paper

Growing fodder crops

You can sow millet, maize, or selected grasses (see Booklet No. 3, page 22), such as Guatemala grass or Digitaria, as fodder crops for animals.

Do not wait until the seeds form. Cut the plants when they are still green and give them to the animals to eat.

Do not let the animals go among these crops.

You must cut the plants at the right moment. If you cut them too soon, they will not have grown enough and will give less food. If you cut them too late, the plants will be hard, and not easy to digest (see page 11).

Many farmers are not used to growing millet or maize to give to animals.

But if they feed their herd well, they earn more money.

Just a few kilogrammes of this food will enable the animals to do better in the dry season.

Do not sow this millet or maize to eat the grain or to sell it, but to give the green plants to the animals to eat. The animals change this millet and maize into milk, into work and into meat, for the use of people.