Chicken Feed Production

Feed is made up of 85-90% grains, such as wheat, sorghum, barley, oats, lupins, soybean meal, canola and other oilseed meals and grain legumes.  For this reason, international grain prices affect the cost of production very significantly.

Meat chicken diets are formulated to strict nutritional standards. A rough guide to the specifications of some of the key nutrients needed by a growing meat chicken is:

Nutrient Specification of a Broiler Diet (Grower)
Energy	13 MJ/kg
Crude Protein	20.5%
Lysine (digestible)	1.1%
Total sulphur amino acids (digestible)	0.7%
Calcium	0.9%
Phosphorous (available)	0.4%
Sodium	0.2%
Chloride	0.2%

Generally speaking, cereal grains provide the energy component of the diet, and soyabean meal, canola meal and meat and bone meal primarily provide the protein. In some areas, grain legumes such as lupins are used as a component of broiler diets where they have the dual role of supplying energy and protein. Vegetable oils or animal fats (such as tallow) might be included in the diet to provide additional energy.

Meat chickens have very specific requirements for particular amino acids, which are the ‘building blocks’ of proteins. The amino acids lysine and methionine are also added to diets because they are generally not present in sufficient amounts in the grains and protein sources to meet the nutritional needs of the birds. Meat chicken diets are also fortified with additional vitamins and minerals and, where necessary, other essential amino acids to ensure that the broilers’ very precise requirements for these nutrients are met.

A ‘typical’ broiler feed might look something like the following.

Composition of a Typical Broiler Feed	%
Wheat	45.0
Sorghum	25.0
Soyabean Meal	12.0
Canola Meal	8.0
Meat & Bone Meal	7.0
Tallow	2.0
Lysine	0.3
Methionine	0.2
Vitamins & Trace Minerals	0.5
TOTAL	100

As the chicks grow, the composition and form of the feed is changed to match their changing nutritional needs and increasing mouth size. The ‘starter’ feed, which is in small crumbles just big enough for baby chicks to eat, is replaced with ‘grower’ feed as soon as they are large enough to eat fully formed pellets. After about 25 days, the chickens move on to a ‘finisher’ feed, and then often to a ‘withdrawal’ feed just before harvest.

Pelletized Feed Production

It is the best choice to feed poultry animals with pellets feed. During the feed pellet production, ingredients are ground, mixed together, steam conditioned and compressed into beak sized, well-formed pellets. The high temperatures applied in pelleting kill many bacteria that may be in the feed ingredients, essentially sterilising the feed. Some companies include whole grain mixed with pellets.

A flow diagram of the processes involved in the manufacture of chicken feed in a typical, large feed mill is below.

Corn fed and grain fed chicken is produced as the name indicates by feeding chickens a substantial diet of corn resp. grain. All chickens are fed grains as a major part of their diet. In Australia, the grain is mainly wheat and sorghum. The grains used will depend on the local availability so that in the US, for example, corn is the staple ingredient rather than wheat. Corn-fed chicken tends to have a slightly yellow appearance.

Chicken feed – what’s in it?

Chickens are fed diets that are formulated from a broad range of potential feed ingredients (predominantly grains) that are mixed together to meet the precise nutrient profile required by the bird at its different stages of growth.

As a result, chicken diets are primarily made up of macro ingredients such as cereal grains (eg wheat, barley and sorghum) and oilseed meals (such as soya bean or canola meal) or animal by-product meals.

Cereal grains make up between 60-70% of the diet and are the major source of energy in the diet. Other energy sources, such as plant or animal fats and oils, may be added to achieve the desired energy content of the diet.

As chickens are naturally omnivorous (that is, they eat both plant and animal materials), they have a higher requirement for protein than can easily be achieved by just eating cereal grains alone. To get sufficient protein into their diets (in excess of 20%), oilseed meals (like canola meal or soya bean meal) and sometimes an animal protein meal, will be added to their diets.

Chickens are very sensitive to the correct balance of vitamins, particular minerals and amino acids in their diets, so where the correct balance of these is not provided by the above macro-ingredients, these micro-ingredients will be added to make up any shortfall and / or correct any imbalances.

Chicken Feed Pellets

Doesn’t ‘look’ like grain? Virtually all meat chicken feed used in Australia is ‘pelleted’. That means that is has gone through a process of being compacted into a solid ‘pellet’, using steam and pressure to heat the ingredients to temperatures of about 85oC, which causes gelatinisation of the constituents in the mixture so that the pellet ‘sticks’ firmly together (see photo of pellets below). Prior to pelleting, the ingredients, including grains, are ground up and mixed together according to a defined formulation (or recipe) to achieve the desired combination of nutrients.

But wait…it’s not quite that simple! In fact in Australia, most diets fed to chickens will contain some whole grain (between 10-30% of the total diet), added back into the diet after pelleting, so that the finished feed is a mixture of both pellets and whole grain. This is done because research we have conducted here in Australia (and since reproduced elsewhere) has shown that providing some whole grain in the diet stimulates the chicken’s gizzard (a muscular part of the stomach that grinds grains and fibre into smaller particles; and is therefore a chicken’s equivalent of teeth) to function. Stimulating the chicken’s gizzard has been found to have long-term benefits in terms of bird health.

Most meat chickens produced in America, UK, Frence, Australia are‘grain fed’, as the major ingredient in all feed fed to meat chickens is grains, such as wheat, sorghum or barley. In Australia for example, grains such as these will constitute anywhere between 60 – 70% of the chicken’s diet.

Feed the Chicken with Compound Feed

The simplest way to feed a small flock of chickens is using complete feed . Complete feeds provide nutritionally balanced diets for chickens.

Today's chickens are descendants of the jungle fowl of Southeast Asia. Mature jungle fowl hens lay about 12 eggs per year, and only during the breeding season, but genetic selection has resulted in the development of a chicken that can lay almost 300 eggs per year and can lay year round. As a result of genetic selection and improved nutrition, hens start laying at a younger age and lay more, larger eggs, all with increased feed efficiency.

Complete feeds ave all the nutrients in the right proportions that chickens need. A balanced diet is necessary for optimal growth and production. If using a good diet that meets the dietary needs of the flocks, supplementing with other items will upset the balance of the diet. The ingredients used in different types of feed are similar, but the proportions vary depending on the particular chickens being fed. Each bag of feed is labeled with its specific use.

Common mistakes made with supplements include the following:
Providing vitamin and electrolyte supplements for more than 10 days
Supplementing complete feeds with cracked corn, oats, or other grains
Regularly adding green chops, lettuce, or other low nutrition ingredients to the diet
Administering inappropriate or unnecessary medication

A chicken's daily consumption of feed depends on the composition of the diet. Chickens typically adjust their feed intake in order to meet their energy requirements. As the energy content of a diet increases, feed intake decreases, and vice versa. Environmental temperatures also play an important role in determining how much feed a flock will consume. During hot weather, feed intake decreases. Feed intake increases during cold weather as chickens consume more to supply the extra energy needed to maintain regulation body temperature.

Chicken Feed Types - Mash, Crumble, Pellets

Feed Mash

To put it simply mash is a loose and unprocessed version of chicken feed. Similar to the texture of potting soil, mash is the finest variety of chicken feed commonly available. Mash is normally used for baby chickens, as it is easy to digest, however it is not uncommon for fully mature chooks to be fed mash. Some Chicken Ladies or Lads combine mash with hot water to create a porridge like texture that your flock will love to chow down on. Be mindful however of the fact that this method can cause the feed to expire more quickly. The main issue with mash varieties of chicken feed is that its texture often results in an increase of incidental waste, so bare that in mind.

Feed Crumble

In simple terms crumble is a coarse variety of mash but not as compact of pellets. Reminiscent of the texture of oatmeal, crumble is a semi-loose variety of chicken feed that is slightly easier to manage than mash. Some chicken lovers use crumble to bridge the gap between mash and pellets for their flock. Others claim that their girls just simply prefer the crumbly texture. Whatever your reasons for using crumble instead of mash or pellets at the end of the day it shouldn’t make any significant difference to your flock’s health.

Feed Pellets

Pellets are perhaps the most common variety of chicken feed available. Just like it sounds pellets are essentially little compact cylinders of chicken feed goodness. One of the benefits of using pellets is that they hold their shape nicle, which means they won’t go to waste if your ladies accidentally knock their feeder over. Easy to manage, store and serve, pellets often become the first choice for most backyard chicken keepers.

Chicken Feed for Different Growth Stage

Making sense of all the different varieties of chicken feed can be very confusing for first time and even semi-experienced chicken keepers. “Mash”, “grower feed”, “medicated or unmedicated”, there is so much jargon on the chicken menu it can genuinely be quite overwhelming. That’s why the Backyard Chicken Coops team have created this comprehensive glossary that will help you make sense of all the curious culinary chicken feed concepts.

Starter Chicken Feed
Starter feed is a protein dense variety of chicken feed designed to meet the dietary requirements of baby chicks. Generally speaking baby chicks can live comfortably on a diet of starter feed and water for the first 6 weeks of their life before progressing onto grower feed. The high protein content, usually between 20-24%, helps young chicks grow into playful pullets, however it’s imperative that you phase out the starter feed once they are 6 weeks old, otherwise the excess protein can cause liver damage.

To complicate matters, there are varieties of feed known as starter/grower feed, which is essentially a type of feed that chickens can eat from 1-20 weeks of age. But always read the label and consult the nearest poultry guru if you have any doubts.

Grower Chicken Feed
Grower feed in many ways is like chicken feed for teenage chooks. The dietary requirements for a chicken between 6 to 20 weeks old is very different from a baby chick. Essentially grower feed contains a protein content that is between 16-18% but has less calcium than regular layer feed. In an egg shell, grower feed supports the continuing growth of your teenage chookies without bombarding them with unnecessary vitamins and minerals that are more suited for fully grown laying hens. Once your girls start laying eggs that’s a good sign that they are ready for layer feed.

To get the lowdown on when you should expect the first eggs from your pullets, make sure you have a sticky beak at this eggcellent.

Layer Chicken Feed
For most of your flock’s life their diet will predominantly consist of scrumptious layer feed. Layer feed has an ingenious balance of protein, calcium and other vitamins and minerals that encourages top tier egg laying abilities in your flock. Protein wise layer feed contains similar levels of protein to grower feed, around 16-18%, however has extra calcium to ensure that their eggshells are crisp, clean and crunchy. Feeding layer feed to baby chicks or young pullets however will not meet their unique dietary requirements. Layer feed should only be fed to chickens around 20 weeks of age or once they have started to lay eggs.