Why Is Nutritional Value Crucial for Poultry Feed?

Animals need adequate energy to perform daily activities like breathing, walking, eating, digesting, and regulating body temperature. The energy and nutrients required for the development of bones, flesh, feathers, and eggs of poultry animals come from their feed - what they eat and consume. However, many of these activities, be it functional ones like walking and grazing, or involuntary bodily functions like digesting or temperature regulation, demand specific nutrients to run correctly. So, it begs the question, what are these nutritional components?

Animal feed, or rather any food, has six major components

Water

Carbohydrates

Protein

Fats

Vitamins

Minerals

The Best Poultry Feed Have A Balanced Nutrition Profile

Grain should make up the majority of the best poultry feed, which should be about 80%.

The following foods are rich in both protein and carbohydrates

Corn – Easily Digestible, low fiber, contains small amounts of protein.

Field Peas – Contains moderate amounts of protein

Wheat – Higher protein content than corns, good amino acid profile.

However, the question arises of what should be the ratio of these nutrients in these types of poultry feed.

Nutrition In Poultry Feed Varies With Age Of The Poultry

The ratio of these nutrients may vary depending on the demand of your poultry animal, which is dictated by the age group they fall under. Proteins are the most important macro-nutrient for the growth of nerves, cartilage, and muscles since they are the building blocks for most species. Proteins are comprised of amino acids. There are 22 essential amino acids, out of which 11 are the most essential and must be added to the poultry feed.

The following table will give you a fair idea about how the demands change with age –

The Role Of Carb In Bolstering Poultry Feed

Another important macronutrient is carbohydrates for maintaining a healthy energy balance in poultry animals. The majority of a poultry's diet is made up of carbohydrates, which are molecules made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen and are an energy source for animals.

Typically, poultry consumes feed having carbohydrates in the form of starch, sugar, cellulose, and other non-starch substances. The non-starch compounds known as crude fiber and cellulose are typically difficult for poultry to digest. But most starches and sugars can be used in making the best poultry feed.

Fats: Equally Important For Producing The Best Poultry Feed

Broken down compounds called fatty acids make up fats. By weight, they contain two and a quarter times as many calories as carbohydrates. Tallow, lard, poultry fat, and choice white grease are a few options of saturated fats that can be used in poultry feed. Canola oil and soy oil are also used in commercially manufacture poultry feed.

Fats are important for many metabolic activities. Fats play a vital role in the synthesis of hormones and maintaining the integrity of cell membranes. Although there are numerous fatty acids, poultry needs linoleic acid, so it must be present in the poultry feed that makes up their diet. Because poultry cannot produce linoleic acid from other nutrients, it is regarded as an essential fatty acid.

Fat must be present in the diet for poultry to absorb the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. Fat is added to feed to reduce grain dust in addition to its nutritional value. The addition of fat enhances the feed's flavor and taste as well.

However, it is worth noting that fats have a tendency to go bad, especially during the summers. Therefore, the best poultry feeds containing added fat is fortified with antioxidants to prevent them from going stale.

Minerals: The Lesser-known Vital Poultry Feed Nutrient

Minerals are essential for bone development. Apart from bone formation, they are necessary for a number of other critical processes. These include blood cell production, blood clotting, enzyme activation, energy metabolism, and healthy muscle function.

Typically, macro- or microminerals are used to categorize minerals. More macrominerals and fewer microminerals are needed to generate the best poultry feed.

Iron, manganese, selenium, copper, iodine, and zinc are some of the microminerals. Microminerals are still important for the body's metabolism even though poultry have lower requirements for them. For instance, iodine is necessary for the production of thyroid hormones, which control energy metabolism.

Similarly, iron helps the body transport oxygen throughout it, and zinc participates in numerous enzyme-based reactions.

Magnesium, potassium, sodium, chlorine, calcium, and phosphorus are some of the macrominerals. Calcium's crucial role in blood clot formation and muscle contraction is less well known, although most of us know the vital role it plays in bone and egg-shell formation. In addition, phosphorus also plays a crucial role in bone development. Moreover, chlorine aids in digestion by contributing to the production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. Electrolytes such as sodium and potassium are crucial for maintaining healthy nerve, muscle, and metabolic processes. Muscle relaxation and metabolic processes benefit from magnesium as well.

Vitamins: The Nutrient that Drives Key Metabolic Functions

The two types of vitamins are fat-soluble and water-soluble. A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble vitamins. Epithelial tissue, including skin and the linings of the digestive, reproductive, and respiratory tracts, needs vitamin A for healthy growth and development as well as for reproduction. Normal growth, bone development, and the production of eggshells all depend on vitamin D3. The production of blood clots requires vitamin K.

Vitamin C and B vitamins are examples of water-soluble vitamins. Vitamin B12, biotin, folacin, niacin, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, riboflavin, and thiamin are among the B vitamin. They play a role in numerous metabolic processes, including energy metabolism. There is no established dietary requirement for vitamin C because poultry can make it. However, it has been demonstrated that supplementing with vitamin C can be helpful for stressed birds.

Textures of Poultry Feed

Knowing how long to crush for and what consistency to use when grinding feed is crucial. Mash, crumble, and pellets are the three terms used in the commercial feed industry. The age of your birds will determine the type of texture you’d need.

The following table will illustrate how different sizes of poultry feed caters to different age groups –
 

Nutrichoice: Undoubtedly The Best Poultry Feed By Nouriture

A modern generation marvel of poultry feed, Nutrichoice, produced by one of the best animal feed manufacturers, Anmol Feeds, under the name of Nouriture, meets the bespoke needs of the poultry industry today. Ever since its inception in 2000, Anmol Feeds has had a strong presence in 20 states in India and neighboring countries like Nepal & Bhutan.

Nutrichoice has a superior Feed Conversion Ratio, which is a marker for the feed’s efficiency. This parameter measures how much feed is needed to generate a certain amount of growth in the animal. Nutrichoice, at an affordable price range of ₹2132-₹3329, carries an FCR of 1.5 – promising a 33.33 kg yield from a 50 kg poultry feed.

Scientifically formulated using the latest state-of-the-art mills, Nutrichoice provides the best poultry feed with the perfect balance of all amino acids extracted from highly digestible raw materials like Hypro Soya Doc, Corn Gluten, Sterilized MBM, Soya oil, and so on. In addition, it is supplemented with a pre-vitamin mix and acidifiers that take care of their metabolic activities and promotes superior growth. Nouriture also uses NIR facilities for analyzing the raw materials to foster better quality control.

If you want the best poultry feed that’s hygienic, releases healthy gut microbes for your poultry, and is adaptable to different climatic conditions in India, look no further than Nouriture’s Nutrichoice – giving you the best value for your money.