Formulation And Preparation Of Animal Feeds

A poultry farmer in Ogbomoso can buy a bag of finished broiler feed, or she can buy maize and groundnut cake separately and mix her own. The second option is far cheaper, but only if she gets the mixture right. Too little protein and her birds grow slowly; too much and she has wasted money on an ingredient she did not need. Feed formulation is the skill that answers the question precisely: how much of each ingredient, in what proportion, to hit a target nutrient level.

In this lesson you will learn the factors every formulator weighs before choosing ingredients, then master the Pearson square method, the simple diagonal-subtraction technique WAEC expects you to use for a two-ingredient ration. You will work through several fully calculated examples, then move from the recipe to the mixing shed: the methods and equipment used to turn a formulated ration into feed an animal can actually eat.