Some farmers decide to mix their own stock feed to reduce their expenses. If you decide to follow this approach, you should take precautions to avoid compromising the quality of the stock feed. Below are several precautions when mixing your own stock feed.

Use different storage facilities

It is important for you to keep the raw materials (grain, for example) away from the place where you keep the stock feed that you have completed mixing. This measure is necessary to avoid the accidental use of only one raw material when someone is taking feeds to your animals. Additionally, some ingredients may only be used when your livestock are in a specific condition, such as when they are recovering from a disease. Placing everything in the same location as the mixed feed poses the risk of someone taking such ingredients with the mixed feed when rations for the day are being taken.

Clean your equipment

You should also pay special attention to the cleanliness of your mixing equipment and any other containers used when preparing the stock feed for your animals. Any feed residues that remain in the mixing equipment can attract microorganisms. These will then cause infections and diseases to affect your animals when you prepare a fresh batch of feed using the contaminated containers.

Create a mixing schedule

Do you have different kinds of animals on your farm? It is advisable for you to designate different days of the week to mix stock feed for those different animals. For example, you can mix feeds for your chickens on Monday and Thursday. Cattle feed can then be mixed on Saturday and Tuesday. Such separation of mixing days reduces the chance that feed ingredients meant for one type of animal will get into the ingredients intended for another type of livestock.

Keep detailed records

Records are very important when you prepare your own stock feed. Those mixing records will help you to investigate any issue that arises. For example, you can review those records if the productivity of your livestock reduces. Analysing the feed ingredient ratios can lead you to identify the presence of an error that led to a fall in production. Adjustments can then be made to fix the problem.

In case you are not sure of anything, seek assistance from a professional. Only then will you be able to provide the needed nutrients without compromising the quality of those feeds.