Poultry feed and nutrition: what birds need and how to judge feed quality
Feed is 60–70% of the cost of producing a chicken, so it is where most money is won or lost. Birds need energy, protein with the right amino acids, calcium and phosphorus, vitamins, minerals — and clean water, which is the nutrient farms most often neglect.
What a bird actually needs
| Component | Typical source | What happens when it is short |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | Maize, sorghum, wheat bran, oils | Slow growth, low lay, birds eat more to compensate. |
| Protein and amino acids | Soya cake, sunflower cake, fishmeal, cottonseed cake | Poor growth, small eggs, feather pecking. |
| Calcium | Limestone, crushed shell | Thin shells, bone problems, cage layer fatigue in layers. |
| Phosphorus | Bone meal, phosphate supplements | Weak legs and poor bone development. |
| Vitamins and trace minerals | Commercial premix | Varied deficiency signs; premix is not optional. |
| Water | Clean supply | Fastest and most severe effect of any input — intake and lay collapse within hours. |
How requirements change with age
| Bird and stage | Crude protein | Key point |
|---|---|---|
| Broiler starter (1–14 d) | 22–23% | Highest protein of any stage; builds frame and immunity. |
| Broiler grower (15–28 d) | 20–21% | Balance shifts toward energy. |
| Broiler finisher (29 d+) | 18–19% | Cheapest weight gain; over half of total feed used. |
| Layer chick (0–6 wk) | ~20% | Digestive and skeletal development. |
| Layer grower (7–14 wk) | 16–17% | Frame and uniformity, not fat. |
| Layer in production | 16–18% | Plus 3.5–4% calcium for shell formation. |
Judging feed quality on the farm
Most farms cannot send feed for laboratory analysis, but a great deal can be judged from the bag itself. Feed quality problems are common where supply chains are informal, and a bad batch is usually detectable before the birds tell you.
- Smell itFresh feed smells clean and grainy. A musty, sour or rancid smell means mould or oxidised fat. Do not feed it.
- Look at itCheck for caking, visible mould, insect activity, and excessive fine dust. Consistent particle size matters — birds sort feed and leave fines behind.
- Feel itIt should be dry and free flowing. Feed that clumps in the hand has taken on moisture and will not keep.
- Check the label and dateConfirm the feed type, protein level and manufacture date. Vitamin activity declines over months, especially in heat.
- Weigh a bagBags are not always the weight printed on them. Compare suppliers on price per kilogram actually delivered, not per bag.
Storing feed so it lasts
- Store bags on pallets or timber, never directly on a concrete or earth floor — floors sweat.
- Keep bags away from walls so air circulates and rodents have nowhere to hide.
- Use the oldest stock first, and mark the delivery date on each bag as it arrives.
- Buy in phases rather than the whole cycle at once, especially finisher.
- Keep the store dry, shaded and rodent-proofed. Rodents both eat feed and contaminate it.
- Never store feed next to disinfectants, fuel or pesticides.
A note on home mixing
Home mixing can reduce cost where ingredients are locally available and reliable, but it introduces real risk. Getting the energy-to-protein balance wrong, under-dosing the vitamin and mineral premix, or failing to mix evenly can cost more in lost performance than the saving on ingredients. If you mix your own feed, work from a formulation prepared with local ingredient values, weigh accurately rather than by volume, and never skip the premix.
Sources
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