Feeds for layers should have at least 18% crude protein. Crude protein can be from mukene (55%), Soya (45%) and sunflower (35%).
This means that if a farmer is to formulate food for layers, then they would have to calculate the percentage of digestible crude protein in each of the ingredients to ensure that the total crude protein content is at least 18% to meet the nutritional requirement.
To find out if the feed meets this standard, a farmer can do a simple calculation as follows.
For example, if you are preparing a 70kg sack of feeds, these should be the ingredients to ensure that the crude protein content is 18%.
Use 34kg of whole maize, 12kgs of soya, 8kg of mukene, 10kg of maize bran and 6kg of lime. To get the total crude content of these ingredients, you take the total crude protein content of the combined ingredients, divide by 70 and multiply by 100.
In this case, you realise that the total crude protein content is 19%. This is suitable for layers.
Add 250g of salt to complete the feed. A pullet (young chicken about to start laying eggs) should be fed on 4.5kg of feed in two– and–half months until it lays the first egg.
It should then be changed to a layer diet. Also, it is necessary to supplement all feeds with vegetables such as dodo and fruit peelings.
