Quality control: particle size, homogeneity, mycotoxins, hygiene of the workshop
A feed manufacturer has a laboratory; a farm has two sieves, a bucket, a scale, a sheet of paper and its eyes. That is enough, provided you check every batch, and not only when the flock is doing badly. This lesson gives the four checks a farm workshop can do itself: the fineness of the feed (particle size), the quality of the mix (homogeneity), the presence of moulds and their poisons (mycotoxins), and the cleanliness of the building. Each with its method, its benchmark figures and its sheet. A checked feed is not necessarily perfect; but an unchecked feed is a lottery played with the flock.
14 min read · 5-question quiz at the end
By Abdul Hussein ChoumanFounder of NEXTEKCI · Agnibilékrou hatchery since 2006This lesson is part of Level 11 — Making feed on the farm. It opens to registered students who have passed the level 10 exam. Levels 1 to 5 and the tracks remain readable by everyone.
- ✓Measure the particle size of a feed with two sieves and read the result according to the birds' age
- ✓Test the homogeneity of a batch with the coloured grain method and conclude on the mix
- ✓Explain what mycotoxins are, how they get into feed, what is observed on the birds and how they are prevented
- ✓Keep up the hygiene of the workshop, the mass balance and the control sheet of each batch