Proposta de uma planilha Excel para formulação de dietas para monogástricos (suínos, frangos de corte e poedeiras) para a Faculdade de Veterinária da Universidade Eduardo Mondlane

Abstract

Feed formulation is one of the main pillars of animal production, as it establishes the appropriate combination of ingredients and nutrients that guides animal feeding, which can account for 60 to 80% of total production costs, making it essential to develop tools that enable nutritionally balanced and cost- effective diets. This study aimed to propose an Excel spreadsheet for monogastric feed formulation, namely for swine, broilers and laying hens, for the Faculty of Veterinary Science at Eduardo Mondlane University. To this end, an online questionnaire was administered to 70 students and graduates of the Animal Science and Technology and Veterinary Medicine programmes who had attended the Animal Nutrition course, with the aim of identifying the feed formulation methods used, the main difficulties encountered and the functionalities desired in an Excel spreadsheet. The results indicated a predominance of manual methods, particularly the Pearson Square, as well as limitations related to the time required for formulation, the difficulty of simultaneously balancing multiple nutrients and the limited number of ingredients considered per formulation. Among the most valued functionalities, automatic calculation of nutritional requirements stood out, rated as extremely useful by 62.9% of participants, and the inclusion of an editable ingredient database, considered practical by 60% of respondents. Based on these results, an Excel spreadsheet was developed to guide the user sequentially through the feed formulation process for poultry and swine, taking into account species, age and productive stage. The tool provides access to nutritional requirements, ingredient selection from a database and automatic diet formulation, seeking to meet nutritional requirements while simultaneously minimising cost. The spreadsheet was evaluated by nine students organised into three groups, each responsible for formulating experimental diets for broilers, laying hens and swine. Results showed an overall positive perception, with high levels of agreement regarding clarity, navigability and the presentation of nutritional requirements. The spreadsheet also demonstrated the ability to flag nutrient excesses and deficits and to adjust formulations in response to changes in ingredient prices. It is concluded that the Excel spreadsheet constitutes a viable proposal as a didactic tool, contributing to addressing the absence of specialised feed formulation software for monogastrics at the Faculty of Veterinary Science of Eduardo Mondlane University.