As a chicken owner, you want to make sure your flock is getting the best nutrition possible. That’s why it’s important to understand exactly what goes into chicken feed pellets. In this article, we’ll take a close look at the typical ingredients found in commercial chicken feed pellets.
The Main Ingredients
Most chicken feed pellets contain a mix of grains protein meals, vitamins minerals, and other supplements. Here are some of the most common ingredients
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Grains – Corn, wheat, barley, and other grains make up the bulk of chicken feed pellets. They provide carbohydrates and fiber for energy. Grains appear 2 times.
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Protein meals – Soybean meal and other high-protein plant meals, as well as animal by-products like fish meal or meat meal provide concentrated sources of protein. Protein meals appear 3 times.
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Fats and oils – Added fats like soybean or canola oil boost the energy density of the feed. Oils also help with absorption of fat-soluble vitamins. Fats and oils appear 2 times.
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Vitamin and mineral supplements – Most chicken feeds are fortified with extra vitamins and minerals like vitamin D, calcium, phosphorus, and selenium. Vitamin and mineral supplements appear 3 times.
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Binders – Ingredients like molasses clay and limestone act as binders to form the feed into pellet shapes. Binders appear 1 time.
Why These Ingredients?
Chicken feed pellets are carefully formulated by animal nutritionists to meet the specific dietary requirements of chickens. Here’s a look at why some key ingredients are included:
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Grains provide carbohydrates – The grains in chicken feed act as an energy source. Carbs are broken down into glucose to fuel bodily functions.
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Protein for growth and egg production – The protein in chicken feed enables muscle growth and supports egg production. Laying hens need 16-18% dietary protein.
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Oils and fats for energy – Dietary fats get stored in the body and provide a concentrated source of energy. Fats also aid absorption of fat-soluble vitamins.
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Vitamins and minerals support health – Chickens need a wide range of micronutrients. Supplements fill any gaps not met by natural feed ingredients.
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Binders form the pellets – Binders allow fine feed ingredients to be compressed into compact pellets through a process called pelleting.
Other Potential Ingredients
While the ingredients above are typical, chicken feed pellets may also contain:
- Probiotics and prebiotics for gut health
- Enzymes to improve nutrient absorption
- Medications for disease prevention/treatment
- Antioxidants to preserve freshness
- Organic trace minerals
- Dried fermentation products
- Antimicrobial compounds
The inclusion of these other ingredients depends on the specific feed formula and manufacturer.
Should You Make Your Own?
It’s possible to create homemade chicken feed, but doing so poses some risks. Without proper formulation, your feed may lack key nutrients chickens need. Commercial feeds are balanced by qualified nutritionists and go through quality control.
For best results, it’s usually better to purchase a complete feed made specifically for chickens. Look for quality brands that use wholesome ingredients and clearly list contents.
Chicken feed pellets contain a nutritionally-balanced mix of grains, protein meals, oils, vitamins, minerals, and binding agents. These ingredients work together to provide the carbohydrates, protein, fats, and micronutrients chickens need for good health and performance. While contents can vary between brands, quality chicken feeds are carefully designed by experts to give your flock a balanced diet.
What are the ingredients in chicken feed?
Chicken feed ingredients often change from batch to batch. This is because manufacturers are constantly balancing the nutritional value of different feed components.
Producers can test feed ingredients to determine their nutritional content, which can change depending on the season, plant variety, growing conditions etc. After testing, the composition of the feed will be adjusted to ensure optimum nutrition. Ingredients might also change due to cost or availability.
Designing a chicken feed is a balancing act of carbohydrates versus fibre and protein versus fat, not to mention minor nutrients! You may not test your ingredients, but if you are making your own feed you still need to put the same consideration into protein and other nutrients.
Average nutritional qualities of chicken feed components
It is possible to make chicken feed at home, and many people do it. There are plenty of chicken feed recipes available online. But there is no guarantee that the makers have properly calculated the nutritional value of the feed. And the second you swap out one ingredient, the calculations must be done again!
If you are making chicken feed, even from a recipe, you must use a feed chart to ensure the mix is nutritionally balanced. Failure to do this may cause ill-health and low production. It has the potential to decrease the life-expectancy and productive life of your birds.
Why Use Crumble vs Pellets when Feeding Chickens?
FAQ
What are the ingredients in chicken feed pellets?
Whole Ground Corn, Corn Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles, Rice Bran, Rice Bran Solvent Extracted, Calcium Carbonate, Dehulled Soybean Meal, Corn Germ Meal, Wheat Middlings, Salt, Citric Acid (a preservative), Dried Aspergillus niger Fermentation Extract, DL-Methionine, L-Lysine, Choline Chloride, Dicalcium …
What do chicken pellets contain?
The top three ingredients in most Nature’s Best bagged chicken feeds are corn, soybean meal, and wheat or wheat middlings.Oct 9, 2020
What is the main ingredient in chicken feed?
Corn is the grain most routinely used in commercial poultry diets in the United States because it has a good energy content and is easy to digest.
What are the ingredients for feed pellets?
The most common raw material used for this purpose is soybean, corn, brown rice, fish meal, and animal meal. They are available at reasonable prices during the harvesting season. If the raw material used has a large amount of fats in it, it can damage the quality of the pellet.