Rural livestock raising has changed from roughage to concentrate feed (grain). Although concentrated feeds such as corn, barley, sorghum, beans, potatoes, wheat bran, and cakes have high nutritional value, they often contain seed coats, glumes, starch, and some concentrates. The special substances (such as tannins, etc.), inhibition of nutritional factors (such as antitrypsin, prothrombin, etc.) affect the digestion and absorption of their nutrients. Therefore, simple processing and preparation of concentrated feed before feeding can greatly improve digestion and absorption rate. The following describes several modulation methods.
1, crushed and flattened. Various cereal feeds, such as barley, corn, sorghum, etc., must be crushed or flattened before feeding, especially for hard-shelled cereals, this processing is more important. Because these hard-shelled grains are generally not digested in the digestive tract of livestock, many grains will be excreted with the feces, causing waste. If crushed or flattened, not only livestock can be easily chewed, but also the contact area between nutrients in the feed and the digestive juice is increased, the digestibility is improved, and it is also easy to mix with other feeds. The degree of mashing of the feed should be determined according to the type of livestock: cattle and sheep's feed can be broken into 2 millimeters; feed for horses, donkeys and quail can be broken into 4 millimeters. When feeding chickens, they should be ground into pellets, but they should not be too fine.
2, soaked. Soaking can promote the swelling and softening of the solid particles, and improve the digestion and absorption rate. Cement tank or tank can be used for soaking. Generally, the ratio of water to water is 1:2. It is advisable to ooze water droplets with handgrips after foaming. Soaking time should depend on the season and feed type. Hot summer weather, soaking time should be short to prevent feed spoilage.
3, cooking. Applicable to legume feeds, such as soybeans, after cooking, can destroy the anti-trypsin, which helps the digestion and absorption of nutrients. For feeds with high protein content, the cooking time should not be too long. Generally, do not exceed 15 minutes after steaming on the steam. Otherwise, it will cause protein denaturation and reduce the utilization rate.
4, saccharification. The saccharification and fermentation of cereal feeds can convert part of the starch in the feed to maltose and increase its sugar content. The specific method is to add the ground feed to 2 to 25 times more hot water, stir it well, and make the enzymes in the feed work under 55-60 degrees Celsius, and the sugar in the feed after 4 hours. The amount can increase by 8%-10%. If you add 20% barley malt, the saccharification effect is better. Saccharification feeds are mainly used for finishing pigs or piglets.
5, fermentation. Fine feed fermentation is one of the commonly used modulation methods for raising pigs and cattle. It is a functional microbe contained in professional feed starters (such as Kimpo feed starter), which enables the feed to decompose carbohydrates under the proper temperature, humidity, and air conditions to produce lactic acid, acetic acid, ethanol, etc. And slightly acidic fermented feed. After fermentation, feed can improve palatability, increase digestibility and utilization of crude protein, and increase vitamin B content. After fermentation, the concentrate feed has a good effect on the appetite, health, reproduction and feed utilization of livestock.