Feed is one of the most important factors influencing the success of chicken farming. This is due to the biggest production cost in livestock business is feed, which is about 70% of the total cost.
This was revealed by Faculty of Animal Science (FAS) UGM lecturer, Prof. Dr. Ir. Zuprizal, DEA., IPU as a speaker in the Kuliah Gratis Bagimu Petani Kami Mengabdi, Friday (4/10) at the FAS UGM campus.
Zuprizal said, feed can be made by farmers themselves so that the cost of feed can be reduced and ultimately profits increase. “As long as farmers know how to make harmonious feed, namely knowledge about nutrition, the availability of feed raw materials, and the manufacturing process, farmers can produce their own feed,” explained the lecturer at the Animal Feed Science Laboratory.
Explained by Zuprizal, the main composer of food ingredients that can be digested and beneficial to livestock are called nutrients (food substances). The size of the nutrient content in feed ingredients that can be digested and useful will reflect the size of the nutrient value. Nutrient content in food includes protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, and water.
“Conventional feed ingredients for poultry include corn, wheat, cassava/cassava flour, soybean meal, copra meal, etc. Meanwhile, alternative feed ingredients that can be selected are peanut straw, cassava leaves, calliandra flour, blood flour, and so on,” said Zuprizal.
Zuprizal added, it is very important for farmers to pay attention to the management of broiler feed. First, what must be considered is the quality of the feed, the nutrient content and its energy must be fulfilled. Second, drinking water. If drinking water is not available, the chicken will stop eating. The need for drinking water can increase up to two times if the weather is hot. (Nadia)