Grace Adamu

Pellet quality is very important, the gelatinization of all nutrients is vital since the separation of pellet before hitting the gut of any animal, especially poultry -be reminded the power of the gizzard: it is a great crusher plus the gain weights are crucial for farmers. The pellet needs to be intact but for ruminants-, goats, sheep. Too hard a pellet can cause choking, especially for lambs.The ...

Joshua Jendza Agreed, there's been some really good and applicable work out of that group at Massey.

Adam Fahrenholz - That is a point that doesn't get enough attention. Some ways to improve pellet quality can damage nutrients. Reza Abudollahi at Massey has done a lot to explore this aspect. Unfortunately I don't see that his work gets much attention stateside. A durable pellet at too large a cost in terms of nutrient availability doesn't pay for iteslf.

I would also point out that pelleting strategy plays a role here. Improved quality has often been shown to improve efficiencies, and now this and similar data is providing a good focus on impacts related to segregation. However, we also have data that demonstrates that common methods for improving quality (high conditioning temperatures and retention times, thicker pellet dies, lower throughputs) ...

The objective of this continuing research is to determine if investing in improvements to feed form (improving pellet quality) can reduce on-farm nutrient segregation. The literature supports improved broiler and turkey performance following feed form improvements. Ultimately, these results should help feed millers understand the importance of investing in feed form improvements.