Thursday, October 22, 2009

Poultry Feed

India is the fifth largest producer (External website that opens in a new window) of eggs in the world. There are 150 million layers and 650 million broilers in the country. There are two types of poultry feed - layer and broiler feed. Layer feed is quite expensive. An innovative, high-value compound feed can result in increased numbers of eggs, but the risks are too high because of the birds' long life cycle.

Two kinds of poultry feed may be prepared. One is ready-made and is available in the form of mash or pellets. The other feed is offered in a concentrated form and needs to be mixed with an energy source. The concentrates are sources of protein, which are balanced in amino acids. They contain vitamins, minerals and feed additives. These concentrates are combined with energy sources such as maize, sorghum or bajra to make poultry rations. Vitamin AB2D3K is a vital component of poultry feed as it provides for improved nutrition. It is added to poultry feed manufactured at poultry feed mills, hatcheries and farms.
Poultry feed supplements and feed chemicals usually include substances such as soya meal, rape meal, groundnut meal, cottonseed meal, de-oiled rice bran meal, sunflower meal, guar meal, corn germ cake, copra cake and wheat bran. Supplements also contain substances such as maduramycin ammonium, chlortetracycline, tylosin phosphate, dl-methionine, zinc bacitracin, choline chloride, vitamin ab2d3k, vitamin b complex, betaine anhydrous and salkil powder.
Madhya Pradesh started a Cockerel Yojana Scheme in which one-day-old male hatchlings were distributed to farmers around the State. These hatchlings were of a good breed. The farmers were instructed to feed the hatchlings a well-balanced, high quality chicken feed for the first 15 days. Vaccinations and necessary medicines for the hatchlings were to be provided at the beneficiaries' doorstep.
Uttar Pradesh (External website that opens in a new window) is one of the largest producers of eggs in the country and has been growing at the rate of around 20 per cent per year. As a milestone achievement (103 KB) (PDF file that opens in a new window) , Uttar Pradesh became the first State in India to give poultry production the status of an industry.
Assam (54 KB) (PDF file that opens in a new window) is a big market for poultry feed. The government has made some specific recommendations in this matter.
Source: National Portal Content Management Team