The majority of poultry keepers nowadays tend to use complete feeds that come in the form of pellets or meal, that have been specially formulated to meet the nutritional requirements of the bird for each stage of its life. Complete feeds have the advantage that they are easy to use, have a consistent nutritional quality and are fully balanced.

All feeds are made up of the following components: energy, protein, fat, fibre, vitamins, minerals and water. This month we are looking at energy in the diet.

Energy is required for maintenance of all bodily systems as well as for production be it eggs or growth. If too much energy is supplied by the diet, just like us birds will gain too much weight which can be undesirable. The amount of energy found in different ingredients can vary enormously, for example fibrous ingredients tend to be low in energy whereas oils and fats are very energy dense.

Metabolisable energy (ME) is the term used to describe the energy available to the bird. ME is the digestible energy after energy lost to droppings has been subtracted from it, however some further energy will be lost to heat production and in practice the amount of energy the bird uses will be slightly less than the ME. Energy is measured in megajoules per kilogram, one megajoule being equal to 240 kcal (kilocalories).

Protein for Poultry and Waterfowl.

Protein is essential to all poultry and waterfowl for growth and development, repair and maintenance of tissues such as feathers, skin and muscles and also for the production of eggs.

Protein is made up of amino acids some of which are classed as essential, that is they cannot be synthesised, or cannot be synthesised quickly enough by the bird and must be provided in the diet. Whereas non essential amino acids can be synthesised by the bird themselves. Of the essential amino acids lysine and methionine are the two most significant and deficiencies of these amino acids can lead to a reduction in productivity. The amount of protein each bird requires will depend very much on its age, breed and use, for example young chicks need a relatively high protein level for rapid growth, in contrast adult cockerels will have a lower protein requirement.

The ingredients used in a sack of poultry feed will be carefully selected to provide a balanced ration, for example soya is a good source of protein while cereals such as wheat tend to be lower in protein and by using a variety of ingredients this ensures that the protein requirements of the bird are met.