Page 135 - Zoo Animal Learning and Training

Chapter 7 Feeds and Feeding 119

bowls, perhaps it could be changed out for a heavy crock
TIP BOX 7.2
type bowl or a dish or pail that can be attached to the
Always have a bit of the regular food available when kennel door. Sometimes you must get creative if there
feeding through a nasogastric or pharyngostomy tube. aren’t the options describe above. A appropriately sized
This can entice the patient to eat on its own. Alert the rock scrubbed clean may weigh down a bowl enough to
veterinarian if this happens. keep it from tipping. Make sure it isn’t so big that it dis-
places too much water and big enough that it can’t be
swallowed! Whatever the choice, ensure the patient has
enough water for a 12‐hour period.
Remember the amount of food to be fed should be
calculated based upon the patient’s BER + illness, injury, If the patient isn’t drinking alert the veterinarian of
or condition. It is important to keep careful records of this development. He/she may decide to administer
how much was eaten and when in the patient’s record. fluids either orally or by subcutaneous or IV infusion.
Monitoring urine and fecal output is also important. Water is given orally by syringe and utilizes the same
What goes in must come out and sometimes there is a technique described for liquid food. Subcutaneous
problem with that process and if missed can create fluids are given under the skin with a needle attached to
another whole set of problems. Alert the veterinarian if an IV drip set which is attached to an IV bag of fluids.
the patient is not eliminating properly. Approximately 25–50 mL per subcutaneous location can
Open food cans should be labeled with the open date, be given depending on the size of the patient. The loca-
whom it is for, and your initials, then placed in the refrig- tion is usually along the side, where there is excess skin.
erator for storage. This is not only to make sure the IV fluids require a catheter to be placed into a vein, often
patient is fed properly, or food is wasted, but also for the cephalic vein. Careful monitoring is required to
billing reasons. It is important to recoup the expense of make sure the catheter is not pulled out or dislodged.
feeding a special diet. Another reason is if sending the Careful monitoring and speed of the amount of IV fluids
diet home with the patient they get their can or if the is very important. If given too fast the fluids are not
patient has gone home the diet can be thrown. absorbed and may migrate to the lungs causing fluid
overload symptoms.
Fluids are usually calculated upon the animal’s weight
Water Availability and depth of dehydration. The daily amount of fluid is
and Consumption administered throughout the day in evenly divided
amounts. Marking the IV bag with a sharpie pen or a
piece of adhesive tape that includes amounts, times for
Water is not considered a nutrient but is essential to life. infusion, and rates helps to ensure that the fluid amounts
Without water a patient becomes dehydrated quickly are administered correctly.
and if severe enough can lead to death. The smaller the
patient the quicker the level of dehydration. Water must
always be accessible and in adequate volume unless oth- Feeding Livestock
erwise specified. Check water frequently throughout the
day, refill before it is gone. Access should be easy for all and Poultry
patients. Small puppies and kittens might not be able to
reach into a standard water bowl so select one that is The same rules apply to feeding livestock and poultry as
shallow enough, so they can reach. If the water dishes to all other animals. A clean, fresh source of water avail-
are held in place by a bracket, the screws holding it in able always is just as important to them as it is to
place can be loosened and the bracket lowered to allow companion animals. When it is hot outside check more
easier access for shorter adult patients. Pocket pets drink often as animals will consume more water than usual.
out of sippy tubes attached to bottles. These tend to go When it is cold outside make sure the water hasn’t
empty quickly or if they leak the animal can be without frozen. If it is freezing a heater designed to keep the
water quickly. Check and if bottles are empty figure out water warm can be added to the bucket or tank.
if it is from a leak before refilling; you may have to Livestock require the same nutrients, although in dif-
replace it with a new cork or bottle. fering amounts, as carnivores. Livestock gain their nutri-
Spilling of water is a huge issue for two reasons: (i) the ents from plants, grains, and supplements. The mixture
animal doesn’t have access to water; and (ii) it makes the of forages, grains silage, and supplements is called a
kennel wet. Both are uncomfortable situations that no ration which is balanced carefully to provide nutrition
pet should be exposed to for any great length of time. for the animal. Forage, also known as roughage, makes
Checking the kennels throughout the day will catch up the bulk of their diet and can be the main source of
these mishaps and correcting them immediately is nutrition. Forage is grass and grain plants that are often
important. If the water is spilled utilizing standard water baled as hay and fed in racks or the animal is turned out