The challenge of most farm owners who rear animals is largely based on the cost of food. Because they always have to purchase premixed feeds, the cost of feeding livestock has become unbearable to most farmers and a good number are considering quitting. Poultry farmers and pig farmers are especially affected by the rising cost of animal feed as their animals eat much more than most other farm animals.
This window of opportunity opened by the pain of rising cost of animal feed is one that every aspiring entrepreneur must seek to take advantage of. For poultry and pigs especially, producing feed yourself with a sound formula and selling to farmers around you at much reduced prices becomes good business for you. You might also decide to produce the feed yourself to feed your animals. Whichever you decide to do, producing animal feed is a good business opportunity that we all must quickly tap into. The materials are sourced locally and all around us and they are easy to access.
One thing you must first understand is the nutritional requirements of your farm animals and what feed ingredients fall under this category. This will help you understand how to select/source the materials and achieve a nutritious feed. Table 1 below shows the nutrient content of the various feed ingredients:


CARBOHYDRATE

  • Maize
  • Corn Bran
  • Cassava
  • Rice
  • Yam

PROTEIN

  • Soybean Cake
  •  Fish Meal
  • Groundnut Cake
  • Blood Meal

 FATS/OIL/FIBERS

  • Palm Kernel Cake
  •  Wheat Offal
  •  Rice Bran
  • Soya Beans Offal
  • Vegetable Oil

VITAMINS/MINERALS

  •  Methionine
  •  Lysine
  •  Premix
  • Salt
  • Bone Meal
  • Oyster Shell
  • Periwinkle Shell Meal 
  • Limestone Snail Shell

WHAT SHOULD YOUR PRIORITY BE?

While I do not intend to go into technical details of the nutritional contents of these feed items, I must advise you on how to set your priorities right when making feed for your farm animals or for sale. Remember, this is business for upcoming entrepreneurs who do not have investment money beyond 50,000.
In formulating animal feed, you must make sure all the classes of food are well represented in their balanced quantities. Carbohydrate is very important for weight, protein is very important for the proper growth of body tissues, fats and oils are important but in moderate quantity (so as not to jeopardize the meat quality), so are fibers, vitamins and minerals (especially for the development of bones and cartilages).
So, your priority should be on serving a balanced diet within the restrictions of your available capital.

FEED FORMULA FOR DIFFERENT ANIMALS
Table 2 below shows the feed ingredients for each livestock category covered in this manual. When all ingredients are gathered, the simple final step is to mix them all together directly using a spade or a shovel and bag.





DIY FEED FORMULA FOR 100KG


PIG/RAM/GOAT


Ingredient               ----                  Qty.
                                                       (kg)     

Maize                      ---------              30                        
Groundnut Cake          -------              5                                        
Palm Kernel Cake       ---------           15               
Wheat Offal                 ----------         18
Soybean Cake                ---------         8        
Fish Meal                    --------              2
Corn Bran                   -----------         12        
Bone Meal             ----------                3
Brewer Dry Grain        --------            5                            
Rice Bran                         ------           2
Salt                           -----------            0.25        
Methionine                  --------             0.1   
Lysine                  ------------               0.1
Premix                           --------          0.1
  
                  


BROILER STARTER






Ingredient   --                               Qty.
                                                    (kg)           



Maize                  ----------            50
Soya Bean Cake      ------               25
Wheat Offal          ----------             13.6
Limestone                    ------            7.5
DCP                      ----------            1.6
Agrar                           -------           0.4
Broiler Premix            --------         0.3
Toxin Binder                --------       0.3
Salt                       ---------               0.3
Methionine                 -----------      0.2
 Lysine                        ---------          0.2
Chlorine Chloride              --------0.1




LAYERS

Ingredient                       Qty.
                                       (kg)




Maize                     -------------------48
Soya Bean Cake      ------------------22
Wheat Offal               ----------------14
Palm Kernel Cake       ----------------4
Fish Meal                 ------------------1
Bone/Oyster Shell     ----------------11
Layers Premix          ----------------0.25
Lysine                    ----------------0.25
Toxin Binder          ------------------0.25
Methionine            ------------------0.05
Optimix                -------------------0.1
Superliv                 ---------------- 0.05
Enzyme                 ----------------0.025
Vitamin                  ---------------- 0.01


FISH

Ingredient                                       Qty.
                                                       (kg)
Maizel                           ------------------8
Soya Bean Cake           ----------------- 28
72% Fish Meal             ------------------23
Seapak                          ------------------18
Starch                             ----------------- 8
Molasses                         -----------------5
DCP                              ---------------0.01
Fish Premix                  ---------------- 0.5
Salt                                ---------------- 0.3
Methionine                    ------------------ 0.1
Lysine                            ------------------ 0.1
Vitamin C                      ----------------- 0.1
Enzyme                         ----------------- 0.1


IMPORTANT FACTS TO NOTE


  1. The maize to be used for animal feed (especially for poultry and fish feed) must have been blended into smaller sizes. It should not be grinned to become powdery, but granular so that it becomes easy for the animals to eat and digest.
  2. The feed produced for fishes have to be pelleted before serving. This may require getting a feed pelletizer or taking the already mixed feed to someone who has a feed pelletizer.
  3. Feed to be served to pigs, goats or ram has to be soaked before serving. It should not be made watery but soaked into a molten form.
  4. All ingredients listed in Table 2 whose nutrient classes are not stated (Toxin Binder, Chlorine Chloride etc) fall into categories of additives that either antibiotics or growth boosters.
  5.  DCP means Dicalcium Phosphate



SOURCING AND PREPARING INGREDIENTS LOCALLY


  1.  Maize can easily be purchased in the local grains market.
  2. Soya bean and Groundnut cakes are to be produced from soybean and groundnut bought from the local grains market. Once bought (raw), the two needs to be fried and then grinned. By frying I am referring to the simple method by which groundnut is fried to make it edible for humans.
  3. Where the farmer cannot afford the 72% fish meal which is imported, you can purchase fish crumbs from the local markets and grind to use. The 72% fish meal can be bought from feed production companies nationwide. Care must however be taken in the case of fish feed as producing fish feed might require sticking to the 72% meal.
  4.  Corn Bran, Wheat Offal and Rice Bran can either be purchased from feed production companies or sourced locally at the Corn Milling Industries, Wheat milling industries and Rice Milling Industries.
  5. The Brewers Dry Grain can also be purchased from feed production companies. However, it can be sourced far more cheaply from breweries scattered all around the country. Being a brewery waste, it can easily be sourced from the breweries. There is a brewery in Ilesha, Osun State.
  6. Palm Kernel Cake is a byproduct of the Palm Kernel Oil production industry. You can purchase PKC from those local PKO producers at competitive prices.
  7. All other ingredients can be purchased from the local feed stores at competitive prices.
  8. With as little as N10,000 you will be in business