Free Animal Nutrition and Feeding MCQs with Answers

59 Animal Nutrition and Feeding MCQs from Veterinary Science, each with the correct answer and a written explanation of why it is correct. Free and unlimited, with no account needed.

Covers carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, minerals, vitamins and water, along with digestion, absorption and energy metabolism in domestic animals. Questions involve feed evaluation, nutrient requirements, ration formulation, forage and concentrate feeds, deficiency disorders, and the differences between ruminant and monogastric nutrition.

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59 questions · page 2 of 3

  • A. Vitamin A
  • B. Vitamin B1
  • C. Vitamin C
  • D. Vitamin K

Explanation: Vitamin A is required for visual pigments and maintenance of epithelial tissues.

Correct answer: Vitamin A
  • A. Glycine
  • B. Lysine
  • C. Alanine
  • D. Glutamic acid

Explanation: Lysine is commonly the first limiting amino acid in cereal-based pig diets because cereal proteins supply it in relatively low amounts.

Correct answer: Lysine
  • A. Potassium to sulfur
  • B. Sodium to chlorine
  • C. Calcium to phosphorus
  • D. Iron to copper

Explanation: An appropriate calcium to phosphorus balance supports normal bone mineralization and prevents excessive parathyroid activity.

Correct answer: Calcium to phosphorus
  • A. Replacing mineral supplementation
  • B. Providing essential amino acids
  • C. Supplying fermentable fibre
  • D. Regulating body temperature and metabolism

Explanation: Water is essential for thermoregulation, digestion, transport of nutrients, and removal of waste products.

Correct answer: Regulating body temperature and metabolism
  • A. Steam flaking
  • B. Air drying
  • C. Long-term storage
  • D. Washing with cold water

Explanation: Steam flaking gelatinizes starch and disrupts grain structure, making starch more accessible to digestive enzymes.

Correct answer: Steam flaking
  • A. Grass tetany
  • B. White muscle disease
  • C. Bloat
  • D. Rickets

Explanation: White muscle disease results from oxidative muscle damage associated with inadequate selenium and vitamin E.

Correct answer: White muscle disease
  • A. Soybean meal
  • B. Maize grain
  • C. Alfalfa hay
  • D. Fish meal

Explanation: Alfalfa hay is a forage roughage with substantial structural fibre and is commonly used in ruminant diets.

Correct answer: Alfalfa hay
  • A. It provides permanent protection from parasites
  • B. It prevents all digestive fermentation
  • C. It replaces the need for drinking water
  • D. It supplies antibodies for passive immunity

Explanation: Colostrum supplies immunoglobulins that are absorbed through the newborn calf's intestine and provide passive immunity.

Correct answer: It supplies antibodies for passive immunity
  • A. Bentonite clay
  • B. Sodium bicarbonate
  • C. Calcium carbonate
  • D. Magnesium sulfate

Explanation: Bentonite and related clay adsorbents can bind certain aflatoxins in the gastrointestinal tract and reduce their absorption.

Correct answer: Bentonite clay
  • A. Starch, sugar, and soluble protein
  • B. Hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin
  • C. Pectin, starch, and crude protein
  • D. Fat, ash, and soluble carbohydrate

Explanation: Neutral detergent fibre mainly measures hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin, the major structural components of plant cell walls.

Correct answer: Hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin
  • A. Digestible energy divided by crude protein
  • B. Body weight gain divided by feed intake
  • C. Feed intake divided by body weight gain
  • D. Crude protein intake divided by dry matter intake

Explanation: Feed conversion ratio expresses the amount of feed required for one unit of weight gain.

Correct answer: Feed intake divided by body weight gain
  • A. Lost in the urine
  • B. Excreted in the faeces
  • C. Consumed in the feed
  • D. Retained by the animal

Explanation: Biological value reflects how effectively absorbed protein nitrogen is retained for tissue synthesis and other body functions.

Correct answer: Retained by the animal
  • A. Young animals receive feed that adults cannot access
  • B. Adults receive extra feed during late pregnancy
  • C. Animals receive feed only during transport
  • D. Newborns receive milk replacer before nursing

Explanation: Creep feeding supplies a young animal with supplemental feed through an opening or area that excludes the dam.

Correct answer: Young animals receive feed that adults cannot access
  • A. Reduce milk production during early lactation
  • B. Increase ovulation rate through improved nutrition
  • C. Prevent calcium loss after lambing
  • D. Replace colostrum with a concentrated ration

Explanation: Flushing provides a higher plane of nutrition shortly before and during breeding, often increasing ovulation rate and improving…

Correct answer: Increase ovulation rate through improved nutrition
  • A. Haemolytic anaemia with jaundice
  • B. Macrocytic megaloblastic anaemia
  • C. Microcytic hypochromic anaemia
  • D. Aplastic anaemia from marrow failure

Explanation: Rapidly growing piglets have limited iron reserves and may develop iron deficiency anaemia, characterized by small pale red cells.

Correct answer: Microcytic hypochromic anaemia
  • A. Low dietary sodium stops saliva production completely
  • B. Excess calcium blocks intestinal fat absorption
  • C. High starch production causes immediate liver failure
  • D. Soluble plant proteins stabilize foam in the rumen

Explanation: Rapidly consumed legumes such as alfalfa and clover contain soluble proteins that help stabilize rumen foam.

Correct answer: Soluble plant proteins stabilize foam in the rumen
  • A. Altering rumen populations and increasing propionate production
  • B. Providing essential amino acids directly to muscle
  • C. Increasing the absorption of dietary cellulose in the intestine
  • D. Replacing all microbial protein with dietary protein

Explanation: Ionophores selectively affect rumen microorganisms and commonly shift fermentation toward propionate, while reducing some less efficient…

Correct answer: Altering rumen populations and increasing propionate production
  • A. Convert dietary fat into glucose
  • B. Release phosphorus bound in phytate
  • C. Destroy all antinutritional proteins
  • D. Increase the synthesis of vitamin B12

Explanation: Phytase hydrolyses phytate and releases phosphorus that would otherwise be poorly available, especially in poultry and pigs.

Correct answer: Release phosphorus bound in phytate
  • A. Bile acid conjugates
  • B. Volatile fatty acids
  • C. Maillard reaction products
  • D. Rumen microbial nucleotides

Explanation: During excessive heating, reducing sugars react with amino groups in the Maillard reaction, making lysine less available for absorption.

Correct answer: Maillard reaction products
  • A. Protein digestibility trial
  • B. Metabolism cage
  • C. Fecal collection unit
  • D. Bomb calorimeter

Explanation: A bomb calorimeter measures the heat released when a feed sample is completely oxidized.

Correct answer: Bomb calorimeter