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Course Content - 8 Lessons
1: Wildlife, Energy & Feed Foundations
- Energy flow in nature
- Feeding ecology (the natural food web)
- Types of feeders (e.g. herbivores, omnivores, etc.)
- Major natural habitats
- Feeding behaviour characteristics
- Specific feeding behaviours
- Replicating natural feeding behaviours
- Nutritional ecology
- Simulated feeding
- Goals and benefits of simulated feeding
- Simulated feeding applications
- Welfare in captive care
- Assessing animal welfare
- Duty of care
- Captive care, feeding and animal health
- Responsibilities of handlers, trainers, managers, researchers, and veterinarians
- Regulatory frameworks
- Animal feeding terms and definitions – feed, diet, ration, palatability, digestibility, concentrates, basal feeds, supplements, etc.
2: Macronutrients
- Food groups
- Monosaccharides
- Disaccharides
- Trisaccharides
- Polysaccharides
- Carbohydrates as an energy source
- Carbohydrate classification
- Lipids (fats)
- Lipid digestion
- Sources of lipids
- Protein
- Biological value of protein
- Protein content of foods
- Function of protein
- Protein sources
- Water
- Variations in water required for different animals
- Factors affecting water intake
3: Micronutrients
- Role of micronutrients
- Deficiencies and toxicities
- Minerals
- Calcium – sources, deficiencies, and toxicities
- Phosphorus – sources, effects, deficiencies, and toxicities
- Magnesium – deficiencies and toxicities
- Sodium and chloride
- Potassium
- Sulphur
- Trace elements – iron, manganese, copper, iodine, cobalt, zinc, and selenium
- Vitamins – including toxicities and deficiencies
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin K
- Vitamin B complex
- Vitamin C
4: Evaluating Feed & Digestibility
- Digestibility in diet planning
- Analysing feedstuffs
- Minerals
- Crude protein
- Fats and oils
- Fibre
- Soluble carbohydrate
- Maize composition as a food example
- Calculating digestibility – true energy value of a diet
- Determining total digestible nutrients (TDN)
- Digestible crude protein (DCP)
- Evaluating feeds
- Protein value of different feed components
- Feeding matrix – by species/group
- Case study – grey wolf dietary requirements and age
5: Understanding Forage & Foraging Behaviour
- Introduction and forage types
- Types of forage land
- Types of foragers
- Different digestive systems = different feeds
- Avian, monogastric, ruminant, etc.
- Ways to feed fodder
- Different fodder ecosystems
- Grassland
- Heathland
- Moorland
- Machair – dune pasture
- Maquis – forest pasture
- Rangeland
- Savanna
- Steppe
- Wood pasture
- Veld
- Grasses, legumes, roots, and wildflowers
- Forbs
- Forbs and mineral nutrition
6: Managing Diets for Large Mammals
- Different energy requirements for different animals
- Water in the diet
- Safe practices
- Order Primates – macronutrients and micronutrients
- Primate diets – folivorous, faunivorous, insectivorous, omnivorous, and frugivorous
- Physiological adaptations for different diets
- Order Carnivora – canid diets
- Canids – carbohydrate and protein sources
- Raw food diet risks
- Order Felines
- Feline protein sources
- Dietary variations in wild cats
- Case study – variations in puma dietary requirements
7: Managing Diets for Small Mammals
- Rodent feeding common provisions
- Rats
- Hamsters
- Guinea pigs
- Chinchillas
- Capybaras
- Rabbit digestion
- Rabbit diet
- Grasses, hay, greens, and vegetables for rabbits
- Bat feeding
- Feeding insectivores
- Hedgehog
- Short-beaked echidna
- Small carnivore mammals
- Ferrets
- Banded mongoose
- Case study – sugar glider
8: Managing Diets for Birds, Fish and Reptiles
- Bird feeding – parrots
- Pellet feed for parrots
- Mash/chop feed
- Seeds, beans, and nut treats for birds
- Bird feeding – fowl
- Fowl feed for varied ages
- Feed components for fowl
- Pellet feed for fowl
- Grain and mash
- Chickens
- Ducks
- Fish feeding
- Pelleted fish feed
- Live fish feed
- Night lights to assist hunting
- Fish meal
- Oil meals
- Fish food production
- Reptile feeding
- Food for reptiles
- Snakes
- Chelonians – turtles and tortoises
- Lizards
This course is ideal for:
- Wildlife carers
- Zookeepers
- Rehabilitation staff
- Conservation workers
- Animal professionals
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