When talking about animal feed, this can be about many different types of food for animals. From the lumps for your cat to the hay for the horse. Depending on the animal, there are animal feed where the feed is made on the basis
When talking about animal feed, this can be about many different types of food for animals. From the lumps for your cat to the hay for the horse. Depending on the animal, there are animal feed where the feed is made on the basis of meat or on the basis of plants.
Requirements for animal feed
The feed that we give to our animals must meet different requirements for, among other things, production, but also transport. These requirements all have to do with animal welfare, animal health, food safety and the environment. These rules are often stricter than those imposed on the production of human food because animal feed has an (in) direct influence on the food we eat as a human being again. Animal feeds are bound by different legal rules that often originate from European legislation. These laws include keeping track of which raw materials have been used and where they come from, the transport of the feed and the hygiene. A list has also been drawn up with standards for what is not allowed in animal feed. In addition to the statutory rules, it is also important that the feed is nutritious and tasty.
At Hartog we have a GMP + and Skal certificate and we participate in SecureFeed in order to guarantee the safety of our feeds.
Different animal feeders
Every animal needs a different kind of food. For example, a herbivore (herbivore) has vegetable food, a carnivore (meat eater) animal and an omnivore (omnivore) both vegetable and animal food. In addition to looking at the type of food the animal eats, the age, condition, season or performance that needs to be delivered must also be considered. A good feed therefore also contains the nutritional values that are needed for that animal. Because of this it is important to read in carefully what your animal needs as a basis and when you need to add extra information. Many animals will need different or more food in the winter than in the summer. When an animal does not receive the right animal feed, this can have health consequences in the long term. The following symptoms can occur, among other things, from a lack of nutrients:
- Skinny / fat
- Intestinal problems
- Fleece problems (itchiness, bad healing etc.)
- Too little or too much energy
When an animal shows the above symptoms, it can indicate that the animal has a shortage of the building materials it needs and that it needs to look at the "right" diet.
In the case of cattle, the basis is roughage, with the addition of concentrated feed to the animal. Also in roughage it is important to know what the animal needs. For example, an animal kept for the industry (eg a dairy cow) will need more nutrients than an animal kept for the hobby.
Because roughage is a natural product, the quality of the roughage may vary. Especially when the roughage is purchased or comes from different parcels of land. This makes it convenient to have your roughage checked, for which various tests can be found. Read more about roughage for horses in the Knowledge Bank.