Assessment Task 1: Identify and calculate nutritional requirements
Identify the nutritional requirements for an animal species of your choice.
For your chosen animal: The ferret (Mustela putorius furo)
•Describe the Animal Species regarding digestive system and dietary group
Digestive System- Ferrets have short digestive systems Prepared dry foods consisting almost entirely of meat (including high-grade cat food, although specialized ferret food is increasingly available and preferable) provide the most nutritional value and are the most convenient, Ferret digestive tracts lack a cecum and the animal is largely unable to digest plant matter
Dietary Group- Ferrets are obligate carnivores. Should also be provided with raw bones to keep their
…show more content…
Ferrets are carnivores, which means they eat only meat. Black-footed ferrets eat usually eat small mammals, such as possums, rabbits, prairie dogs, hedgehogs and rodents. They supplement their diet with amphibians, birds, bird eggs, fish, reptiles, invertebrates and carrion, 50 to 70 grams of meat per day.
•Outline adaptations for acquiring and processing food that this species has – including physical and behavioural adaptations (e.g. adaptations for catching, holding or digging out prey; specialisations of teeth, tongue or beak) Describe the current diet of your chosen animal. Include the following:
1 Describe the current food
…show more content…
Food can be brought from my pet warehouse from around $104.99, the food that I found is Vetafarm Ferret Origins 10kg.
- What is the nutrient content of this food (energy content, protein, fats, carbohydrate, fibre, vitamins and minerals)
Vitamins: B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, B12, C, D3, E, H, K and
Minerals: Copper, cobalt, iodine, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, sulphur, zinc. Crude Protein 38%, Fibre 8%, Fat 12%, Calcium 2.5%, Vitamin A 34IU/g, and Vitamin E 195mg/kg.
2 For your Specific Animal
- Evaluate how much food a non-breeding, healthy adult would require for each meal
A non-breeding female should be fed about ¼ of a cup of dry ferret food, compared to a raw diet; Ferrets need to eat muscle (at least 34%), high-fat (at least 20%) high quality chicken or lamb-based food. Another (at least 46%) of the diet should be fur, bones, feathers, organs, and raw or cooked eggs as needed.
- What other dietary issues (such as age, weight, health etc) need to be factored into the dietary