Feed ingredients for poultry diets are selected for the nutrients they can provide, the absence of anti-nutritional or toxic factors, their palatability or effect on voluntary feed intake, and their cost. The key nutrients that need to be supplied by the dietary ingredients are amino acids contained in proteins, vitamins and minerals. All life functions also require energy, obtained from starches, lipids and proteins. Feed ingredients are broadly classified into cereal grains, protein meals, fats and oils, minerals, feed additives, and miscellaneous raw materials, such as roots and tubers. These will be discussed in separate headings below. More information on measuring the nutrient composition of ingredients and the process of formulating poultry feeds is available in the section on feed formulation.
Protein is provided from both vegetable and animal sources, such as oilseed meals, legumes and abattoir and fish processing by-products. Vegetable protein sources usually come as meal or cake, the by-product of oilseed crops. The main oilseed crops include soybean, rapeseed/canola, sunflower, palm kernel, copra, linseed peanut and sesame seed. After the oil is extracted, the remaining residue is used as feed ingredient. Oilseed meals make up 20-30% of a poultry diet. Inclusion levels do vary among formulations for different species and for the same species in different regions.
For raising young chicks, a diet enriched with protein and containing balanced mineral is very useful. Two pounds of chicken starter dry mash is suitable enough for one chicken that is about six weeks of age. You always have to concentrate about the diet of growing chicks to ensure rapid growth and good health of chickens. For better result, you can mix starter at home. Usually 200 pounds of commercial starter mash is sufficient enough for each 100 chickens. While purchasing commercial starter mash, choose popular brand in the market. Avoid out dated and less tasty ground mixtures. Store the feed in a cool and dry place, and provide fresh food daily. After hatching, start feeding the chicks when they want to eat.
