Animal feed formulation process explained in six steps

Most universities explain feed formulation in a session or two, and then only superficially as any in-depth analysis requires hands-on experience; feed formulation laboratories are a rare thing! As such, most graduates with a degree in animal or veterinary sciences have but a vague idea how a feed is formulated. It is by bitter experience, the so called trial-and-error method, that most professionals get to know eventually the ins and outs of feed formulation.

With competitive price and timely delivery, Future Fortune sincerely hope to be your supplier and partner.

Of course, learning feed formulation on your own is not an impossible task. There are some books on the subject, and the internet offers much valuable information. But, without a mentor, or a course on feed formulation, it is difficult &#; but not impossible &#; to acquire those skills that differentiate someone who understands how feed is formulated from someone who can actually formulate a successful product. This may sound like a paradox, given the number of nutrition professionals who formulate animal feeds on a daily basis. In my experience, like in any profession, there are multiple levels of expertise, and whereas most can formulate basic feeds, when it comes to special products or significant changes, the majority will stop short from attempting anything out of the norm.

Successful formula designs by purpose

Here it merits to mention two real cases that have happened in my career. As a professional nutritionist, with almost 30 years in formulating feeds now &#; I developed my own feed formulation program in my first undergraduate college year using an IBM code &#; I keep relating these extraordinary instances as an indication of how the animal nutrition industry views feed formulation.

Feed formulation is not magic but rather the outcome of study and experience.

The first case was about a piglet feed formula I designed for a national feed company to replace an old product that was no longer relevant to their market. When the CEO saw how the new product worked, she immediately locked the formula and prohibited even me to change it. Only when things got difficult with ingredient availability did she ask me to modify the initial formula, and not without little apprehension regarding my capabilities &#; she even had the new formula tested before releasing it for production.

The second case was about an organic acid blend for poultry I designed for another customer a long time ago. This customer keeps using it after many years and does so despite my pleads to allow me (free of charge) to update the blend applying new technology. Instead, he prefers to pay for the expensive (old) raw materials. Now, I am a true believer of the saying &#;if it's not broken, don't fix it&#; but these two examples help illustrate the almost reverent approach to successful formulas in our industry. I often get the impression some believe successful formula designs are by chance and not by purpose.

Most believe that having a feed formulation program is all you need to formulate feeds.

Thus, to explain that feed formulation is not magic but rather the outcome of study and experience, I have tried to outline below the whole process in six steps. This is done not to teach how to formulate, but rather to help understand the formulation process. The former requires a long interaction ­and­ relevant education. The latter (that is, understanding) is a must for all of us in order to discuss formulas with those who design or use them.

1. Define the animals that will receive the formulated feed.
   Asking a nutritionist to prepare a broiler formula is like asking an architect to design a house, that is, without any further qualifications. Animal species is never enough. We need to define animal weight or age &#; start to end &#; and even genetics. Thus, a formula designed for a Ross broiler to be fed between the age of two and four weeks is different from a Cobb broiler feed of the same age. Likewise, even within the same genetic line, a starter feed is markedly different than a finishing feed. Furthermore, specialty feeds require even more qualifications, but this is rather advanced for the purposes of this discussion.
    
2. Select the right source of nutrient specifications.
   Quite often genetic companies publish their own estimates of nutrient requirements for each age or phase to be used along with their products. Experienced nutritionists will consider such information as the starting base and provide adjustments to suit individual farm needs. For example, a broiler farm experiencing early deaths among the fastest growing birds will need to feed diets with a lower energy/nutrient levels than normally recommended. There is a myriad of such cases, most of them commonplace, but some rather &#;exotic.&#; When genetic companies do not publish their own nutrient requirement tables &#; or when the nutritionist considers them inadequate &#; then there is a great number of scientific bodies that provide similar information. Picking the right one remains one of the hottest topics of debate among nutrition professionals.
    
3. List available ingredients with their characteristics and prices.
   Animals will receive energy and nutrients through the medium of wholesome ingredients. Thus, a commercial nutritionist has ingredients to work with and not purified nutrients. A list of available ingredients and their prices is often all that is available, but in most cases, further information is required. Wheat is an ingredient that will provide a very interesting example. Wheat is never just wheat. There is soft and hard wheat with a great disparity in crude protein levels. There is wheat from national or international trade; the former is easier to characterize, the latter almost impossible. Even wheat of the same genetic stock can differ markedly in nutrient composition depending on the area and climate under which it was grown. All such information will help the nutritionist pick or prepare a nutrient matrix for the exact ingredient at hand; not doing so will run the risk of under- or over-feeding animals, both of which are not profitable outcomes.
    
4. Decide on the maximum and minimum allowances.
   Not all ingredients can be used without limits. Corn and soybean meal are two ingredients that are seldom limited in most feed formulas. Other ingredients require a maximum level because they are too expensive or contain too many anti-nutritional factors. Fish meal is an example: too much, and the feed becomes too expensive. Animals can be turned off by the feed containing fish oil, and their products (eggs, milk) can be tainted by its smell. In a few cases, a minimum is required, as is with diets for young animals that require sensitive and expensive ingredients. Although there are tables that list the maximum-allowed levels for most unconventional materials, these figures often change based on new research and improvements in plant breeding or manufacturing of resulting feed ingredients. Thus, it remains at the discretion of the nutritionist to lower such maximum limits (for example, when by-products of unknown origin are to be used) or raise them (for example, when a different plant variety is used that is known to contain less anti-nutritional factors).
    
5. Use a feed formulation software to prepare the formula.
   Some believe that having a feed formulation program is all you need to formulate feeds. They assume, erroneously, that the above data are already pre-entered and they are correct; nothing further from the truth. Most companies that sell feed formulation programs cannot assume the responsibility required, and if they provide such data, it is only for training purposes or to test their demo software. But even without the data required to run a feed formulation software, picking the right program is a daunting experience. Free, stand-alone, feed formulation programs abound, but they often crash. Cloud-based programs come with better support and becoming increasingly more available &#; basic versions are free but they have limited capabilities, often a step above a free demo. A spreadsheet program like Excel from Microsoft with a Solver add-on function can be used to create one&#;s own least cost feed formulation program, but this requires advanced spreadsheet knowledge. Finally, a professional software can be obtained at various prices giving different capabilities. Here, a user-friendly interface is the most important as most programs focus on capabilities, often being crude transfers from old DOS operating systems, forgetting that Windows users require a different interface experience.
    
6. Review and adjust the formula to production limits.
   Thinking that all is now done? Unfortunately, feed formulation in earnest begins only now. Never was a feed formulated with just one run alone. The first draft needs to be reviewed. Often a low-cost ingredient, like salt or calcium carbonate, is pulled in at excessive levels because some nutrient specification had no lower limit to force a more expensive ingredient to price into the formula. And, even after fixing these irregularities, one has to look at the formula from a feed manufacturing point of view. For example, is 0.15 percent wheat (1.5 kg per metric ton) something that needs to be there when most feed mixing facilities have a minimum loading allowance of 5 kg? Or, will the mixer handle 10 percent soybean oil, or will the pelleting machine handle 40 percent dried whey? These questions require an understanding of the feed manufacturing process at the exact place where the formula will be converted into a tangible product. These are the things you learn in the field!

I often receive questions regarding the right feed formulation software program. I refuse to answer them, and I hope it is clear why now. Feed formulation is a highly responsible task. In my very first job, there was a requirement for three Ph.D. nutritionists to review and sign off every single formula change &#; one of them being the person who made the changes. This early lesson imprinted on me the need to be extremely careful with every formula I design and never give out anything before I am confident all of the above steps have been followed. Anything less would be a disservice to clients, animals, the environment, consumers and my own mentors.

1t/h-2t/h small animal feed manufacturing process is specially designed for meeting the demand from our clients, which can process the animal feed pellets with the size varying from 1.5 mm to 12 mm based on the requirement of the customers. It is mainly used for making animal feed pellets on cattle or poultry farms, in small animal feed factories, and for invetors to start animal feed business.

Best Animal Feed Manufacturing Process Plant Design

As one professional animal feed manufacturing equipment manufacturer and supplier, ABC Machinery can not only offer the small scale animal feed process, but also provides turkey feed milling project plan for making animal feed pellets, mash feed and crumble feed with multiple sizes.(Read more: small cattle feed manfuacturing plant >>)

Main Machines of 1-2TPH Small Animal Feed Manufacturing Process Plant

The 1-2 ton per hour animal feed production plant is specially designed and manufactured for one of our clients, which is suitable for producing both poultry feed and livestock feed, including cattle, sheep, cow, pig, birds etc., while some equipment choices may vary. Before running your own animal feed production plant, view the factory layout of this small feed processing plant for reference. Here is the main necessary equipment for the small animal feed processing plant. (Read more: chicken feed production process>>)

Main Equipment of the Small Feed Pellet Mill Plant

Animal Feed Mixing Process & Machine

Feed Pelleting Process & Machine

Dedusting Process & Equipment

Electronic Control System

Animal Feed Manufacturing Process Design Display

Forage Processing Workshop

Feed Milling Factory Construction

Animal Feed Production Factory Design

Layout Design

If you are a farmer and want to buy a small chicken feed making machine for your own use. Welcome to contact us to get a complete and customized animal feed manufacturing business plan with detailed cost information!

Video of Small Animal Feed Manufacturing Process

Here is the running video sent from our customer, if you have any questions about the small scale animal feed production process, please contact us for more information!

Top Benefits of Chemical Liquid Filling Machines
How to Choose a Chemical Liquid Filling Machine?

Contact us to discuss your requirements of Animal Feed Production Line. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.

Related links:
Custom Brewing Systems | Marks Design & Metalworks

Customized Animal Feed Production Process Design

Livestock / Poultry Feed Manufacturing Process Flow Chart

The manufacturing process of animal feed can be divided into several stages, and there is one specialized feed processing equipment for each stage of the production process. According to the raw materials conditions, the making process can be added or reduced, we customize the production line for our clients! (Related article: 5ton/h animal feed plant layout and design>>)

• Step 01: Raw Materials Reception and Cleaning Process

The first stage involves receiving and cleaning the raw material such as grain, beans, grass or fish meals used for making pellet feed.

• Step 02: Feed Crushing Process

The material is then passed into the hammer mill, where it is ground into a size which is suitable for making feed pellets.

• Step 03: Feed Mixing Process

The crushed fodder materials are then passed through a feed mixing machine, where different ingredients are added to the feed raw material to ensure that the finished pellet contains all the required nutrients.

• Step 04: Animal Feed Pelleting Process

The pelletization stage is the most important stage in the animal feed mill, since the feed powder is converted into pellets of the desired size and shape. Compared to the flat die feed pellet machine, the ring die feed pellet machine has a larger capacity. See more information about our animal feed mill equipment for sale >>

• Step 05: Feed Pellets Cooling Process

The feed pellets are produced at a temperature of 88 degree centigrade and have a moisture level of 17-18%. For cooling, drying and storage, the moisture level should be reduced to 10-12% . Hence the feed pellets are passed through the pellet cooler, where they are cooled to a temperature which is close to room temperature, dried to reduce the moisture levels.

• Step 06: Feed Pellets Packaging

After the animal feed pellets are produced, a semi automatic packing machine is used to put the pellet feed in bags so that they can be stored or transported to the end customer. A computerized machine will measure the feed of a specific amount for each bag, and it will be pneumatically discharged to the bag for packing. The bag with the pellets will move on a conveyor to the area where machines will automatically stitch the open tops of the bag, so that they can be transported.

Advantages of Making Animal Feed Pellets

Making Feed Pellets for Cattle or Poultry Animals

Many farmers are keeping poultry, like duck, chicken, broiler, hen, goose, pigeon, etc. for their meat, eggs, and other products, and they have to feed them regularly with pellet feed, since it is available throughout the year. Hence there is a lot of demand for feed manufacturing machines which can be used for converting raw material into mash feed or pelleted animal feed. Some of the raw materials which are used for the feed mill are maize, grain, MBM, straw, grass, alfafa, molasses, it depends on the availability of the material. The capacity of the feed mill should be selected based on the demand for the material. (You maybe also interested in: how to make chicken feed? )

Setup Your Own Animal Feed Production Factory [Free Guidance]

To start a small animal feed manufacturing process, you should know about the most important elements, which are the cost and the equipment selection. 

1-3TPH Small Cattle Feed Pellet Plant

1-3TPH Small Cattle Feed Pellet Plant

2-5 TPH Animal Feed Making Machine for Sale

2-5 TPH Animal Feed Making Machine for Sale

Cost analysis of Setting Up Animal Feed Manufacturing Plant

What's The Cost To Start an Animal Feed Productio&#;n Business Plan? If you are about to start poultry or cattle feed business in India or other countries. Most farmers or businessmen would like to know how much money is needed to invest in the first place. In fact, the cost of setting up livestock feed mills is closed related to various factors including feed formulation, production output, feed production process design, feed milling machine selection and factory layout. Here we can give some references list for you:  (Read more about setting up animal feed manufacturing company in Inda>>) 

Feed Pellet Production Scales

Cost Reference 

1 ton/h feed milling machine

$10,000~$20,000

3 ton/h animal feed process company (both making mash feed and pelleted feed)

$60,000

5 ton/h cattle feed process line

$70,000~$80,000

10 ton/h feed manufacturing plant

over $100,000

Note: When it comes to project investment cost, you need to consider raw materials, workshop rent, equipment cost, project installation and commissioning charges, production cost, labor cost and so on. 

Feel Free to Send Us An Inquiry to Get a Customized Project Plan with An Exact Cost List!

Best Feed Manufacturing Equipment Manufacturer--- ABC Machinery 

• Easy Operation: The animal feed manufacturing company only requires a couple of workers to operate it. Adult people who have the basic feed processing knowledge can operate it very well after training. So, it also helps to reduce the running cost of your company.

• Wide Application: This poultry feed mill production line is also suitable to manufacture pellet feeds for livestock, fish and other animals.

• Low Investment Cost: Its compact size takes up less space and the installation and commissioning is relatively easy. Therefore, except the investment for the equipment itself. The extra cost for the pellet production line is really small. (Related article: pig feed making machine price>>)

The animal feed manufacturing process design and equipment provided by ABC Machinery has many advantages that attract customers from Mexico, America, Italy, India, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and more countries. Any questions about the animal feed manufacturing process, please contact us freely!

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Wood Pellet Production Line.