Definition of Livestock Feed Mixer.
Livestock feed mixers are types of farm machines that are designed to create an adequate combination of feed ingredients for the optimal performance of livestock.
Some of these mixers are mounted to small machines with the aid of a chain or belt or manufactured together with machine-working mechanisms.
Animals require a well-balanced diet to enable them to perform their normal body functions such as growth, development, building of fat, tissues and enzymes formation, eggshell formation, and bone and teeth formation depending on a high-quality mixed balanced diet.
Livestock cannot reach market value within a specific period without adequate feeding. feeding constitutes a larger percentage of the total cost of livestock production. A lot of capital is invested in buying and importing feed.
These imported feeds may not meet the nutrient requirements of the livestock as a lot of extra money is also spent on purchasing supplementary feeds.
Formulating feed with the aid of feed mixers is the best choice. There are different types of animal feed mixers depending on the scale of production.
Some feed mixers can be operated manually and electronically depending on the types and nature of scale production.
Whatever model is purchased, it should be able to give a homogeneous mixture of feed ingredients efficiently and effectively.
These mixers exist in different types or models which could be large and small, depending on the choice and resources available to the herders or the ranchers.
The discoveries of the animal feed machine have brought a revolution in the poultry industry as grains or concentrate can be ground and blended to give high-quality nutrients to livestock.
Importance of Livestock Feed Mixers
Farm animal feed mixers are necessary for blending homogenously rich feed for livestock. Farm animals such as cattle, goats, sheep (ruminants), pigs, poultry, and fish (non-ruminants) need a well-mixed balanced nutrient for survival.
Some of the benefits of these types of mixers are:
- Blending Nutritious Feed for livestock: The mixture of protein, vitamins, fat oil, and mineral sources of food provides the livestock with all the good nutrients required for normal growth. Food sources such as soybean grain, groundnut cake, palm oil, oyster shell, bone meal, and vitamin additives can be blended with the help of these mixers to produce a well-mixed feed for livestock. The nutrient requirement for the livestock varies from one farm animal to another. The nutritional requirement for goats is quite different for cattle or poultry. Cattle require a good amount of adequate food for milk, work, and meat production. Therefore, a good proportion of nutrient combinations will provide the right amount of nutrient elements for livestock growth and development.
- Reduce drudgery: the uses of high-technology feed mixers help to reduce the drudgery of the use of manual labor in grinding and mixing feed for livestock. It takes a lot of energy to manually grind and mix food stuff appropriately, but with the aid of feed mixers large quantity of feed can be mixed within a short time. The uses of these highly technology-manufactured livestock feed mixers are very efficient and effective in blending feed ingredients. More so, manual labor cannot mix feed ingredients thoroughly like the technology-enabled feed mixers. A lot of energy is needed to sort this vital source of feed, and ground and mix them properly. However, the presence of this machine has made livestock feed available within a short time when compared to manual labor.
- Cost reduction: the cost of buying and importing feeds will be reduced with the use of sound technology feed mixers. Formulating feed with the use of mixers enables the herder or the rancher to make use of the available nutrient-rich feed. Feeds that are self-mixed and compounded are rich in nutrient guarantees compared to the market-sourced feed. Some of the already compounded feed in the market may not supply the needed nutrient requirements for the animal which may lead to nutritional deficiency in the animals. The resultant effect of nutrient deficiency in livestock will be reduced growth (stunted growth), poor egg and meat production, and poor quality of hide and skin which have drastic effects on the management of livestock. Animal feed mixers have been proven with the capacity to blend nutrient-rich feed within a short time and reduce the amount of laborers to be employed in the mixture of livestock.
- It saves Time and Quicken the Availability of Quality livestock Feed: the use of these feed processing farm machines helps to save time and make livestock feed available within a short time. The farm animal feed mixer makes the formulated feed available on time compared to the time taken to go and source feed in the market
- Increase Farmers’ Revenue: formulation of feed with the aid of feed mixers helps to reduce the cost of production, thereby increasing the farmers’ income. Formulation of adequate feed with the help of livestock feed mixers could help the ranchers and herders to compound nutrient-rich feed that will help the livestock reach market weight within a short time, increase milk, hide, and wool formation, and boost immunity against disease attack. These will help the ranchers or the herders to spend less income on the importation or purchasing feeds, buying supplementary or additive feed and drugs.
Feature of the Modern Livestock Feed Mixers
As technology evolves more discoveries are made about the most efficient and effective ways to improve livestock mixers that will suit the needs of the users.
Many of the mixers are integrated with multipurpose while others have their capacity increase to handle various feed mixing capacities.
Modern features have also been built to increase efficiency and suit commercial usage. Some of the modern features of these feed mixers are:
- Sizes: modern livestock mixers are available in different sizes to suit production purposes. There are portable, mobile mixers, and small, medium, and scale livestock mixers depending on the nature and scale of production.
- Multipurpose Mixers: the need to have one purposed mixer has evolved, instead of having different types of mixers for different purposes. For instance, advancement in technology has led to the development of multipurpose mixers like batch and continuous mixers to create a homogeneous mixture of feed ingredients.
- High Capacity: high power animal feed mixer have been developed with a high inbuilt capacity system to handle the mixture of various categories of feed ingredients. These mixers are very efficient and effective in the homogenous blending of feed ingredients due to their high capacity.
- Improved Control System: unlike the traditional livestock feed mixers that do not have an accurate control system of feed blending texture. Modern livestock mixers have an improved feed control system that allows the users to adjust and determine the nature of the texture and quality feed mixture.
- Environmental Friendly Mixers: traditional feed mixers discharge a lot of carbon which contributes to global warming, but modern mixers are designed with eco-friendly systems that reduce carbon emission, thereby promoting a sustainable environment.
- Energy Efficient: modern mixers are designed with technology that is energy efficient. They consume less energy compared to the traditional mixers which consume a lot of energy. Due to less energy consumption, a limited amount of capital is invested in fuel, diesel, and electricity for the electronic-operated feed mixers.
- Design with Durable and Galvanized Steel: highly technology feed mixers are designed with durable material that can withstand feed processing for a long period. These galvanized materials prevent corrosion and rusting thereby increasing the lifespans of the mixers. The washing and cleaning of these mixers are very easy since they are designed with stainless steel.
- Inbuilt Control Software: there is a lot of built-in software on the modern livestock mixer. Software that allows the use of remote control, and digital sensor that will enable the users to control and monitor the operation of the livestock feed mixer from a distance.
- Inbuilt Safety System: unlike the traditional livestock mixers, the highly technology modern mixers have an inbuilt safety system that ensures the safety of the mixers. They are built with a well-installed precision device to turn off when grinding and mixture are completed to prevent overworking and damage respectively.
Types of Livestock Feed Mixers
There are various types of feed mixers designed to suit the needs of the users or the nature of production. The most commonly used animal feed mixers in the livestock processing industries as noted by Ndeco: and J.r boone:
The maintenance, advantages, and disadvantages of each type of feed mixer are explained in detail in the following subheading.
“In conclusion.”
livestock feeds used for ruminates are fast changing from forages to well-blended forages with concentrate to give a balanced diet for the growth and development of livestock.
Well-blended feeds can be achieved with the use of modern feed mixers. Some of these mixers as discussed above are batch mixers, continuous mixers, pellet-making mixers, hammer mixers, and more to achieve a homogenous mixture of feed for animals.