Feb 28, 2025
Zoe Chicken farming is a traditional and widely practiced industry. To reduce production costs, consider making your own chicken feed. Homemade chicken feed pellets not only lower the expense of purchasing commercial feed but also enable you to create a more balanced and nutritious diet tailored to your chickens' needs.
This article will explore the feasibility of making homemade chicken feed pellets using a feed pellet machine from four perspectives: the raw materials and formulas for homemade chicken feed pellets, the production process of homemade chicken feed pellets, the precautions for making chicken feed pellets, and the advantages of pellet feed.
Raw Materials and Formulas for Homemade Chicken Feed Pellets
The first and most important step in making homemade chicken feed pellets is to understand the raw materials and formulas. This knowledge will greatly facilitate the production process.
Raw Materials for Homemade Chicken Feed Pellets
Many ingredients can be used to make chicken feed pellets, such as oats, barley, wheat, peas, fishmeal, oilseed meal, crab meal, seaweed, flaxseed, salt, limestone, and alfalfa pellets for grinding. These ingredients are both affordable and easy to source.
Formulas for Homemade Chicken Feed
Below are some formulas suitable for different breeds of chickens.
Broiler Chick Starter Feed Formula:
| Ingredient | Formula 1 | Formula 2 | Formula 3 |
| Corn (%) | 55.3 | 54.2 | 55.2 |
| Soybean Meal (%) | 38 | 34 | 32 |
| Vegetable Meal (%) | - | 5 | - |
| Fish Meal (%) | - | - | 2 |
| Canola Meal (%) | - | - | 4 |
| Dicalcium Phosphate (%) | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Limestone (%) | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Salt (%) | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Oil (%) | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Additives (%) | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Broiler Grower Feed Formula:
| Ingredient | Formula 1 | Formula 2 | Formula 3 |
| Corn (%) | 58.2 | 57.2 | 57.7 |
| Soybean Meal (%) | 35 | 31.5 | 27 |
| Vegetable Powder (%) | - | 5 | 4 |
| Fish Meal (%) | - | - | 2 |
| Dicalcium Phosphate (%) | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.3 |
| Limestone (%) | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.2 |
| Salt (%) | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Oil (%) | 3 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Additives (%) | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Broiler Finisher Feed Formula:
| Ingredient | Formula 1 | Formula 2 | Formula 3 |
| Corn (%) | 60.2 | 59.2 | 60.7 |
| Wheat Bran (%) | 3 | 2 | - |
| Soybean Meal (%) | 30 | 22.5 | 21 |
| Vegetable Meal (%) | - | 9.5 | 4.5 |
| Fish Meal (%) | - | - | 2 |
| Canola Meal (%) | - | - | 4.5 |
| Cottonseed Meal (%) | - | - | 5 |
| Dicalcium Phosphate (%) | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 |
| Limestone (%) | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.2 |
| Salt (%) | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Oil (%) | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Additives (%) | 1 | 1 | 1 |
（Adding 5-10% glucose or sucrose to the drinking water before feeding broiler chicks helps promote their recovery and growth.）
Layer Chick Starter Feed Formula:
| Ingredient | Formula 1 | Formula 2 |
| Corn (%) | 62 | 60 |
| Bran (%) | 10 | 10 |
| Soybean Meal (%) | 17 | 22 |
| Fish Meal (%) | 9 | 6 |
| Bone Meal (%) | 2 | 2 |
Layer Grower Feed Formula:
| Ingredient | Formula 1 | Formula 2 |
| Corn (%) | 55 | 66 |
| Bran (%) | 20 | - |
| Soybean Meal (%) | 7 | 18 |
| Cottonseed Cake (%) | 5 | - |
| Canola Cake (%) | 5 | - |
| Fish Meal (%) | 5 | 3 |
| Bone Meal (%) | 2 | 1.5 |
| Shell Powder (%) | 1 | - |
| Salt (%) | - | 0.5 |
Layer Laying Feed Formula:
| Ingredient | Formula 1 | Formula 2 |
| Corn (%) | 56 | 68 |
| Bran (%) | 6 | 6 |
| Soybean Meal (%) | 17 | 8 |
| Fish Meal (%) | 5 | 10 |
| Shell Powder (%) | 3 | 6 |
| Crushed Stone (%) | 3 | - |
| Miscellaneous Grains (%) | 10 | - |
| Salt (%) | 0.4 | - |
| Methionine (%) | 0.1 | - |
Chickens have different nutritional needs at various stages of growth. Scientifically combining ingredients based on these needs is essential for ensuring healthy growth.
Production Process for Homemade Chicken Feed Pellets
When producing chicken feed pellets with a pellet mill, there are four essential steps to follow.
1. Selecting the Right Raw Materials
It is essential to choose ingredients that can provide comprehensive nutrition and add the right supplements. Additionally, the proportion of each ingredient should be strictly controlled as it directly impacts the shelf life of the pellets.
2. Crushing and Mixing the Raw Materials
The pellet machine’s crushing system grinds large ingredients into smaller pieces, which are then mixed according to the chosen feed formula.
3. Pelletizing Process
The mixed ingredients are placed into the feed pellet machine, where they are pressed into pellets under pressure. To make the pellets easier to form, a certain amount of water can be added before the raw materials enter the pellet machine.
| Pellets Diameter | Target Poultry |
| 2.5mm | Chicks (0-4 weeks) |
| 4mm | Growers (5-20 weeks) |
| 6mm | Layers/Broilers (>20 weeks) |
4. Cooling and Storing the Pellets
After pelletizing, the pellets need to be cooled to room temperature to prevent mold or deterioration during storage. If you need to store the pellets for a long period, ensure the temperature stays no more than 5°C above room temperature, and the moisture content remains between 12%-13%.
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Precautions for Making Chicken Feed Pellets
If you want to raise healthier and stronger chickens, there are several key factors to consider when formulating chicken feed.
Calculate Nutritional Needs Based on Actual Conditions
As mentioned earlier, different types of chickens have different nutritional needs at various stages of growth. When making chicken feed pellets, you should calculate nutritional needs based on specific conditions and select ingredients accordingly. This will help maximize the efficiency of the feed pellets.
Choose the Right Feed Additives
To enhance the nutritional value of the feed pellets, you can add supplements such as vitamins, amino acids, minerals, and antioxidants according to the chicken’s needs, mixing them in the appropriate proportions.
Maintain Formula Consistency
Layer chickens and chicks are particularly sensitive to changes in their diet. Therefore, it is best not to change the feed formula frequently. When changing formulas, chickens should be given a transition period of about seven days to gradually adapt to the new diet.
Advantages of Pellet Feed
Compared to traditional chicken feed, pellet feed offers four main advantages.
Easy to Store and Transport
Pelletized feed is compact, moderately hard, and has a smooth surface, making it easier to store and transport compared to regular feed.
Increased Feed Utilization and Absorption
Chickens like pecking at hard objects, so feeding them pellets can significantly increase their feeding rate. The feed utilization rate can reach up to 95%, effectively reducing waste. Furthermore, since pellets are hard, chickens need to chew more times, making digestion and absorption easier.
More Balanced and Comprehensive Nutrition
Chicken feed pellets are tailored to the different needs of chickens at various growth stages, ensuring more balanced and comprehensive nutrition. This is something that cannot be achieved with other feeding methods.
Low Production Cost
The raw materials for making chicken feed pellets are common and easy to obtain, and the production process is relatively simple, meaning most farmers can master it. With the advent and popularization of feed pellet machines, the process has become more efficient and economical. The low cost of investment and high returns make it an ideal choice for poultry feed production.
Using a feed pellet machine to produce chicken feed pellets is highly feasible. These machines can also be used to create feed for other livestock, such as sheep, cattle, pigs, ducks, and geese. By using pellet machines, farmers can better understand how different ingredients impact animal health, making this method a profitable and sustainable investment.