₦airaland Forum

Most poultry farmers believe one thing:
“Commercial and professionally produced feeds are the best.”
That belief alone has made many farmers lose money silently.
Here is the uncomfortable truth 👇
1️⃣ Protein percentage does NOT determine feed quality
Two feeds can both be 22% crude protein:
One grows birds faster
The other wastes money
Why?
Because birds do not grow on crude protein.
They grow on balanced digestible amino acids.
Excess protein:
Is wasted
Produces wet droppings
Increases feed cost
Does NOT improve growth
This is why some lower-protein feeds outperform higher-protein feeds.
2️⃣ Energy controls everything, not protein
Birds eat for energy, not for protein.
If energy is low:
Birds overeat
Feed conversion becomes poor
Cost of production increases
If energy is well balanced:
Birds eat less
Growth improves
Feed efficiency improves
Any feed with poor energy balance is already a loss — no matter the protein level.
3️⃣ Commercial feeds are not magic formulas
Most farmers don’t know this:
Commercial feed companies:
Reformulate feeds regularly
Change ingredients based on market price
Optimize profit first, not farmers’ cost
Same brand ≠ same formula ≠ same nutrient balance.
If companies can reformulate freely, why can’t farmers learn to do it themselves?
4️⃣ Feed formulation is not chemistry — it is logic and mathematics
Feed formulation is based on only five core things:
Metabolizable energy (ME)
Digestible amino acids (lysine, methionine, threonine, etc.)
Calcium and phosphorus balance
Electrolyte balance (Na, Cl, K)
Ingredient quality and digestibility
Everything else is secondary.
This means:
Anyone who understands these can formulate excellent feeds.
5️⃣ Cheap ingredients are not bad — poor balancing is the problem
Maize is not compulsory
Soya is not compulsory
Fish meal is not compulsory
What is compulsory:
Correct nutrient levels
Proper digestibility
Correct ratios
When cheap local ingredients are properly processed and balanced, they can outperform expensive ingredients.
6️⃣ Bag price is a lie — cost per kg gain is the truth
A ₦9,000 feed with poor feed conversion is more expensive than a ₦12,000 feed with good conversion.
Smart farmers calculate:
Cost per kg of meat
Cost per crate of eggs
Not bag price.
7️⃣ The biggest secret: YOU CAN SAVE AT LEAST ₦6,000 PER 25KG BAG
With proper formulation using:
Locally available ingredients
Correct amino acid balancing
Proper energy formulation
Farmers can guarantee a minimum saving of ₦6,000 per 25kg bag compared to many commercial feeds.
And the shocking part?
➡️ The feeds are:
Richer in nutrients
More balanced
Better matched to bird requirements
More consistent than many commercial feeds
This is not guesswork.
It is nutrition logic.
8️⃣ Copying formulas is not knowledge
True feed formulation is not about copying someone’s recipe.
It is about understanding:
Why an ingredient is there
What happens when prices change
How to substitute without reducing performance
FINAL TRUTH
Birds do not eat:
Maize
Soya
Protein percentage
Birds eat:
Energy, amino acids, minerals, and balance
Once a farmer understands this, commercial feeds lose their “mystery”.
Learn feed formulation once — save money for life.
Think like a bird, not like a bag buyer.
WhatsApp:09070898981

A well formulated feed is nutritionally superior to any knowncommercially produced feeds, especially in:
Amino acid balance
Mineral bioavailability
Feed efficiency potential
Cost-to-performance ratio
Expected birds performance (body weight,uniformity,feed conversion, skeletal frame strength,later egg production persistence,egg shell quality at lay, feed to meat conversion rate in broilers)
Amino acid based formulation
Precision nutrition etc

Commercial feeds win mainly on:
Consistency
Brand trust
Convenience

WhatsApp:09070898981