Feeding Wildlife Online Course
Feeding Wildlife

Feeding Wildlife

Learn to understand and examine wildlife nutrition and improve your capacity to feed wildlife by recognising feeding requirements for species housed in captive environments.

Course Code: BEN220
Payment Options
Duration (approx) 100 hours
Qualification Statement of Attainment

Study the nutritional requirements and feeding practices of wildlife species.

A valuable training program  for anyone working with wildlife in either captivity or in the wild.

Different vertebrate animal species have differing requirements for nutrition, and vary biologically in the way they digest different foods, and acquire different nutrients. To ensure animals are healthy and are getting the nutrition they need, you must appreciate the specific biological and behavioural characteristics of the species you are dealing with. This course builds a capacity to to provide a healthy diet for a range of specific animals; but more importantly, gives you a foundation of the way forward to determine and provide for a healthy diet for any species of anima in your care; even those not specifically considered in this course.

Aims

  • Explain key concepts and terminology in wildlife and nutritional ecology and describe natural feeding behaviours with strategies for replicating them in captive environments.
  • Examine carbohydrates, proteins, fats, water, and assess how they provide energy and support growth, production and maintenance.
  • Examine vitamins and minerals in animal feed, and assess how they regulate metabolism, immunity, reproduction, and health.
  • Examine the criteria and methods used to evaluate feeds and feed digestibility.
  • Explain how to manage food supply for foraging animals
  • Explain how to manage food supply for Mammals
  • Examine and discuss the natural feeding routines and diets of a selection of smaller mammal species.
  • Determine a feeding program for birds, reptiles and other wildlife.

What You Will Do

  • Studying lesson notes
  • Practical tasks that involve dialogue and observation in the real world, away from a computer
  • Interactive self assessment tests at the end of each lesson
  • Written assignments, submitted to the school, marked and commented on, and feedback then returned to you from a wildlife expert acting as your tutor.

Lesson Structure

There are 8 lessons in this course:

  1. Wildlife, Energy & Feed Foundations
    • Energy flow in Nature
    • Feeding Ecology (the Natural Food Web)
    • Types of feeders (eg. herbivore, Omnivore etc)
    • Major Natural Habitats
    • Feeding Behaviour Characteristics
    • Specific Feeding Behaviours
    • Replicating Natural Feeding Behaviours
    • Nutritional Ecology
    • Simulated Feeding
    • Goals & Benefits of Simulated Feeding
    • Simulated Feeding Applications
    • Welfare in Captive Care
    • Assessing Animal Welfare
    • Duty of Care
    • Captive Care, Feeding & Animal Health
    • Responsibilities of Handlers, Trainers, Managers, Researchers, Veterinarians
    • Regulatory Frameworks
    • Animal Feeding Terms & Definitions -Feed, Diet, Ration, Palatability, Digestibility, Concentrates, Basal Feeds, Supplements, etc
  2. Macronutrients
    • Food Groups
    • Monosaccharides
    • Disaccharides
    • Trisaccharides
    • Polysaccharides
    • Carbohydrates as an Energy Source
    • Carbohydrate Classification
    • Lipids (Fats)
    • Lipid Digestion
    • Sources of Lipids
    • Protein
    • Biological Value of Protein
    • Protein Content of Foods
    • Function of Protein
    • Protein Sources
    • Water
    • Variations in Water Required for Different Animals
    • Factors affecting Water Intake
  3. Micronutrients
    • Role of Micronutrients
    • Deficiencies and Toxicities
    • Minerals
    • Calcium – sources, deficiencies, toxicities
    • Phosphorus – sources, effects, deficiencies, toxicities
    • Magnesium - deficiencies, toxicities
    • Sodium and Chloride
    • Potassium
    • Sulphur
    • Trace Elements– Iron, Manganese, Copper, Iodine, Cobalt, Zinc, Selenium
    • Vitamins- including toxicities and deficiencies
    • Vitamin A
    • Vitamin D
    • Vitamin E
    • Vitamin K
    • Vitamin B Complex
    • Vitamin C
  4. Evaluating Feed & Digestibility
    • Digestibility in Diet Planning
    • Analysing Feedstuffs
    • Minerals
    • Crude Protein
    • Fats & Oils
    • Fibre
    • Soluble Carbohydrate
    • Maize Composition as a Food Example
    • Calculating Digestibility – true energy value of a diet
    • Determining Total Digestible Nutrients (TND)
    • Digestible Crude Protein (DCP)
    • Evaluating Feeds
    • Protein Value of Different Feed Components
    • Feeding Matrix – by Species /Group
    • Case Study – Grey Wolf Dietary Requirements and Age
  5. Understanding Forage & Foraging Behaviour
    • Introduction and Forage Types
    • Types of Forage Land
    • Types of Foragers
    • Different Digestive Systems = Different Feeds
    • Avian, Monogastric, Ruminant, etc
    • Ways to feed Fodder
    • Different Fodder Ecosystems
    • Grassland
    • Heathland
    • Moorland
    • Mechair -Dune Pasture
    • Maquis – Forest Pasture
    • Rangeland
    • Savanna
    • Steppe
    • Wood Pasture
    • Veld
    • Grasses, Legumes, Roots, Wildflowers
    • Forbs
    • Forbs and Mineral Nutrition
  6. Managing Diets for Mammals
    • Different Energy Requirements for Different Animals
    • Water in the diet
    • Safe Practices
    • Order Primates – Macronutrients & Micronutrients
    • Primate Diets – Folivorous, Faunivorous, Insectivorous, Omnivorous, Frugivorous
    • Physiological Adaptations for Different Diets
    • Order Carnivora – Canid Diets
    • Canids – Carbohydrate & Protein Sources
    • Raw Food Diet Risks
    • Order Felines
    • Feline Protein Sources
    • Dietary Variations in Wild Cats
    • Case Study – Variations in Puma Dietary Requirements
  7. Managing Diets for Other Mammals
    • <<>>Rodent Feeding Common Provisions
    • Rats
    • Hamsters
    • Guinea Pigs
    • Chinchillas
    • Capybaras
    • Rabbit Digestion
    • Rabbit Diet
    • Grasses, Hay, Greens, Vegetables for Rabbits
    • Bat Feeding
    • Feeding Insectivores
    • Hedgehog
    • Short-beaked Echidna
    • Small Carnivore Mammals
    • Ferrets
    • Banded Mongoose
    • Case Study - Sugar Glider
  8. Managing Diets for Birds, Fish and Reptiles
    • Bird Feeding -Parrots
    • Pellet Feed for Parrots
    • Mash/Chop Feed
    • Seeds, Beans & NutsTreats for Birds
    • Bird Feeding -Fowl
    • Fowl feed for Varied Ages
    • Feed Components for Fowl
    • Pellet Feed for Fowl
    • Grain & Mash
    • Chickens
    • Ducks
    • Fish Feeding
    • Pelleted Fish Feed
    • Live Fish Feed
    • Night lights to assist hunting
    • Fish meal
    • Oil meals
    • Fish Food Production
    • Reptile Feeding
    • Food for Reptiles
    • Snakes
    • Chelonians - Turtles & Tortoises
    • Lizards
Who Should Study this Course?

  • Anyone working with captive environments -e.g. in zoos, wildlife parks, rehabilitation centres and breeding facilities. 
  • Anyone working with animals in the wild - e.g. wildlife conservation projects, wildlife rescue, etc
  • Anyone working in the animal feed industry
  • Volunteers, Career starters, Career changers; seeking to upskill and advance their employment opportunities.

How can I start this course?

You can enrol at anytime and start the course when you are ready. Enrolments are accepted all year - students can commence study at any time. All study is self paced and ACS does not set assignment deadlines.

Please note that if a student is being assisted by someone else (e.g. an employer or government subsidy), the body offering the assistance may set deadlines. Students in such situations are advised to check with their sponsor prior to enrolling. The nominal duration of a course is approximately how long a course takes to complete. A course with a nominal duration of 100 hours is expected to take roughly 100 hours of study time to complete. However, this will vary from student to student. Short courses (eg. 100 hrs duration) should be completed within 12 months of enrolment. Certificates, Advanced Certificates and Awards (eg. over 500 hours duration) would normally be completed within 3 -5 years of enrolment. Additional fees may apply if a student requires an extended period to complete.
If a student cannot submit their assignments for 6 months to ACS, they should advise the school to avoid cancellation of their student
registration. Recommencement fees may apply.

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We aim to teach you the essentials without you having to purchase any specific computer program.
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This course has been designed to cover the fundamentals of the topic. It will take around 100 hours to complete, which includes your course reading, assignment work, research, practical tasks, watching videos and anything else that is contained in the course. Our short courses are a great way to do some professional development or to learn a new skill.

It’s up to you. The study hours listed in the course are a rough guide, however if you were to study a short course (100 hours) at 10 hours per week, you could finish the course in 10 weeks (just an example). Our courses are self-paced, so you can work through the courses in your own time. We recommend that you wait for your tutor to mark and return your assignment before your start your next one, so you get the benefits of their feedback.

The course consists of course notes, videos, set tasks for your practical work, online quizzes, an assignment for each lesson (that you receive feedback from your tutor from) and ends in an exam (which is optional, if would like to receive the formal award at the end), using our custom built Learning Management System - Login.Training.

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Each module (short course) is completed with one exam.

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