Romulo;
I want to assume that you are talking about broiler feeds which includes pre-starter, starter and finisher.
Broiler feed has been produced for several years by using pellet mills, the "mash" texture is not an option for broilers. In contrast, for several years layers feed has been produced in mash texture.
The mix of ingredients coming out the mixer has to enter the conditioner to pre-digest the mash and at the same time reduce pathogens and to precipitate the gelatinization of the starches by injecting live steam in the conditioner, temperature-moisture-retention time are the factors to be controlled here. The conditioned mash then enter the pelleting chamber to get the compaction of the mash per specified die and roller shells specifications, after pressing the pellets are conveyed to the cooler and then to the crumbler.
The crumbler could be single pair roll or double pair roll design depending on capacity of the pelleting line. For pre-starter feed you need pass the pellets thru the crumbler and reduce particle size in order to achieve small pieces without segregate the ingredients and also avoiding as much as you can the production of fines. For starter feed you need to slightly open de clearance between rolls to produce bigger particle sizes than pre-starter feed. For finisher feed you by-pass the crumbler so the pellets will be in one piece.
I hope this helps.
ED
We have very limited info re.your broiler production (the scale) and your mixing facilities.Could you describe it a bit? I think Ariel is right. Having good (enough) mixing equipment you are able to mix mash feed yourself. You buy components for your feed and I guess premixes,too. Any (serious) premix supplier has nutritionists/advisors and they could help you with the formula. He could decide what premix concentration should be proper for your mixer to receive homogenous feed and what additives are best for the formula (eg.enzymes). For broilers majority of feeds are pelleted. But even with mash feed you could get good results.
You'll have worse FCR and slightly lower body weight vs.pellets. I meet customers having =/ better results than others with pelleted feed. I advice to buy ready crumbled pre-starter (by 10d) and then use mash feed.
Don't forget that particle size (milling) is very important. Your premix advisor should explain to you all this aspects.
Good luck.
Your question is difficult to answer precisely when you do not specify the problem. When we talk about feed formulation you can choose different approaches. For the most simple feed formulation you can calculate the relationship between two feed ingredients just using a pen and paper. You can also make your own spreadsheet with numerous feed ingredients and numerous nutrients. This is a trial and error approach but you can actually achieve fairly good results.
The best approach is to use a least cost feed formulation software package which use linear programming to compute the best formulation.
Step 1: Google for "free feed formulation software" and install the software.
Step 2: Google for "nutritional requirements for broilers" and insert the relevant values in the formulation software.
Step 3: Find out which feed ingredients you have and type in the content of nutrients in the formulation software.
Step 4: Type in all the values and formulate the feed.
As I have no clue about your production I would advice you to contact an animal nutritionist because you can end up spending a lot of time understanding basic principles in feed formulation. There is also a very big risk that you do not understand many of the pittfall that exist in feed formulation.
Broiler starter and grower mash shall have the capacity to produce broilers at a minimum feed conversion ratio .For this each and every aspect shall be covered
Hello, I work for INVE in Belgium and regarding the feed formulation and feeding strategy.
We just developed a post hatch feed (for the first 2 days with a specific structure : Mash + small pellets )who is able to develop the intern organs to have better feed intake and FC. The name of this product is FAST. Don't hesitate to have a look to our website and to send an email. We will help you as better that we can. Regards
Pl provide me some information about the products which can be used to protect day old chicks from dehydration during transit in the hot climate. Dr. S. P. Ganpule. Growth consultants and Sasso Country Manager India
To prevent dehydration during transport in hot climate, it is good to put some GEL in the boxes. CUCUMBER in small pieces are also put in boxes. But the gel is more efficient. As soon as the chicks arrive in the farm give them an ELECTROLYTE, maybe KEPROLYTE + GLUCOSE. This will help to rehydrate them.
Dr. Is mat, Pl inform the products sold as GEL. yes. water melon or cucumber pieces can be used but gel would be more hygienic option. Thanks for the information.
Derek Hansen is correct. If you plan to formulate poultry rations for a small operation this may not be economical. Hand formulating is not feasible because of the number of different ingredients used. You also have to understand poultry nutrition and any error can be very costly. Even though you may have a computer not all the free software are designed for poultry, on top of that you have to buy your raw ingredients which may prove more costly and you may not be able to source the best quality which hopefully the feed mills have due to their volume. So while it sounds great to be able to formulate and mix your own feed you may be better of and more cost effective buying a good quality finished feed from a reputable feed mill. Before you start mixing your own feed, you may have to get the feed analysed unless your supplier can provide the nutrient data to put into your database. Mineral mixes are critical and feed mills generally don't accept any liability if you screw up in mixing your own feed unless you growing very large flocks and have personnel who understand nutrition and are willing to get mineral mixes analysed to make sure that they conform to specifications. As has also been mentioned, FCR may not be the same with mash feed as pelleted feed.
From the questions asked - I can make out the guys are new to poultry and small operators. Romulo, John and Nyra, please study the basics of poultry nutrition before venturing into formulations. However for your information, many feed companies sell starter and finisher concentrates, you have to add corn, rice broken, rice bran, wheat or what ever grains available in your area, and make a feed for the broiler chicks, after few batches of chicks, you can start making your own concentrates, the pellet mill, crumblers, conditioners and mixers and grinders, etc., are for big feed mills or operators, not for you, don't waste time on these at the moment, master the art of feeding birds with the simpliest feed, get the efficiency and the required body weights and move forward, it will be the best way.
Initially, the ideal solution for you is to go for the ready made branded feed avaiable in your area. Before buying ascertain the nutritional values of their feed and you can try for feed analysis for safety. Generally most of the branded feed manufacturers do give the nutritional values and they will suggest you what best suits for your farm.