NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL

INCLUSIVE GROWTH PROJECT

NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL

INCLUSIVE GROWTH PROJECT –
COUNTY GOVERNMENT OF BUNGOMA

CHICKEN FEEDS & FEEDING

BY ELVIS MASINDE
Introduction to chicken feeds and feeding

■60-75% of production cost.

■Commercial feeds are costly.
■Economical feeding
■Seasonal- availability
■Right feed feeding
■Better feeding; improved productivity
 Digestive System of IC
Gall
bladder
Live Cecu
Gizzar r m
d
Esophag
us ■No teeth
Cro
p
■Digestion; enzymes,
Proventriculu
s Cloac
a
secretions
■Limited microbial
Pancrea
s
Large
intestine
Duodenu
m Small intestine
(jejunum,
action
ileum)
■Limited fiber digestion
 EXPECTATIONS

Session 1: Indigenous Chicken

(IC) feeding guidelines
Indigenous Chicken feeding guidelines

a)Importance of feeding IC
b)Important nutrients in feeding IC
c)Nutrient requirement for IC
d)Feed categories for IC
e)Feeding equipment
a) Importance of feeding IC
Feeding in a chicken house
~
Importance of feeding IC

■Maintenance
■Exercise
■ Growth
■Production
b)Important nutrients in feeding IC
b)Important nutrients in feeding IC

■Carbohydrates
■Proteins
■Fats
■Vitamins
■Minerals
■Water
Carbohydrates
■Sugars, starches, and cellulose
■Birds can not use cellulose.
■Main source of energy.
■Cheapest.
Carbohydrates

Sources include:
■Maize
■Wheat
■Barley
■Rice
■Sorghum
■Cassava
Proteins
■Amino acids.
■12 non-dispensable
amino acids required for chicken.
■Building blocks of body
tissue and other components
 Proteins

Sources include:
■Soybean meal
■Canola
■Cotton seed meal
■Corn gluten meal
■Sunflower seed meal
 Fats
■No dietary requirement
■Essential fatty acids.
■Carrier of fat soluble vitamins.
■Improves feed palatability
Fats
■Serve as a concentrated energy source.
■Contains 2.25 times the calories per gram than
protein or carbohydrates.
■Animal and vegetable fats are the highest energy
sources in feedstuffs
Minerals
■22 metal elements known to be required by animals.
■Involved in the body’s enzyme systems,
structural components of skeleton,
oxygen transport, etc.
■Grains are low in minerals so supplements are necessary
Minerals
Sources include:
•Bone meal
•Egg shells
•Di-calcium phosphate(DCP)
•Mono-calcium phosphate(MCP)
•Salt(NaCl)
•Mineral premix
•Limestone(stock lime)
Vitamins
■Trace organic nutrients.
■Occur in feedstuffs in
varying quantities and in different combinations.
■Required for growth,
reproduction and the
maintenance of health.
 Vitamins

■Two groups:
■ Fat soluble: A, D, E, and K
■Water soluble: C, thiamin,
riboflavin, pantothenic acid,
niacin, pyridoxine, choline biotin,
folic acid, B12.
Additives
•No nutritional value
•Enhance performance of feeds
1. De-wormers
2. Myco-toxin binders
3. Enzymes
4. Feed color
5. Coccidiostat
6. Antibiotics
7. Binders, pellets
8. Palatability
9. Pathogen inhibitors
10.Probiotics, Prebiotics, Synbiotics
Water

■About 70% of TBwt of chicken; 65%

of TBwt of eggs.
■Consumption; twice as much water as
feed.
■ Should be wholesome and readily
available at all times.
c)Nutrient requirement for IC
Nutrient requirement for IC

■Minimal amount of a nutrient; to permit maximal

performance.
■Performance parameters; growth, egg production,
hatchability, feed efficiency.
■Nutrient requirements of chicken are published by
the National Research Council (1994) among
other literature
What are some factors that can affect nutrient
requirements?

■Age
■Environment
■Disease and parasites
■Breed
■Activity level
Estimated feed intake at different ages for indigenous
chicken

Age Intake/bird/day
(weeks) (g dry weight
1 12-15
2 15-21
3 21-35
4-6 35-50
7-8 55-60
9-15 68-80
16-27 85-110
28 and
120-140
above
 Feeding the right ration
■Commercial chicken feeds contain numerous
similar feed ingredients.
■Most convenient way to feed birds.
■Several types of rations are available (i.e. starter,
grower, finisher and layer rations).
■Designed to meet nutrient needs of different
types of birds.
 Feeding the right ration
• Choosing the best ration for your flock, you need to know
the answers to these questions:
•What age birds are you feeding?
•What kind of birds are you feeding?
•Are the birds being raised for meat or to produce
eggs or for show?
d) Feed categories for different
classes of IC
Exercise 1

• List down the common types of chicken feed

used by farmers in your county to feed their
chicken.
Feed categories for different classes of chicken
■Chick starter ■Breeders mash
■Growers mash ■Kienyeji mash
■Layers mash ■Medicated
Feed categories for different classes of chicken

Chick mash; CHICK AND DUCK MASH

with Coccidiostat

■A complete feed for chicks

■Offered up to 6-8 weeks of
age.
■Approx. 2 kg/bird for the
whole period. CHICK AND DUCK MASH
A complete feed for faster growthrate,
eart
maturity and proper body development
STORE IN A COOL DRY PLACE
Feed categories for different classes of chicken.

Growers’ mash;
■A complete feed for birds of 6
weeks of age up to point of laying.
■Appx. 7-8 kg/bird for the whole
growing period
Feed categories for different classes of chicken.

Layer mash;
■A complete feed for
laying hens producing
table eggs.
■Feeding rate 140 g/bird/day.
Feed categories for different classes of chicken.

Breeders Mash;
■A complete feed for laying hens
producing fertile eggs.
■Feeding rate 140 g/bird/day
Forms of Chicken Feeds

Mash Crumbs Pellets

Exercise 2: Feed Budgeting

A farmer wants to keep 2,000 birds from

day old up to onset of laying. Help this
farmer do a feed budget on the amount of
feed required.
Chicken feeding in different production systems

Intensive (Commercial) Semi intensive Free range

 Scavenging Feed Resources

• Mostly applicable in free range

and semi intensive rearing
systems.
• All birds should have enough
space for scavenging in the
surrounding (12 m2).
Examples of scavenging feed resources
Cafeteria feeding System of Local Chicken

• Suitable for birds above 8 weeks of

age
• Adult birds are able to mix their feeds
according to their needs.
• Various types of feeds are offered
separately.
• Feeders are divided into separate
compartments.
Cafeteria feeder with compartments
Demonstration of cafeteria system

Protein rich Vitamins

Energy rich e.g. e.g.Cotton Mineral rich e.g.
e.g.Vegetables,
Maize, millet seed cake, fish Bone meal Green grass
meal, Soya,
Larvae
 Scratch Grains
■Cracked, rolled, or whole grains such as corn,
barley, oats or wheat.
■Usually low in protein and high in energy or
fiber.
■Promote scratching behavior
■Not necessary when birds are receiving a
complete diet.
 Scratch Grains
■Rule of thumb: feed only as much scratch as the
birds can consume in 20 minutes or about 10-5% of their
total daily food consumption.
■Provide an insoluble grit
■Birds with access to ground usually can find
enough grit in form of pebbles and small rocks
 Table Scraps

■Excessive table scraps are not beneficial to

birds or their productivity.
■Okay to feed scraps as a “treat” for birds
■Rule of thumb: No more than can be
consumed in about 20 minutes.
 Pasture
■Potential to provide a source of protein,
vitamins, and minerals
■Remember the digestive system of bird is geared
toward the digestion of insects, seeds, and grains
■Birds will still need a balanced feed ration for
optimum production
 Pasture
• Birds can make some use of high quality forages
(legumes)
• Estimated chickens can obtain 5-20% of their feed
requirements by grazing
• Depends on forage quality and chicken breed
• Recommended to use blend of grasses (orchard grass,
clovers or alfalfa)
 Major Feeding Challenges
■Feeding the wrong feed.
■ Nutrient deficiencies may lead to: decrease production,
feather picking, lameness, death, etc.
■Underfeeding and overfeeding of the appropriate feed.
■Anti-Nutritional factors
■Mycotoxin contamination (Aflatoxin)
■Oxidative rancidity
In general chicken feed composition and
availability depends on:

•Season
• Locality
• Cost*
e) Feeding equipment
Chicken feeding equipment
• Includes feeders and drinkers
• Can be fabricated and made using locally
available materials.
• Ensure all the birds have free access of both
• water and feed at the same time.
 KALRO-Naivasha long feeder

• Should always be kept clean.

• Should be big enough for all
birds of the same age to feed
at
the same time
• One meter trough is big
enough for 20 mature birds to
feed. KALRO- Naivasha Long feeder
Other types of feeders

Chain-Link feeder
Disk feeder Hopper feeder
Jerri-can water drinker
• Should always be kept clean.
• Should be big enough for all
birds of the same age to feed at
the same time
• One Jerri-can water drinker is
• enough for 20 mature birds

Jerri-can water
drinker
Other types of watering systems
Simple rules for feeding chicken
• Know the quality, feed value and cost of each
feed ingredient available for use.
• Change feed formulation depending on
availability, quality or feed value and cost of
ingredients.
• Reduce the flock size under free range system
during lean seasons when feed cost increase.
Simple rules for feeding chicken

• Mix feed ingredients uniformly in relatively small

quantities to avoid spoilage due to long storage.
• Use locally available ingredients to lower feed
costs.
• Change feeds slowly and gradually to reduce
• stress in birds.
Simple rules for feeding chicken
• Keep rodents away from the
feed store.(Use rat traps, rodent
proof mesh)
• Provide enough ventilation in
the feed store.
• Caution, do not use moldy feed
ingredients.
Questions?
Thank You