Dr. Pol is an esteemed veterinarian and the star of Nat Geo WILD television show. His practice can be found in Weidman, Michigan.
He has become a controversial figure and many in the animal health industry do not approve of his methods and policies. Recently he launched his pet food brand.
Chicken Feed Ingredients
Chicken feed is designed to provide your chickens with all the nutrition they require for proper growth and egg production. While its contents vary depending on what kind of bird is being raised, all feed products contain vitamins and minerals for healthy living.
Protein is a mainstay in poultry diets and comes from various sources. Soybeans, canola oil and sunflower meal are among the more commonly used sources for proteins found in poultry feed, but animal byproducts such as feather meal, bone meal and fish meal may also be utilized as sources.
Fats are an integral component of chicken nutrition. Fats provide twice the number of calories as carbohydrates do and help prevent feed from going rancid quickly. Saturated fats come from meats and dairy products while unsaturated ones like corn oil are available from vegetable oils.
Supplementing poultry diets with extra amino acids like methionine and lysine to make up for deficiencies is critical to ensure healthy egg production as well as building strong bones and muscles.
Prebiotics and probiotics can also be added to poultry feed for enhanced digestion and to promote a healthy digestive system, and may be found in crumble or pellet form or fermented as scratch feed.
Chicken Feed Preparation Method
Chicken feed can be created using raw materials such as barley, wheat, corn, oats and alfalfa pellets. Once ground into pellet form they make for easy management and minimal waste production.
Chickens require a balanced diet for optimal growth. Their diet should consist of 18-20% Digestible Crude Protein (DCP). You may also include amino acids like L-lysine to supplement their nutrition.
Your chickens can get their protein needs met from whole grains like oatmeal and brown rice, and legumes, insects and fish meal should also be added for balanced nutrition. Be careful with too much grain though as too much consumption could lead to obesity as well as unhealthy meat, eggs and fats being produced in their bodies.
Your hens need access to calcium-rich and insoluble grit in their diets for proper egg laying. This is especially important when raising laying hens that need strong egg shells.
When storing feed, it is recommended to do so in a dry and vermin-free space. This will prevent mold growth while slowing its degradation.
Before feeding your chickens, always read the labels on each type of feed to understand exactly what nutrients each type contains and ensure they receive what they need at an opportune moment. This will ensure they get exactly what their bodies require at just the right moment.
Chicken Feed Invention
Chicken was once an exotic source of eggs. Over time, however, its consumption transformed from an obscure Sunday dinner staple into one of America’s favorite protein sources.
Science and technology were instrumental in elevating chicken from being an undervalued food to one of America’s favorite proteins. A breakthrough occurred during the 1920s that transformed poultry farming from being an obscure hobby into a real industry.
Over the following decades, advances in vitamins and soy for animal feed enabled chickens to be raised indoors without much strain on their immune systems – but raising animals in close quarters put additional strain on their immunity systems.
An important advancement in poultry breeding was the invention of incubators, which made chick production much more feasible and thus helped the poultry industry become more lucrative.
During this period, the industry also introduced numerous innovative products into the marketplace – such as chicken feed – which made raising poultry easier; however, this led to reduced meat prices.
