Feed intake is the central issue in animal husbandry, being the key factor in determining health, welfare, environmental impact and productivity. With the focus on these issues, this book has been developed from the 5th Zodiac Symposium held in Wageningen in April 1998. The book reflects research conducted by observing natural behaviour, by investigating form-function relationships, physiology, metabolism and genetic make-up, and by offering choices of feed and environment. Information from studies on humans, wildlife and fish, as well as farm animals, is presented. It is divided into three parts:Natural Feeding, Feeding Modes, Preferences and BehaviourPhysiological Regulation of Feed Intake: Genetic, Metabolic, Hormonal and Neural RegulationsEnvironmental Factors and Feed Intake: Feeding Behaviour, Feed Choice and Feeding HabitsContributors include leading research workers from several European countries and Africa.

Table of Contents:
1: Natural Feeding Behaviour and Feed Selection, J M Forbes, University of Leeds, UK 2: When Feeding is Just Eating. How do Farm and Zoo Animals Use Their Spare Time? P Koene, Wageningen Agricultural University, The Netherlands 3: Central Nervous Control of Nutrient Availability and Utilization, A B Steffens and L Benthem, University of Groningen, The Netherlands 4: Effects of Early Age Restricted Feed Intake in Performance of Meat Turkeys, I Plavnik and E Wax, ARO, The Volcani Centre, Israel 5: Effect of the Duration of Feed Restriction on Regulation of Feed Intake, Nitrogen and Energy Balances, A Kamalzadeh, et al., Wageningen Agricultural University, The Netherlands 6: A Comparative Study of the Anorexic Effect of Simmondsin in Poultry and Mammals, S Vermaut, Laboratory for Physiology and Immunology of Domestic Animals, Belgium, et al. 7: The Role of Genetic Variation in Feed Intake and its Physiological Aspects: Results from Selection Experiments, P Luiting, Roslin Institute (Edinburgh), Midlothian, UK 8: Lipostatic Regulation of Feed Intake in Ruminants, P Faverdin, INRA, France and N Bareille, ENV Nantes, France 9: A Proposed Model for Studies on Regulation of Food Intake in a Seasonal Breeder, the Mink, A -H Tauson, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Denmark, et al. 10: Physiological Utilization of Dietary Protein: Interactions Between Meal Frequency and Protein Source, V V A M Schreurs, Wageningen Agricultural University, The Netherlands, et al. 11: Short-Term Preferences in Sheep Fed Rye-Grass as Fresh Forage, Silage or Hay, R Baumont et al., INRA, France 12: A Comparison of the Food-related Construction and its Performance in Two Closely Related Endemic Species of Piscivorous Barbs, G H van der Weerd, Wageningen Agricultural University, The Netherlands, et al. 13: Effect of Feed Intake in Composition of Daily Growth: a Comparison of Some Animal Species, H A Boekholt and V V A M Schreurs, Wageningen Agricultural University, The Netherlands 14: Limitations in the Use of Constraints for Intake Predictions, B J Tolkamp, Scottish Agricultural College, Edinburgh, UK 15: The Influence of the Environment on Feed Intake of Cattle in Semi-Arid Africa, E Schlect, M Blummel and K Becker, Hohenheim University, Germany 16: Intake and Rumen Kinetics in Dairy Cows Fed Grass, Maize and Alfalfa Silage, M Bruining, S Tamminga and M W A Verstegen, Wageningen Agricultural University, The Netherlands 17: Effect of Missing Data on the Estimate of Average Daily Feed Intake of Growing Pigs, J J Eissen, Wageningen Institute of Animal Science, et al.