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Chickens eat a more balanced diet than most people. The animal feed industry does a lot of research into the nutrient requirements of chickens in order to make sure we know how to keep our birds healthy and growing. Qualified nutritionists use a host of available feed ingredients to formulate nutritionally complete feeds that are appropriate for the age of bird they are feeding. The makeup of the feed varies from province to province, and even from region to region, depending on what is most available. Feed mills follow strict guidelines, administered by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), that govern what ingredients can be used.
Many ingredients are available for use in chicken feed. Grains and grain by-products make up the largest portion of the feed. Protein meals and fat, from both plant and animal sources are used to balance the diet for energy and protein. Vitamins and minerals are supplied by concentrated supplements, similar to a multivitamin for humans. Enzymes, purified amino acids, and other feed additives improve productive efficiency through better feed digestion, and reduce the environmental impact of poultry production.
In addition to supplying nutrition to the chicken, feed is also an excellent way to recycle by-products from other industries. Soybean meal, for example, is a by-product of the production of soy oil. Wheat used in feed typically was grown for the human food market, and was downgraded due to poor growing conditions. Products like these that are unsuitable for human consumption and would otherwise be landfilled can be recycled through chicken production.
Hormones and antibiotics
There are no hormones or steroids used in poultry production. In fact, in Canada it is illegal to feed hormones or steroids to chickens.
Antibiotics may be added to chicken feed to protect the health and welfare of the birds. Antibiotics are given to treat the birds when they are sick, and to prevent them from getting sick in the first place. However, antibiotics are not all created equal; they are categorized according to their importance to human medicine. Canadian chicken farmers have eliminated the preventive use of Category I and II antibiotics (the ones most important to human medicine) and are now working on an overall reduction of antibiotic use, with a focus on the preventive use of Category III antimicrobials.
The results of these antimicrobial use reductions have proven successful. And consumers have a part to play as well. Check out this brochure and these videos, to learn more.
