3 steps making your own pig feed
1. When you are going to make pig feed pellets on your own, the first step is to make sure the moisture of your raw materials is about 10-12%. The wetter or dryer material will affect the final quality of finished pellets. You can use a drier, so that you can get the ideal moisture quickly. Or you can dry it naturally in the sun.
2.The second step you have to do is crushing your materials before you start making your own pig feed pellet pellets, if your raw materials size is too much big,it is not so easy to be pressed into pellets. When you crush it to fine powders,the finest,the better, the pelletizing rate and final pellets quality will be better.
3.feeding your raw materials into the pig feed pellet mill machine through the feeder.they will be compressed to columned holes on the die and discharged from the machine. Thus the whole procedure of making your own feed is finished.
Why to Make Pig Feed into Pig Feed Pellets?
There are two types of pig feed: pulverous pig feed and pelleting pig feed. Pulverous pig feed is consisted of crushed pig feed raw materials. However, pig feed pellets is made of pig feed raw materials, compressed by an animal feed pellet mill. Under the action of 100 ~ 120℃ hot steam during the pelletizing process, pig feed pellets will soon become gelatinized and generate a better taste. It is easier for pigs to digestion and absorption. Processed under high temperature, pellets is more healthy for pigs. With good liquidity, pig feed pellets also perform well in storage and transportation.
Feed formula 1: Making silage from sweet potato vines
48kg of maize germ
12kg of pollard
12.5kg of soya cake
7.5kg of fishmeal
0.75kg of lime
1kg of bonemeal
125g of salt
150g of lysine
150g of feed premix
300g of zinc
This pig feed ration has a Digestible Crude Protein (DCP) content of 22.3% and can be given to pigs at all stages of growth. Put all the ingredients in a feed mixer and mix thoroughly to ensure they are evenly distributed. In Nakuru, Nairobi and Thika, there are many feed raw material suppliers. Feed premix, lysine, bonemeal and lime are also available from selected agrovet shops in most towns.
Feed formula 2
How to prepare 7 bags of pig feed
60kg of whole maize
210kg of maize germ
140kg of pollard
50kg of soya cake
27kg of fishmeal (or first grade omena)
4kg of bone meal
7kg of lime
1kg of salt
1kg of Premix (grower or sow
and weaner)
1kg of lysine
2kg of zinc
Feed formula 3
Sweet potato vines are very nutritious pig feed if well prepared and preserved. Here is how to prepare them:
• Cut 60-100kg of sweet potato vines and spread them dry in the sun for about 30 minutes.
• Chop the vines into tiny pieces and mix them with 10 kg of maize germ or pig growers mash.
• Sprinkle ½ kg of mineral salt and mix thoroughly.
• Put the mixture into an airtight 250-litre plastic tank. Compress the vines firmly to remove any air spaces as you do when preparing silage.
• Add some little EM1 solution to improve the quality of the silage.
• Cover the tank airtight. Let it stay for 14 days (two weeks).
• Open the tank to check if the silage is ready- if the silage has a sweet smell and has turned yellow in colour, then it is ready feeding.
• You can feed the sweet potato silage to pigs from four months of age, sows, gilts and boars at any time before or after feeding their usual daily rations.
Pig farmers who incorporate sweet potato silage into the pig diet can cut their feed costs by up to 30 per cent. In addition, the sweet potato tubers can be eaten or sold in the market, a kilogramme of sweet potato tuber retails for between KSh 60 to KSh 80.
Other supplementary feeds suitable for pigs include sukumawiki (kales), vegetables, cabbages, lucerne, amaranth (terere), avocadoes, pawpaws or even bananas. Hotel leftovers (also called sweal) can be given to pigs but farmers must be very careful because food leftovers may be contaminated; the food can be reboiled (cooked again) to ensure all disease-causing organisms are destroyed before the leftover are given to pigs.
Important: Farmers should use clean maize, not rotten one (maozo). If using omena, the quality should be high. The above formula has the following percentages of nutrients:
Protein- 16.83%
Fat – 5.05%
Fibre-4.43%
Lysine-0.89%.
