Feed Mill

For both commercial farms and backyard hobbyists, feed mills are a necessity of life. Feed mills are able to consistently produce quality feed for our animals with the nutrition they need. But what actually occurs in a feed mill?

L A Hearne has been our source of feed for over 30 years and we were recently invited for a tour of their mill located in King City, California. Their manager, Mike Hearne, was very enthusiastic about showing us around, starting with the outside of the mill.

Marc Metzer on left, Mike Hearne on right

Every Thursday a train car rolls in with a delivery of corn which is emptied into a vent under the rails. The corn is then transferred to their grain storage building which contains different kinds of grain including corn, oats, barley, and rice.

Train car that carries the feed.

The mill caters to hundreds of customers including feed stores and other commercial growers, all with different feed needs for different animals ranging from our ducks, to horses, to rabbits! The feed is usually sold in bulk to commercial customers and put in 20, 50 and 80 pound bags for their feed store customers. All our feed is delivered in bulk - meaning it is augered directly from the feed truck into our feed tanks, and each truck has 24 tons of feed.

Feed truck delivering feed to our farm!

Bag for rabbit feed!

Some of the grain storage.

Determining what grain and additives to use and in what quantities in a feed ration is a fairly complex process with several factors needed to be taken into consideration. We will cover this in another post in the future.

Feed is made in batches of two tons. Prior to being ground and mixed, all the grains are sent through a sifter to remove any broken pieces of grain and any contaminates. The sifted grains are then sent into a grinder in preparation to be turned into pellets. Different vitamins and minerals are placed in bags beforehand, ready to be mixed into the ground grains. We were lucky to be visiting that day as they were mixing our feed!

Mixer in the floor mixing ground grains.

Vitamins and minerals going into our feed!

Mike showing Marc the mixer.

The complete, ground ration is called a mash. For some chicken and swine feed, this is the product’s final form. For others, the mash is flash steamed to increase the temperature and then, pushed through a pellet die, kind of like frosting through a piping tip. As the ropes of feed emerges from the die a knife cuts it into pellets of the desired length. By flash steaming the feed, all of the bacteria is destroyed, leaving a clean food source.

Pellet die prepped.

Feed being pushed through the die and forming pellets.

The pellets are then sent through a dryer to remove any leftover moisture, preventing mold. For more information on mash, pellets, and crumble feed, take a look at our post on the different forms of feed.

The final product is then packaged and shipped to customers and feed stores.

Mike manning the sewing machine.

Bag of feed heading for the shipping dock.

Thank you LA Hearne for a tour of your mill! Keep up the good work and see you next week!

Getting Ready for Your Ducklings and Goslings: Other Items to Consider

Welcome back to our series of posts to help you get ready BEFORE your ducklings and goslings arrive!

To read our post on the brooder and bedding, go to Getting Ready for Your Ducklings and Goslings: Brooder and Bedding.

To read our post on water and waterers, go to Getting Ready for Your Ducklings and Goslings: Water and Waterer.

To read our post on feed and feeders, go to Getting Ready for Your Ducklings and Goslings: Feed and Feeder.

 

To read our post on heating, go to Getting Ready for Your Ducklings and Goslings: Heating.

Listed below are items that are not necessary, but are good things to have on hand for when your ducklings and goslings arrive.

Vitamin Packs and Electrolytes

When your ducklings and goslings arrive, they may have been on a rough trip. A vitamin/mineral pack mixed into the water gives them the vitamins and minerals they need for a quicker recovery. Pedialyte is an excellent alternative as it is designed to provide not only the necessary vitamins and minerals but also the necessary sugars and electrolytes. Do not worry about the amount as they can't have too much if you mix it correctly.

Pedialyte

Vitamin Pack

 A vitamin pack is also our go-to whenever there are issues that crop up with the ducklings or goslings, so having one on hand is a good safety net.

Sugar

I know what you're thinking.

Are you suggesting giving sugar to an animal?

Why are you suggesting giving sugar to an animal?

In the past we have suggested adding a small amount of sugar to water, just to help perk them up a bit. We ran an experiment a few years ago, however, and found that those that did not have sugar water actually did better.

However, there are several customers with whom we have spoken, including those that breed and raise birds, and sugar works like a charm for them. Take from that what you will.

If you decide to give them sugar, keep it to a minimum. We suggest about 1/4 cup or less to a quart of water.

Hardboiled Egg

Boil an egg, let it cool, chop it up, and let them at it. The vitamins and minerals in the yolk is what they really need. Chicken eggs are just fine if that is what you have on hand.