Feeding chickens and chickens with compound feeds significantly accelerates their growth and development. The bird gains weight faster, and the laying capacity of laying hens increases by 15%. And with the addition of minerals and vitamins - poultry productivity increases by 25-30%. And it doesn’t matter what kind of compound feed to feed the bird - factory or homemade, the main thing is that it should contain everything necessary for the bird's body.
Factory feed
For chickens of meat and egg orientation mixed feeds of different composition are produced. The industry produces a wide range of feed in loose, expanded and expanded granular form.
They are selected taking into account:
- directions of productivity;
- age
- gender.
When preparing the expanded feed, a short treatment with high temperature under high pressure is used. This method allows you to neutralize harmful substances, obtaining the optimal structure of the granules.
Forage of a full-ration type can completely replace grain and become the only source of nutrition. The main thing is that the feed should be used to feed the group of birds to which it is intended. Let us consider in more detail the full-feed compound produced by the industry for chickens of different groups.
PC-0
This feed is given to broiler chickens for a period of 1 to 14 days. In this feed mixture there are substances necessary for the growth of chicks fed for meat - minerals, trace elements, vitamins and beneficial bacteria. The composition of PK-0 is in table 1.
Table 1
Ingredients in PK-0 | Content% |
Wheat | 49,99 |
Peas | 2 |
Full Fat Soya | 2 |
Soybean meal | 25 |
Sunflower meal | 2 |
Corn gluten | 1,5 |
Fish flour | 1,5 |
Sunflower oil | 2,5 |
Limestone flour | 1,57 |
Common salt | 0,13 |
Lysine Monochlorohydrate | 0,41 |
Also in the PK-0 compound feed are antioxidants, enzymes, vitamin and mineral premix.
Calories 100 g PK-0 - 300 kcal. Proteins make up 21% of the total feed mass.
As part of PK-0 - sodium lasalocide. It is added to the feed for preventive purposes - to prevent coccidiosis.
PK-1
PK-1 compound feed is intended for laying hens of one year. It is a highly nutritious complete feed, enriched with vitamins and minerals.
The composition of the feed PK-1 is in table 2.
table 2
Ingredients in PK-1 | Content% |
Wheat | 62,5 |
Meat and bone meal | 4 |
Sunflower oil | 2,3 |
Fodder yeast | 2,5 |
Baking soda | 0,07 |
Common salt | 0,1 |
Tricalcium phosphate | 1,95 |
Limestone flour | 7,5 |
Sunflower meal | 17,5 |
L- threonine 98% | 0,118 |
L-Lysine Monochlorohydrate | 0,301 |
DL-methionine 98.5% | 0,1 |
Holi B4 Chloride | 0,06 |
Premix P1-2 | 1,0 |
Energy value of 100 g PK-1 - 269 kcal. Protein makes up 16% of the total feed mass.
According to GOST, the composition of feed for layers should include, along with corn grain, wheat and other feed ingredients - yeast, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, prebiotics, amino acids, antibacterial drugs, mold inhibitors.
PK-1 can be bought in bags of 40 kg. The price of one bag is 850 rubles. One layer should receive daily 120 g of feed. Feed plants also produce several subspecies of PK-1, designed for a certain age of layers, for example:
- PK 1-18 - complete feed for laying hens 1-2 months old.
- PK-1-1 - for laying hens after 48 weeks. Positive effect on the taste and quality of eggs. The yolk of the eggs becomes bright orange, the shell becomes harder, and the fluff of the chicken thickens.
- PK-1-25 - after 48 weeks. This is a balanced feed, which contains prebiotics, enzymes, antioxidants and coccidiostatics.
If the label of the compound feed contains the abbreviation “KK”, this means that the feed is concentrated - it should be added to the main diet, and not used as a separate feed. KK consists mainly of wheat bran, which added fishmeal, oilcake, shell, limestone and barley waste.
Excess protein, as well as its lack, leads to a deterioration in the laying capacity of chickens.
PC-2
PK-2 - compound feed for young egg breeds. Give chicks from 1 to 8 weeks of age. The composition of the feed contains drugs in prophylactic doses. The composition of the feed PK-2 is in table 3.
Table 3
Ingredients in PK-2 | Content% |
Corn | 48,2 |
Wheat | 20,3 |
Soybean meal | 12,8 |
Fish flour | 1 |
Sunflower meal | 12,8 |
Common salt | 0,3 |
a piece of chalk | 2,2 |
Methionine | 0,1 |
Lysine | 0,1 |
Premix | 1 |
Monocalcium phosphate | 1,2 |
Available in the form of small cereals or granules. The cost of one kg is about 25 rubles. Dosage - according to the instructions, is selected according to age. In 100 g - 290 kcal. Protein is 18% of the total mass of feed.
PC-3
PK-3 - food for egg chickens. Give from the 7th week to 3.5 months. It is also given at the age of 4.5-5 months. But in the period from 3.5-4.5 months, chickens are fed PK-4. The composition of the feed PK-3 is in table 4.
Table 4
Ingredients in PK-3 | Content% |
Corn | 35 |
Wheat | 30,2 |
Soybean meal | 2 |
Extruded soy | 8,4 |
Sunflower meal | 19,5 |
Common salt | 0,3 |
a piece of chalk | 2,4 |
Monocalcium phosphate | 1 |
Lysine | 0,2 |
Premix | 1 |
In 100 g - 260 kcal. Protein is 16% of the total mass of feed. A bag weighing 25 kg costs about 600 rubles. Dosage is indicated in the instructions.
PK-7 - food for crosses, aged 18-22 weeks. It is not easy to buy such compound feed; it is usually made to order. And this is not all compound feeds for laying hens, chickens and roosters, which are produced in feed mills.
Advantages and disadvantages of industrial feed
Thanks to compound feeds, it is possible, spending a minimum of money and time, to achieve high egg and meat productivity. The composition of the combined feed includes grain, vegetables, cake vitamin and mineral supplements. Captive chickens that do not have access to natural feed prefer grain mixtures more, but compound feeds have important advantages:
- usefulness - in the composition of the feed there is everything necessary for feeding the bird
- profitability;
- you can change the composition.
Along with industrial feeds, you can use home-made feeds - this is a more economical option, but it takes time.
The main components of feed
One of the factors that determine the health and productivity of chickens is a well-balanced diet. In the chicken feed, all the substances necessary for the body must be present in appropriate proportions. Dozens of feeds are offered on the market, the farmer's task is to choose the option taking into account his budget, the age of the bird and its purpose. Feed for broilers is designed for rapid weight gain, for laying hens - to increase egg production.
Read more about the proper feeding of laying hens here.
All chicken feed, by composition, is divided into three groups:
- Carbohydrate. Promote bird growth. The composition is usually cereals and vegetables.
- Protein. A lot of fats - vegetable and animal. Promotes egg production.
- Vitamin. They help to survive the winter period. Maintain immunity.
Let us consider in more detail each feed group, their features and composition.
Carbohydrate feed
Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for the body of birds. Chickens digest feed with a high carbohydrate content. Their main feature is a slowdown in metabolism. This is exactly what is needed for enhanced mass gain. Therefore, such feeds give broilers, which require one thing - to grow as quickly as possible.
Carbohydrate feed is divided into:
- cereals;
- juicy;
- grain waste.
Cereal
Grain should be more than 50% in the diet of chickens. The bird easily assimilates the grain of any grinding. Grain composition:
- starch - 70%;
- protein - 8-12%;
- minerals - 1.5-5 %%;
- fat - 8-10%.
Cereal proteins contain few amino acids, and grains contain fiber, which is poorly absorbed by the body of chickens.
Cereals for carbohydrate feed:
- Corn. In the composition of carbohydrate feed, corn grains are the most useful and valuable component. They contain less fiber than other grains. For example, there are six times more fiber in oats than in corn. By protein content, corn is a leader among cereals.
- Oats It is given to chickens after removing the films. For each age - a certain size of fractions. If the bird is given oatmeal, it must be sieved - to separate the shell of the grains. There are a lot of amino acids in oats, it is considered dietary. But since it has a lot of fiber, you can’t give it to the bird too much.
If oats are sprouted before feeding, it will become much more nutritious. Fiber in large quantities is dangerous for poultry. It is slowly digested, leading to bowel blockage and chickens death. The share of crushed oats should not exceed 20% of the total mass of feed. - Wheat. Feed carbohydrate also often contains feed wheat - it contains many vitamins B and E. Wheat in the feed should not be more than 30%.
- Rye. Its presence in the feed is undesirable - in any case, experienced poultry houses and animal feed producers say so. And freshly harvested rye cannot be given to a bird at all - it contains a lot of mucus harmful to the digestive system of chickens.
- Barley. It is added in purified and sifted form. Barley contains fiber.
- Buckwheat. It is rarely used in chicken nutrition. It is not very suitable for chickens as food, and they eat it without much desire.
The energy value of crops is in table 5.
Table 5
Products | proteins,% | fats,% | carbohydrates,% | kcal / 100 g |
corn | 8,3 | 4,2 | 63,6 | 334 |
durum wheat | 11,4 | 1,7 | 62,4 | 318 |
soft wheat | 9,7 | 1,5 | 63,1 | 312 |
rye | 9 | 1,5 | 64,6 | 316 |
barley | 9,5 | 1,5 | 72 | 348 |
peas | 19,3 | 2,2 | 49,8 | 304 |
beans | 19,2 | 1,9 | 50,3 | 303 |
lentils | 20 | 1,6 | 49,8 | 30 |
soya beans | 28,1 | 17 | 23 | 368 |
oats | 10,8 | 6 | 61,1 | 351 |
Succulent feed
Juicy feed for chickens is peeled vegetables:
- Potatoes. Good for digestion. You can not give green potatoes - it is full of solanine, it is poison. Raw potatoes are also not recommended. The best option is boiled potatoes, dehydrated and detailed.
- Beet. Good for digestion. Give boiled or fresh mashed. The composition of the diet can be up to 15% beets. Keep it frozen. When it thaws, immediately give the chickens.
- Pumpkin. It has a lot of vitamin B2, sugar, carotene. Give chopped - not more than 15% of the total feed.
The energy value of succulent feed is in table 6.
Table 6
Juicy food | water, g | protein g | fats, g | carbohydrates, g | kcal |
potatoes | 78,6 | 2 | 0,4 | 19,7 | 83 |
beet | 86,5 | 1,7 | 0,1 | 10,8 | 48 |
turnip | 91,4 | 1,2 | 0,2 | 3,4 | 31 |
pumpkin | 91,8 | 1 | 0,1 | 4,4 | 22 |
Cereal waste
Grain processing wastes are rarely used in the preparation of animal feed. The most common type of grain waste is wheat bran. These additives have a serious drawback - they contain fiber, phosphorus, components of vegetation, fungi. Their nutritional value is low, there is no particular benefit from them either for gaining weight or for the growth of egg production.
In mixed feeds, it happens, they add waste from alcohol production - the "bard". So called the thick, which remains during the distillation of alcohol - potato, wheat, corn. The most nutritious bard is from wheat. It can be introduced into the diet of chickens in the amount of 10% of the feed volume. It is not inferior in nutrition to oats, and contains a lot of vitamin B.
Waste from food production - molasses is also added to compound feeds. This product is obtained by digesting beet juice. The norm of the additive is up to 7%.
Protein feed
Chickens, eating food in which there is a lot of protein, grow quickly, laying hens rush better, and the quality of egg white increases in their eggs.
- ground fish;
- meat meal;
- peas and other legumes;
- cake.
In order for the chickens to be healthy, they need protein feed - it contains amino acids, without which their body can not do. There are two types of proteins - animal and vegetable.
Animal squirrels
There are much more minerals and vitamins in animal proteins than in plant ones. Types of protein products:
- Fish flour. It is made by grinding fish that are not suitable for food, as well as fish waste. The protein contained in fish is well absorbed by chickens, and contains a lot of important amino acids. In the diet, fishmeal can occupy 8%. It is used more often in wet mashrooms.
- Bone flour. This is the second most popular protein product. It is ground from meat and bones. The protein in it is about the same as in cereals, and the fat content is 11%. There are vitamins A and E. Bone meal is given to a bird from a month old.
- Blood meal. The raw materials are blood and bones. It concentrates protein and amino acids. They give no more than 4% of the diet so that there is no digestive upset.
- Feather flour. Cheap but not useful product. Raw materials - bird fluff and feathers. In the diet - up to 2%.
- Dairy products. Well-digestible, protein-rich foods. The use of milk, cottage cheese, skim milk and whey in wet mashrooms promotes the growth of hens and egg production.
- Earthworms. Farmers give their chickens as a powerful protein supplement. Norm - 5-7 g per chicken. Worms can be bred in containers filled with rotting products and weeds.
When broilers are fed, fishmeal is not included in the diet - so that its smell does not accompany chicken meat.
Vegetable proteins
- Soya. It is characterized by a high content of proteins, amino acids, vitamins and minerals - they are no less in soy than in animal proteins.
- Peas. It contains a lot of proteins and amino acids. Hens do not really like crushed peas - it has a specific taste and smell, but, nevertheless, it is added to compound feeds, but not more than 10%.
- Meal and cake. Most often they use soybean and sunflower meal or oilcake. The norm of additives in the composition of compound feed for adult hens is 15-17%, for young animals - 10%.
Vitamin feed
Vitamin is a food that contains certain groups of vitamins. The latter are found both in cereals and in protein products. You can enrich feed with concentrated vitamins on your own - you can buy them at specialized farmer's shops. There is another option for enriching food with vitamins - yeast.
Mixed feed
Mixed feed - this is compound feed, which in various proportions contains carbohydrate, protein and other feed. You can do them yourself by mixing the right ingredients. Based on the characteristics of the bird, determine the composition and percentage of feed. If necessary, the ingredients are boiled, crushed or processed in another way.
Dry mixed feeds of your own preparation can be prepared in advance, wet foods are prepared immediately before feeding the chickens. Chickens especially like warm food - you can warm it up.
In the feed for laying hens, proteins are laid at the level of 15-20%, fiber - 6%. Mixed feed prepared in such proportions will not lead to weight gain. The feed norm for adult chickens is 75-150 g. The optimal norm is 120 g.
When preparing or buying a combined feed, study its composition in advance, try a small amount of it - there are supplements for which chickens do not respond well. If you could not find the right food, you can always cook it yourself.
Compound feed for chickens
Compound feed is produced taking into account the orientation of the chickens. For chickens of egg breeds developed complete feed:
- "Sun" and PK-2 - they are given from the first days of life. PK-2 can be given up to 7 weeks. The feed is finely ground - in the form of cereals or granules.
- PC-3 - give after 7 weeks to 3.5 months.
Meat breeds are given PK-5 feed. The feeding period is determined taking into account the feeding system. The food is made in the form of small cereals - it is convenient to peck it for babies. As part of PK-5 - active components that contribute to weight gain.
Chicken feed, as well as adult chickens, can be prepared on their own. The composition of the starting mixture should include the following ingredients:
- corn - 49%;
- sunflower meal / meal - 18%;
- wheat - 12%;
- fish / meat and bone meal - 8%;
- the return is 3%;
- plant components - 3%;
- feed fat - 1%.
The ingredients are first crushed, and only then mixed. Add to the feed those ingredients that have already been introduced into the diet of chickens - so that there is no trouble with digestion.
Dry feed can be given to broiler chickens from the first days of life, and to laying hens only after the first week.
Chicks are not given food in granules - they will not be able to crush and swallow them. Before giving granular feed, it is necessary to grind them.
Compound feed consumption rates
Overfeeding and underfeeding a bird is equally harmful. Each owner of the chicken stock should know the norms of feed consumption depending on the age of the bird. The norms of feed for chickens and laying hens are in table 7.
Talitsa 7
Age weeks | Daily feed rate, g | Total feed per period, kg |
1-3 | 10-26 | 0,4 |
4-8 | 31-51 | 1,3 |
9-16 | 51-71 | 2,2 |
7-20 | 72-93 | 3,5 |
21-27 | 100-110 | 5,7 |
28-45 | 110-120 | 15 |
46-65 | 120 | 17 |
The above doses correspond to feeds designed for certain periods of life (PK-1, PK-2, PK-3). In the manufacture of home-made feed, nutritional standards are established experimentally.
Broilers are fed sequentially with three types of feed:
- "Start" or PK-5 - it is given from the first day and up to 14-15 days or up to 30-31 days, depending on the selected feeding system.
- "Growth" - give 3-4 weeks of life.
- "Finish" - from a month of age until slaughter.
Broiler feeding rates for a system in which only the start and finish feed mixtures are used are shown in table 8.
Table 8
Feeding rates for one individual | PK-5-3 | PK-5-4 | PK-6-6 | PK-6-7 |
age | ||||
0-5 | 6-18 | 19-37 | 38-42 | |
daily, g | 15-21 | 25-89 | 93-158 | 160-169 |
for the entire period, g | 100 | 760 | 2410 | 830 |
How to cook feed yourself?
There are situations when the preparation of compound feeds with your own hands is more profitable. The main thing is that at hand were all the necessary ingredients from which the feed will be prepared. The second important point is the exact adherence to the recipe. It is necessary to use all the ingredients indicated in the recipes in the exact dosage.
The size of the granules is determined depending on the age of the chickens. The composition and proportions depend on the age of the chickens and the orientation of the breeds. Consider a few popular recipes.
Recipe number 1
To prepare compound feed for laying hens, you need to mix the following components:
- corn grains - 500 g;
- wheat - 100-150 g;
- peeled sunflower meal - 80-100 g;
- washed finely divided barley - 80-100 g;
- bone and fish meal - 70 g each;
- yeast - 60 g;
- grass meal - 60 g;
- crushed pea grains - 30 g;
- salt - 2 g.
When all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed, concentrated vitamins can be added to the mixture. The vitamins that increase the egg production of chickens are described here.
Recipe number 2
This is a simple recipe that does not cost much. This mixed feed is suitable for chickens from 15 to 45 weeks. The number of products can be adjusted depending on the weight indicators.
In the composition of the feed:
- wheat grains - 400-500 g (1/2 of the total volume);
- wheat bran - 40-80 g;
- vegetable oil - 15-30 g;
- meat flour - 30-70 g;
- chalk - 25-30 g;
- barley grains - 100-200 g;
- shell - 50-80 g;
- salt - up to 3 g.
Recipe number 3
This is a recipe for the preparation of feed for broilers, they do not give it to egg crosses. Composition and proportions:
- corn flour - 500 g;
- oilcake - 170 g;
- ground wheat - 120 g;
- meat and bone meal - 120 g;
- feed yeast - 60 g;
- premix - 15 g;
- herbal flour - 12 g;
- salt - 3 g.
This mixture has great energy value, it provides an increase in the weight of boilers after the 30th day.
Feed preparation options
There is a direct connection between the digestibility and eatability of feed and their physical form. In order for the chickens to like the feed and digest it well, they need to be cooked correctly. Small fractions are not only the convenience of packaging, but also the convenience of eating feed.
The size of the fractions should correspond to the age of the chickens and the properties of the ingredients used. So, for example, wheat cannot be ground into flour - it will turn into a lump that simply gets stuck in the esophagus. Each ingredient must be properly prepared. The food is also subjected to biological preparation - it improves the taste of the food. At the same time, carbohydrates are broken down - so that the feed is successfully digested.
Yeast
Yeast contains proteins, proteins, vitamins A, B, E and D, iron and phosphorus. Yeast is the introduction of yeast into feed - cereal, juicy or vitamin.
Yeast Features:
- Yeast is best added to feed with sugar beets or molasses - they have a lot of sugar.
- To multiply yeast faster, you can add malted barley.
- You can ferment any products - to increase their nutritional value.
- Proteins should not contain more than 15%.
- Salt, shells and chalk are undesirable in the feed - they inhibit the growth of yeast.
- The temperature of the feed should be between 24-27 ° C, and the air temperature should be 15-27 ° C.
Step-by-step instructions for yeast 100 kg of feed:
- Baker's yeast is placed in 10 liters of warm water. Yeast taken in accordance with the proportion of 1 kg per 100 kg of feed.
- After mixing the yeast mixture - to make bubbles appear, sugar beets (4-6 kg) and sprouted barley (3-4 kg) are introduced into it, or 1 liter of sour milk is poured.
- The resulting mixture is poured into water - 150-200 liters. It should be warm. Everything is mixed again.
- Add 100 kg of feed. Wait 6-9 hours - while the yeast is on.
The resulting chicken feed must be fed for 2-3 hours. After this period, the feed will begin to sour, a fungus appears in it - it will become unsuitable for feeding the bird.
Rejuvenation
Thanks to malting, they improve the palatability of the feed. This process transforms a certain amount of starch into sugar - the food acquires a sweetish taste. Only the grain components of the mixture undergo malting, so it makes no sense to process complete feeds with premixes and meat and bone meal - a lot of useful substances will simply disappear when heated.
The rejuvenation process:
- Ground grain is poured into the container. Pour the tart with boiling water - its temperature should be + 90 ... + 95 ° С. 2 liters of water are taken per 1 kg of turf.
- Steamed tart cover and put in heat for 4 hours. If the temperature inside the pan drops significantly, the anti-aging will slow down.
- To speed up the process, 1-2 g of malt per 1 kg of feed is added to the mixture.
Silage
This process is similar to pickling cabbage. Mowed grass is thrown into a silo pit, and there it is exposed to lactic acid bacteria. The created acidic environment preserves the green mass.
Suitable for silo:
- alfalfa;
- shoots of oats;
- clover;
- ground part of the pea.
1 kg of silage contains protein - 10-30 g and carotene - 5% by weight, a lot of vitamin C, there are organic acids. Silage grass is nutritious and improves digestion, prevents putrefactive processes.
Shredding
Mechanical preparation of the feed does not affect digestibility, but speeds up and simplifies the process of digestion - this increases its nutritional value. The grain is coated, making it difficult to digest. Thanks to chopping, the chicken spends less energy on digesting feed.
The size of the fractions depends on:
- grains - the harder it is, the more it is crushed;
- the age of chickens - the younger they are, the finer the fraction.
Granulation
The granulation process is aimed at obtaining convenient, small-sized fractions. The granules are smooth, the feeders in which they are poured remain clean. In bulk feed, chickens can choose what they like, in granular food there is no choice - they eat a complete set of nutrients.
When granulating, feed is heated, so it is better digested. But there is also a minus - due to the effect of temperature, you have to sacrifice some of the vitamins.
Mixing
Chickens need to get all the useful ingredients along with the feed, so they are thoroughly mixed. All components must have the same fraction sizes. When the food is not mixed enough, part of the chickens will receive an increased dosage of premix, others may even be left without it.
When mixing the components of the feed, water or whey is poured into the mixture - this allows you to associate fractions of different sizes with each other. Mixing improves feed efficiency.
In order to achieve your goals when breeding chickens - high meat and egg productivity, you need to use compound feeds corresponding to the age of the chickens and the direction of the breed. By properly preparing the food, you can significantly increase its effectiveness, nutrition and digestibility.
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