There are many ways to create a nourishing and delicious road runner chicken feed. These can include fermented or sprouted grains, starch-based meal, and scavenging for food. But the best road runner chicken feed is free of additives and other ingredients. To learn how to make your own, read this article. It includes recipes, tips for making your own road runner chicken feed, and more.
Contents
Fermented or sprouted grains
For a healthier flock, consider fermenting or sprouting your road runner chicken feed. Not only will your hens enjoy eating it, but it will also reduce their overall feed bill. Additionally, the fermented feed will fill them up better than crumbles or dry pellets, resulting in smaller poops. Here’s a breakdown of the benefits of fermented feed for your road runner chickens.
When starting a fermentation process, you should measure the amount of feed that your flock consumes each day. The recommended amount is half a cup. Once you have calculated the total amount, divide the feed into equal parts. If the batch will feed one day, you can cut the amount in half. Otherwise, you can estimate the amount of feed your flock will eat each day by using a general rule of thumb: one cup per bird.
Starch-based meal
In Europe, potato starch is commonly used in place of corn. By substituting potato for corn in your flock’s feed, you could be providing a healthy and nutritious protein source. Another protein-rich meal you can use is safflower meal, which is similar to cottonseed meal but is ground into a fine powder. However, these types of feeds do not have the same nutritional value as their corn-based counterparts.
To determine the optimal ratio of N and starch, a paired Student’s t test was used to examine the interaction between ingredients. The results showed that the rate of starch and N disappearance varied significantly, with higher values for N and lower values for starch. The ratio of the ingredients to the DM and N concentrations influenced the rate of disappearance of the feed ingredients. In addition, feed ingredients affect the rate of N and starch degradation in chickens.
No additives
No additives in road runner chicken feed are necessary for the survival of this African bird. Its water is a natural combination of aloe vera, charcoal, fire ash, and elephant dung. These ingredients keep roadrunner chickens free from Newcastle disease and bird flu. Road runner chickens are highly nutritious and have an excellent taste. Kudakwashe Mutsvairi, the founder of Road Runner Farm, recommends keeping roadrunner chickens as pets. Avoid giving your chickens unnaturally processed feed.
The meat of roadrunner chicken is a healthier alternative to broiler chicken. This breed naturally scavenges for its food. In contrast, chickens fed on stock feed produce softer meat that is not as good for your health. Roadrunner chicken meat is richer and has more flavor. The meat is not overcooked and tender, which makes it a healthier option for urban dwellers. Chicken World in Nairobi, Kenya, offers roadrunner chicken for sale to urban dwellers.
Scavenging for food
The production of eggs by scavenging chickens is extremely low, with a yield of forty to sixty small eggs per bird per year. However, this low egg production is compensated by a long brooding season. Scavengers also produce less than the average breed’s egg production, largely due to the high chick mortality rate. According to Smith (1990), scavenging chickens’ egg production is less than half the level of eggs produced by laying hens.
In rural areas, this type of farming is appropriate because it makes good use of available resources. However, further improvement of this system is necessary to make it more effective and efficient. Its low output and few inputs make it economically efficient. Therefore, scavenging is not recommended for commercial poultry farms, unless you are ready to invest a considerable amount of money in the process. In addition, it is not recommended for backyard poultry keepers.
Cleaning and disinfecting equipment
There are several steps that must be followed for cleaning and disinfecting equipment used in producing road runner chicken feed. First, producers should make sure that all feeding equipment is thoroughly cleaned. Flocks spend more time eating feed than drinking water. Dirty feeders can harbor microorganisms, promote the growth of mold, and produce toxins. In order to prevent these risks, producers should regularly clean their equipment.
When cleaning and disinfecting equipment, make sure to use the correct type of chemical. Some types of disinfectants require a certain amount of “contact time” to be effective. Broad-spectrum disinfectants are ideal for use in poultry farming. A bleach solution works well as a second choice as well. Make sure to use a disinfectant that is labeled for organic chicken. In addition to a disinfectant, make sure to thoroughly rinse your equipment.
Getting funding
In Zimbabwe, the government is planning to introduce the Presidential Rural Poultry Scheme whereby Zimbabwean households will be provided with indigenous road runner chickens. The country’s agriculture contributes around 20% to its GDP and provides 33% of its formal employment, while it also supplies more than 60% of the raw material requirements for agro-industries. More than six out of seven people in Zimbabwe are smallholder farmers.
In South Africa, the outbreak of coronavirus forced the government to close its poultry industry, and a large number of chicken producers were unable to sell their eggs. The demand for day-old mixed chicks soared as a result. As a result, road runner chicken meat is now popular among urban residents as it is considered healthier than broiler chicken. The meat is richer in vitamins and minerals than that of broiler chicken, which is usually raised in confined pens and is fed stock feed. In Zimbabwe, Kudakwashe Mutsvairi and his father started the business in November 2015.
