What are the correct methods for mixing chicken feed?
When using feed, the nutrients contained in every portion of the feed that the chickens eat must be balanced and identical; otherwise, the flock will suffer from malnutrition, deficiency diseases, or poisoning. Even if your diet formula is very scientific and the feeding conditions are very good, you still cannot achieve satisfactory feeding results. Therefore, the feed must be mixed evenly to meet the nutritional needs of the chickens. There are two methods of feed mixing: mechanical mixing and manual mixing. As long as they are used properly, both can achieve satisfactory results.
Mechanical mixing: use a mixer. The commonly used mixers are of two types: vertical and horizontal. Vertical mixers are suitable for mixing powdered feed with a moisture content below 14%; if the moisture content is too high, it is not easy to mix evenly. This type of mixer requires little power, is low in price, and is easy to maintain, but the mixing time is relatively long (generally 10-20 minutes per batch), and it is suitable for @#@230@#@ specialized households and small chicken farms. Horizontal mixers can mix feed evenly in areas with relatively humid climates or when ingredients with strong viscosity (such as fats and oils) have been added to the feed. This machine has strong mixing capacity and a short mixing time, 3-4 minutes per batch, and is mainly used in some feed processing plants. Regardless of which mixer is used, in order to mix evenly, the loading amount must be appropriate. Too much or too little loading cannot ensure uniformity; generally, loading at 60%-80% of capacity is appropriate. Mixing time is also an important factor related to mixing quality. If the mixing time is too short, quality certainly cannot be guaranteed, but longer is not always better either. If mixing is too long, after the feed has been mixed evenly, excessive mixing will cause separation.
Manual mixing: this method is the main means of feed mixing in household chicken raising. When mixing, you must be careful and patient, and prevent some trace ingredients from clumping and caking, resulting in uneven mixing that affects the feeding effect.
When mixing manually, special attention should be paid to some trace ingredients that account for a small proportion of the diet but can seriously affect the feeding effect, such as salt and various additives. If they are not mixed evenly, the feeding effect will be affected in mild cases, and in severe cases the flock will develop disease, poisoning, or even die. For such trace ingredients, when mixing, they must first be fully crushed, with no caking; lumpy matter cannot be mixed evenly, and if eaten by the chickens, poisoning may occur. Second, because these ingredients are used in small amounts, they cannot be directly added to bulk feed for mixing; instead, a premix method should be used. The method is: take 10%-20% of the concentrate (preferably an energy feed that makes up a large proportion, such as corn, wheat bran, etc.) as a carrier, pile it separately, press the next shovel of feed onto the feed placed by the previous shovel, that is, keep putting it on top of the feed, and let the feed flow from the center point to all sides to form a cone, so that all kinds of feed have a chance to mix. Repeat this 3-4 times to achieve even mixing, and the premix is then made. Finally, add this premix to all the feed and mix it 3-4 times in the same way, and the goal can be achieved.
When mixing manually, only through such multi-level, graded mixing can the quality of the mixed diet be guaranteed. The method of turning or stirring the feed in place is not advisable.