2. Major Sources of
Carbohydrates
Corn (maize)
Wheat
Milo (sorghum)
Rice, wheat, other grains
Wheat (or rice) by-products – screenings and
leftover product from flour making. Can vary
significantly in nutritional value.
3. Major Sources of Protein
Soybean meal (cooked; usually around 45% protein)
Meat meal, meat and bone meal
Poultry by-product meal
Fish meal
Canola meal, rapeseed meal, other meals(….)
Oil seed cakes…
4. Major Fat and Oil Sources
Tallow (rendered animal fat)
Vegetable oil
Animal-vegetable blend fat
Restaurant grease
Acidulated soapstock (by-product of vegetable oil
refining)
6. Vitamins and Minerals
Supplied as premixes at specific
concentrations to assure that the birds are
getting a sufficient quantity of each vitamin
and mineral in the diet.
Premix is a pre-packaged product containing all the
vitamins and minerals. This concentrated product is
added at a specified amount per kilogram of feed
produced.
7. Mash vs. Pellet vs. Crumbles
Mash: Coarsely ground ingredients loosely mixed
together with premixes and minerals. Disadvantage of
mash is that individual feed ingredients may settle out.
Individual birds may also preferentially eat certain
ingredients (e.g. corn particles).
8. Mash vs. Pellet vs. Crumbles
Pellet: All ingredients in the mash held together with a
binder and heat-treated. This reduces bacterial load and
increases digestibility.
Pelletizing feed increases the cost of production, but
may be offset by increased digestibility and the ability to
add more fat thereby increasing energy density.
9. Mash vs. Pellet vs.
CrumblesCrumbles: Pelletized feed that is broken down into small
pieces. The reason for crumbling is to theoretically
provide in each bite all of the feed ingredients together.
Many growers prefer to feed young poultry crumbles.