Top Ingredients Used In Livestock Feed

The importance of nutritional components in livestock feed cannot be emphasized enough. It is essential to make judicious use of ingredients in feed in order to provide required nutrients to the livestock.

Featured below are top ingredients commonly used in livestock feed. Check out:

1. Maize /Corn grits are a good source of energy. They are a vital ingredient in livestock feed. Nowadays, Cassava grits, which are a non-cereal source, are also used as an ingredient in feed due to low-availability of maize grits.

1. Wheat Offals, which are obtained from the husk of the wheat grain are used as binding agents in feed compounding. They are rich in carbohydrates and proteins.
2. Protein is another vital component that facilitates body repairs, tissue synthesis for growth, and reproductive processes (e.g. egg formation). The deficiency of protein in livestock can lead to poor growth, improper feathering in poultry etc. Soybean is a widely used as a protein source in animal feed manufacturing.
3. Legumes such as peas, beans, and lupins are also used as a source of protein. They can yield high levels of crude protein but have low lysine and sulphur-containing amino acids.
4. Palm Kernel Cake (PKC) is another ingredient used instead of legumes. They have higher fibre content but aids in low digestibility, so they are used in moderate amounts, in combination with other less limited sources.
5. Amino acids Methionine and Lysine are widely used a commercial feedstock, which eliminates the need to use animal proteins. Both amino acids have greater nutritional importance. Lysine aids growth in chicks while Methionine reduces mortality, cannibalism and boost egg size.
6. Macrominerals – CaP. KS NaClmg enables skeletal tissue development, metabolism, respiration and normal reproduction. Deficiencies of these minerals reduce egg production in poultry and are also known to expose birds to risk of cannibalism. These macro minerals are found in cottonseed, distillers’ grains, molasses, oyster shells etc.
7. Vitamins are organic compounds that are not synthesized in the body. However, every living being requires them in small amounts as coenzymes or regulators of metabolism. Vitamins such as Vitamin A, B, C, K, and D are added to feed in synthetic form. Trace minerals (Niacin, Biotin, Iron, Zinc, Copper, Iodine etc) are added synthetically to the feed as needed by the animals.
8. Carotene, animal body oils (codfish and tuna), legume forages are all good sources of vitamin A. Vitamin B sources – cereal grains, wheat germ oil, green forages, protein concentrates, oilseeds. Vitamin C – citrus fruits, leafy vegetables, and potatoes. Vitamin D -Sun-cured hays, forage crops, irradiated yeast. Vitamin K - green leafy vegetables, soybeans, rumen etc.
9. Common Salt is also an important ingredient added to the feed in a fixed proportion for better health and physiological development of livestock.