HOME LANGUAGE
nutrition home
services
advantages
e-consultation
E-Mail

conZOOlting nutrition was created to address the needs of specific Nutrition Programs for captive wildlife. This service is directed towards zoos, aquariums, wildlife recovery and rescue centers, captive breeding centers, veterinary clinics specialized in exotic animals and similar institutions. conZOOlting nutrition offers the opportunity to establish an individualized Nutrition Program to those institutions that cannot have a full time nutritionist.

An adequate Nutrition Program involves all processes related to the feeding and nutrition of captive wildlife. These processes can be classified into the following categories:

Diet Formulation

Purchase and food storage

Diet Preparation

Nutrient Analysis of foods

Feeding

Training

To top

Diet Formulation

The nutrient evaluation of existing diets and the formulation of new diets must be done:

. To meet the specific needs of the animal and the requirements of your institution.
. To efficienly use the resources available for feeding the animal collection.
. Based on the current scientific knowledge of zoo nutrition to prevent and / or correct nutritional diseases.

When specific problems related to feeding and nutrition of captive wild animals arise, these should be solved with an accurate plan specifically designed for each case:
. Identifying nutritional imbalances and/or problems associated with diet presentation.
. Identifying behavioral problems that could have a direct or indirect nutritional cause.
. Designing specific diets and protocols, like those for handrearing or recovery of sick animals.

To top

Purchase and storage of foods

The quality of a diet is greatly dependent on the quality of the foods purchased and the storage conditions of these.
Purchasing high quality items is more profitable on the long term than purchasing cheaper products but of lower quality, because food items will maintain their nutritive properties longer, less food will be spoiled during storage and biological hazards for the animals and the staff will be decreased.
Food storage has to be done in the proper conditions according to the food item to ensure the initial quality and nutritional properties and avoid cross contaminations that could have fatal results in some cases.

To top

Diet Preparation

A good organization and co-ordination of the commissary and diet preparation areas are key aspects of a sound nutritional plan. Diet preparation has to be done following strict protocols for hygiene and security equivalent to those established for foods for human consumption (HACCP - Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) to:
. Minimize and/or eliminate physical, chemical and biological hazards.
. Optimize the resources allocated to the feeding of the animal collection.
. Ensure that the diet is offered to the animal in the best condition.
. Avoid mistakes during diet preparation that could have a fatal result for some animals.

To top

Nutrient analysis of foods

Nowadays there are a few diet evaluation softwares specifically designed for exotic and wild animals. These sofwares include a wide database with the nutrient composition of most of the food items commonly used for these animals. However, in cases where food items may have a great geographical and/or seasonal variation it is recommended to carry out regular chemical analysis. Some food items recommended to be analysed regularly are browse, forages and fish. In order to ensure the analysis is valid, sampling has to be done properly, and a qualified laboratory will need to be appointed, making sure they know the appropriate sample homogenization procedure for each case.  

To top

Feeding

    The last phase of a Nutrition Plan is offering the diet to the animal. The results of this phase will indicate if the rest of the processes have been done appropriately. A diet should cover the nutritional requirements of the animal, but also offer psychological enrichment and challenges to the individual in order that it can develop as many natural foraging behaviors of the species as possible. At this point it is important to study how, when, and where the diet is offered, and specially the consumption.

To top

Training

In most institutions, diet elaboration processes are carried out by a group of people. In order to ensure the Nutritional Plan is successful, it is very important that all the people involved in any phase of the Nutrition Plan know, understand and take an active part in the process. Thus, staff training and education at all levels is crucial.

To top

La Canyella, Nau 1, 08445 Samalús, Barcelona · Spain
Tel/Fax: +34 93 732 10 64 - conzoolting@conzoolting.com
home · human team · clients · nutrition · pathology · special diets · training · news · projects · technical_information · español · català
©CONZOOLTING WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT SL · Webmaster: Helena Marquès