ration

ration

a fixed allowance of total feed for an animal for one day. Usually specifies the individual ingredients and their amounts and the amounts of the specific nutriments such as carbohydrate, fiber, individual minerals and vitamins. See also blended rations, creep ration, cut-and-fit ration balancing.

---

ration analysis

chemical analysis to determine the proportions of principal nutrients in the feed; no tests of digestibility are included.

balanced ration

a ration which has been balanced so that it contains appropriate proportions of the principal nutritional components, that is carbohydrates, protein, fat, minerals and vitamins, for the specific class, including especially age and lactational status, of livestock for which the ration is formulated.

complete ration

all of the constituents of a ration fed to a confined animal are mixed together and fed at the one time. It does not require supplementation other than drinking water.

ration formulation

the recipe; list and amounts of feed ingredients to be included in a ration.

total mixed ration

see complete ration (above).