Poultry encyclopedia · NEXTEKCI School · Feed raw materials
Sorghum and millet
Sorghum and millet are dry-zone cereals that can replace part of the maize as an energy source. They do not colour the egg yolk or the skin, and some sorghums contain tannins that reduce digestion. Their use is decided in the formula, not by guesswork.
Key facts
- Main role
- Energy, close to maize
- Protein
- A little more than maize, often around 9 to 12%
- Colour
- Does not colour the egg yolk or the skin
- Watch point
- Tannins in some sorghums (often the dark grains)
- Storage
- Dry grain, protected from insects and moulds
What they are
Sorghum and millet are small-grained cereals suited to heat and drought. They are grown mainly in the north of Côte d’Ivoire and in the neighbouring Sahelian countries, often to feed families.
For poultry, they are energy cereals, like maize. Sorghum comes in light-grained and dark-grained (red or brown) varieties; the most common millet is pearl millet.
Their role in the ration
A light-grained, low-tannin sorghum has an energy value close to that of maize, slightly lower. Millet also feeds well and often contains a little more protein than maize. Both can therefore replace part of the maize when it is short.
They contain almost no pigments: a feed in which they replace maize gives paler egg yolks and chickens with lighter skin. This changes nothing in the nutritional value of the egg, but some customers prefer a well-coloured yolk.
The limits
Some sorghums, often the dark-grained ones, are rich in tannins. Tannins protect the plant against birds, but in feed they hinder the digestion of protein and slow growth. A high-tannin sorghum is therefore not worth as much as maize, even weight for weight.
Ground millet goes rancid fairly quickly because of its fat: it is ground when the feed is being made. Very small grains must be ground properly, otherwise part of them passes through undigested.
Quality and storage
Like maize, sorghum and millet must be dry, clean, free of sand and stones, without mouldy grains and without insects. The heads and grains can carry moulds and toxins, including ergot, a fungus that forms black, elongated grains: a batch that contains it is not fed to poultry.
They are stored in bags on pallets, in a dry, ventilated room, and weevils are watched for. An unknown batch is judged on a sample: grain colour, cleanliness, smell.
Common mistakes
Replacing all the maize with sorghum or millet overnight, without redoing the formula: the energy, protein and colour of the feed change, and the flock feels it.
Buying a dark sorghum without knowing whether it is high in tannins, or giving whole, unground grain to young birds. The choice of cereal and its share in the feed is up to the nutritionist or the feed manufacturer.