By Antynet Ford

Farmers losing their animals to diseases and death after feeding them on low-quality feeds pushed Busia feed producer Enos Kaburu to get trained in proper feed formulation so that he could meet market demand with higher-quality rations.

“Many people lack that knowledge, and you’ll find that the results lead to farmers losing their animals, branding every small animal feed producer as fake. I went for training to learn how to formulate feeds to help me curb all this. I know what’s required for chick mash, cows, pigs, and many more animals,” said Enos of Kaburu Animal Farm.

The market had become crowded with small producers, many of them using excessive fillers such as bran, which make the feeds cheap but leave animals starved of energy, protein, and minerals, he said. 

“The market has been very competitive because everyone wants to produce and sell feeds. What makes you sell is how unique you are, and if you are offering solutions to problems raised by farmers. A lot of conmen are working in this field. Many of them will not put concentrates, boosters, and all the other required components for the animals,” said Enos.

The danger of too much bran is one of the biggest problems for farmers.

Bran is cheap and widely used in animal feeds, but it must be limited. It is high in fibre, low in energy, and low in digestible protein compared to grains or oilseed meals. 

For chickens, the maximum safe proportion of bran is 10 to 15 per cent. Pigs can tolerate 15 per cent in growers and up to 20 to 25 per cent in breeding sows, while cattle can take up to 30 to 40 per cent.

Exceeding those levels is dangerous. 

In chickens, too much bran causes starvation-type deaths, because they eat but cannot extract enough nutrients. It also leads to loose droppings or gut blockage. In pigs, high bran levels cause stunting and weakness, diarrhoea in piglets, and reproductive problems in sows. Cattle can cope with more fibre, but too much bran causes energy deficiency, poor milk yield, and mineral imbalance. Wheat bran, in particular, is high in phosphorus and low in calcium. This imbalance can cause bone disease, milk fever, urinary stones, and even death if not corrected.

Chicken farmer Lilian Musilo from Ruiru has seen these dangers first-hand. “Quality always matters for any farmer any day. When they give their animals feed that lacks vitamins, proteins, and minerals, they don’t grow. They will always have stunted growth because, just like human beings, for you to grow well, you’ll need a balanced diet,” she said. 

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“When I started rearing chickens, I always failed because I was new to the game. For two years, I suffered before knowing what to do. I was feeding the chicken feeds from one company to the other because I sensed that the problem began with the feeds,” said Lilian.

But feeds need balancing with protein sources.

To make feeds nutritious, Enos now adds high-protein oilseed cakes to balance the bran. “For example, if you have used 50 per cent of maize bran, what are you adding in terms of percentage for fibre, which percentage of sunflower and soya are you putting? I will at times add 20 per cent soya and 10 per cent sunflower,” he said.

Oilseed cakes such as soya, sunflower, cottonseed, and groundnut add 25 to 45 per cent protein, residual oil for energy, and essential amino acids like lysine and methionine. This corrects the deficiencies of bran-heavy feeds and ensures faster, healthier growth. “If it’s feeds for cows, they’ll be consistent in their milk production. Broilers grow within 4–6 weeks when fed on quality feeds. A farmer will always tell by the growth of his or her animals. Poor quality feeds lead to stunted growth,” said Enos.

Lilian confirmed the difference once she switched to properly formulated feeds. “They were taking almost half a year to grow for them to meet the market standards, but after realising the required feeds, they mature as fast as three months or at most four. They’ll always have the right kilograms, and my customers are happy,” she said.

To spot poor-quality feeds, Enos said farmers can check their look, smell, and feel. Excessive powdery bran indicates fillers. Dusty, light feeds show adulteration. Fresh feeds smell nutty, while poor-quality ones have a chemical smell. Over-represented colours — light brown from soya, dark from sunflower, or light from maize bran — signal imbalance. Farmers who cannot judge themselves should involve extension officers.

Lilian also noticed the difference when buying from cheap suppliers. “Anytime you see chicken feeding on something you don’t know, they will always have been infected with toxins because of where the feed had been stored before they were sold to you. Before realising the proper feeds, my chicks died a lot. I started with fifty chicks, and I was losing almost half of them to diseases,” she said. With quality feeds, losses dropped sharply. “When I realised the problem is feeds, it changed because now even if they die, it’s not like it was in the past because of the feeds,” she said.

Both Enos and Lilian agree that good formulation is more expensive but prevents devastating losses. “For others, the 70kg pack goes for Sh2800. For the quality feeds, the 50kg pack, which is always the maximum pack, goes for Sh4000 for the broilers and Sh3500 for the chicks. For a farmer, their happiness is the chicks growing fast and not being attacked by diseases,” said Lilian.

“The market has been very competitive,” added Enos, “but what makes you sell is if you are offering solutions to problems raised by farmers.”