Hey all, I am in the process of trying to find alternative protien for my broiler feed. Currently use soy meal and it is fine. But I have a small family store that would like to purchase 600 birds per year possibly more but their one requirement is no soy in the feed. I don't use bone meal nor do I want to. So I have some recpies and and one of the recipies calls for Crab Meal and Fish Meal. Is there a difference? My mill carries fish meal but I have never heard of the other and neither have I. Here are a couple of the recipies: I am open to any suggestions #1 Broiler Starter Grower: 19.7% Protein: Corn = 515 Winter Peas = 600 Sunflower Meal = 500 Wheat = 250 Vegetable Oil = 50 Vitamin Pack = 60 (Fertrell Nutribalancer = http://www.fertrell.com/poutrynurtibalancer.htm ) Or some type of vitamin pack Calcium = 25 #2 Broiler Starter Grower: 19.4% Protein: Corn = 500 Winter Peas = 525 Sunflower Meal = 400 Crab Meal = 150 (Guessing same as Fish Meal) Wheat = 280 Vegetable Oil = 75 Vitamin Pack = 60 (Fertrell Nutribalancer = http://www.fertrell.com/poutrynurtibalancer.htm )Or some type of vitamin pack Calcium = 10 #3 Broiler Starter Grower: 19.8% Protein: Corn = 600 Winter Peas = 500 Sunflower Meal = 350 Crab Meal = 100 (Guessing same as Fish Meal) Fish Meal = 75 Wheat = 280 Vegetable Oil = 50 Vitamin Pack = 60 (Fertrell Nutribalancer = http://www.fertrell.com/poutrynurtibalancer.htm ) or some type of vitamin pack. Calcium = 15
Here is the recipe I have used: 1062# corn 50# Alfalfa Meal 40# Calcium 100# Distillers Grain 40# Fish Meal 8# Kelp 50# poultry 50 vitamin base 150# linseed meal 400# Canadian Peas I only did one batch of 50 using this feed. They grew slower than their soy fed conterparts, but where very, very active. Hands down more active than any CX I have ever raised. I fed the 800 pounds of feed in 9 weeks and the average weight was a little over 3 1/2 pounds which was disappointing. Also, the meat tasted "different". I will warn you not to use more than 5% total fish meal. More than that and the meat will have a fishy taste. I could taste some fishyness in the skin of these. After all that, the feed was about double the cost of soy based feed. I haven't done another batch using this ration. I sought this out for the same reason you are (customer requested), but came to the conclusion it isn't worth it.
Thanks bigred, I have been finding the cost will not justify the switch. And for the volume the client was talking I opted against it. I will stick to my current ration. Plus I cant get peas, fish meal and some other things
do you have a local feed mill that can grind custom mixes for you? if so, they should have a nutritionist on staff to help you get the blend you are looking for...
I had a ration figured up that was using as many alternitive (By product) protein sources as I could get in- in MAX ammount for my birds-- It didnt' seem to work too bad- but I didn't get the growth, performace, or egg laying abilty (mainly maturity pattern) that I had expected.. ENded up trashing it, and going back to the feed mill's ration.
I'll second Big Red's comment. My local feed mill warned me against using too much fish meal as they will have a fishy taste and smell.
