Recipies for Feed

[anthonyjames]

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

 

[bigredfeather]

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.

 

[anthonyjames]

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

 

[birdman1960]

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...

 

[kfacres]

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.

 

[RoosterGeek]

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.