(VAN) A free mobile app for chicken farmers claims to make optimal poultry nutrition easier, while also helping farmers save money and improve profits.

Many poultry farmers mix their chicken feed themselves due to rising commercial feed costs and limited supply of certain grains. However, it is important to achieve the correct balance of nutrients.

A new FeedMixer App, which has been designed by poultry nutrition experts at the Department of Poultry Science at the University of Georgia in the US and funded by the World Poultry Foundation, aims to address this challenge.

“When feeding birds, it’s about nutrients, not just quantity of feed. With the right feed mix, they will be healthier and more productive,” says Maureen Stickel, director of International Program Development at the World Poultry Foundation.

She adds: “The FeedMixer app guides farmers on feed mixes for layers, broilers, and dual-purpose birds at various ages. We specifically worked to include a large library of feed ingredients, with their nutritional values, to guide farmers.”

Using available ingredients
Those who wish to use the app would simply click on the type of chickens they are feeding, and select the ingredients they have available to them, in the proportions they intend to blend. The app will indicate whether their chosen mix delivers adequate energy, protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals to nourish the birds without wastage. Users can also input the cost of the ingredients they use to calculate whether their feed mix is cost effective.

Prof Sean Chen, assistant professor/extension specialist at the Department of Poultry Science at the University of Georgia: “The FeedMixer app is designed for ease of use by people with a basic poultry background – including backyard and emerging chicken farmers. With the app, we are trying to make it simple for farmers to use local ingredients to formulate a diet that meets basic poultry nutrition requirements and achieve their basic production goals.”

HD
(PW)