How to make own chicken feed

A basic guide on home-made poultry feeds

POULTRY
31. Oct 2022
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How to make own chicken feed

As a farmer, making your own poultry feeds is one of the ways to maintain quality and cut the costs of production.

A feed manufacturer may fail to meet the quality standard for feeds thereby costing farmers quality as well as great losses.

Making your own feeds cuts up to 30% of feeding costs as well as improve poultry income.

Poor quality feeds stunt the poultry's growth, reduce egg and meat production as well as make the chickens prawn to disease.

Common ingredients for making the feeds are:

a) Whole maize

b) Maize germ

c) Cottonseed cake

d) Soya beans

e) Sunflower

f) Fish meal (omena)

In addition, farmers need to add additives (minerals,vitamins, and micronutrients) to ensure the chicken have a balanced nutrition feed.

 

Points to note on feed preparation

a) Always mix micronutrients (amino acids) first before mixing with the rest of the feeds.

b) Test to ensure your feeds are well balanced , contact Kalro - Naivasha for lab test and recommendations.

c) For mixing it is recommended to use drum mixers.

d) Buy quality fishmeal from reputable suppliers.

 

LAYERS MASH

Making a 70 kg bag of layers chick mash (1-4 weeks)

Growing chicks require feed with Digestible Crude Protein (DCP) of between 18 to 20 percent.

Core Ingredients

31.5kg of whole maize

9.1 kg of wheat bran

7.0kg of wheat pollard

16.8 kg of sunflower (or 16.8 kg of linseed)

1.5kg of fishmeal

1.75kg of lime

30g of salt

Additives

20g of premix Amino acids

70g of tryptophan 3.0g of lysine

10g of methionine

70 g of Threonine

50g of enzymes

60g of coccidiostat

50g of toxin binder

 

Making a 70 kg bag of growers mash (4 to 8 weeks)

Growers (pullets or young layers) should be provided with a feed having a protein content of between 16 and 18 percent.

Such feed makes the young layers to grow fast in preparation for egg laying.

Core Ingredients

10kg of whole maize

17kg of maize germ

13kg of wheat pollard

10kg of wheat bran

6kg of cottonseed cake

5kg of sunflower cake

3.4kg of soya meal

2.07kg of lime

700g of bone meal

3kg of fishmeal

14g of salt

Additives

1g of coccidiostat

18g of Pre-mix

1g of zinc bacitracitrach

7g of mycotoxin binder

 

Making a 70 kg bag of layers' mash (18 weeks and above)

Layer feed should contain a Digestible Crude Protein (DCP) content of between 16-18 per cent.

The feed should contain calcium for the formation of eggshells (Laying hens that do not get enough calcium will use the calcium stored in their own bone tissue to produce egg-shells).

Layer feed should be introduced at 18 weeks.

Core Ingredients

34kg of whole maize

12kg of Soya

8kg of fishmeal

10kg of maize bran, rice germ or wheat bran

6kg of lime

Additives

175g premix

70g lysine

35g methionine

70kg Threonine

35g tryptophan

50g toxin binder

 

BROILERS MASH

Formulating a 70kg bag of broiler feed

Broilers have different feed requirements in terms of energy, proteins and minerals during dif- ferent stages of their growth.

It is important that farmers adapt feed rations to these requirements for maximum production. Young broilers have a high protein requirement for the develop- ment of muscles, feathers, etc.

As the broilers grow, their energy requirements for the deposit of fat increase and their protein requirements decrease.

They therefore require high protein content in their starter rations than in the grower and finisher rations.

Broilers should have feed that has between 22 -24 per cent DCP. The following guidelines can help the farmer to make the right feed at each stage of growth:

Broiler starter chick mash (1-4 weeks) 70kg

Core Ingredients

40kg of whole maize

12kg of fishmeal (or omena)

14kg of soya bean meal

4kg of lime

Additives

70g of premix Amino acids

35g of lysine

35g of threonine

Preparing broiler finisher feed (70 kg)

Core Ingredients

10kg of whole maize

16.7kg of maize germ

13.3kg of wheat pollard 10 kg wheat bran

6 kg of cotton seed cake

4.7kg of sunflower cake

3kg of fishmeal

2kg of lime

3.4kg of soya meal

40g of bone meal

5g of salt

Additives

10g of grower PMX

5g of coccidiostat

5g of Zincbacitrach




Disclaimer:The author assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in the content of this article. The information contained in this article is provided on an "as is" basis with no guarantees of completeness or accuracy.

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