Many poultry farmers always face the dilemma of how to identify the best feeds for their chicken.
Many have suffered losses due to the substandard feeds on the market, for example, give their birds feeds with snail shells got from lake shores not knowing that shells are not only too hard to digest, but they also contain microbial organisms which can cause diseases and even death to birds.
Shells contain dead snails. Mixing them with your feeds, therefore, leads to microbial infections in your chicken and increases the risk of losing the birds.
Farmers are therefore advised to use stock feed limestone as an alternative to shells.
Stock feed limestone comes in three types, that is, brown colour (for layers), laminated (for breeders) and powdered (for broilers).
Farmers who have embraced stock feed limestone have reported increased egg production with up to 90% of their chicken laying eggs.
Recommendations
Farmers are advised to embrace nutrient boosters which promote fast growth and quality meat in broilers.
The protein boosters also add colour to the yolk, improve the birds’ appetite and fights stress.
Most of the poultry feeds on the market lack silver fish (mukene) and soya as raw materials, which renders them substandard as chicken feeds.
Fish (60% protein) and soya, if mixed together, produce a high-value, nutritious poultry feed.
The best way to help poultry farmers to improve production is to offer them advisory services.
Poultry farmers need to be empowered with the necessary information. For instance, they should know how to mix their feeds, when to vaccinate and when to consult an expert. This can greatly enhance productivity.
To achieve the best production standards in poultry farming, farmers need to adopt best practices like the use of proper vaccines and high-value feeds.
For best production, chicks should have easy access to fresh clean feeds at all times and farmers should ensure that the feeds come from a reliable source.
Where a farmer mixes his own feed, he should buy the raw materials from a reputable source and make a good feed formulation.
It is advisable to start your birds with a good starter feed as this will ensure good performance through the growing period.
Also, feeding birds on substandard feeds results into stunted growth.
