Comprehensive Fish Feed Production Guide

Feed Production Process As you have learned about basics of fish nutrition with tilapia fish as an example species, now you should be ready to explore the different processes which are involved in the production of fish feed. In this episode, you will learn about these processes one by one. So let's dive in. These are the different steps. which you will learn processing of ingredients grinding of ingredients mixing of ingredients micro ingredients mixing or pre-mix mixing conditioning pelleting extrusion drying and packaging before we start going into the details of different steps of fish feed production Make sure that the ingredients you are going to use to produce feed are clean, hygienic and safe to use. It is important that you make sure that any of the ingredients you are going to use don't have any apparent issue. For example, fungus or mold. They should also not be too old to use. If they have been in the storage for long time, it is good that you evaluate them carefully. and always remember to check or any expiry dates on the packages for more on quality aspects please check the previous episode of this series you should also pay attention to the moisture level of the ingredients before you are going into the next steps because it may bring difficulties later for example in grinding and mixing process now When you are sure about the status of the quality of ingredients and satisfied with the overall condition of the ingredients, it is time to weigh them. Weighing of the fish feed ingredients. Weigh all the ingredients which you are going to use in your formulation or recipe one by one and make a list with the name of the ingredients and their weights. Please also remember to label the ingredients because it is very easy to forget and make errors. This will help you avoid redoing the things later. Grinding. Typically, if you are producing feed at small scale, you may have to grind all the ingredients by yourself. In some cases, however, you might be able to arrange the pre-grinded ingredients. So let's say you have to grind the ingredients by yourself. Make sure that you grind all the ingredients uniformly. For example, if you are using wheat and corn together in one formulation, grind both ingredients at the same particle size such as 0.5 to 1 millimeter size for proper mixing in the next step. Usually at the industrial scale, the mixing is done either by hammer mill or roller mill after you have grinded each ingredient and put them in their bags next step is mixing them and converting them into a mix which we will from now on refer as feed mix mixing of ingredients depending on what type of technology you are using the mixing time for ingredients will differ if you are doing mixing On a smaller scale and using kitchen mixer, make sure to mix the ingredients properly, for example for 10 to 15 minutes. Here again, the goal of mixing should be to have uniform and even mixing. At industrial scale where the mixers like barrel mixers are used, the time for mixing is much shorter and we can obtain more homogenized mix. So it is very important to keep in mind to pay attention to uniform and homogenized mix to work further on in the next steps. In case you are going to add oil in the mixing process, as this is what you are going to do to prepare the tilapia feed batch at the smaller scale. It is recommended that you add the oil in the feed mix slowly while mixing and making sure that it is evenly distributed across the feed mix. If you observe closely, you will see that the feed mix has changed its color to darker color. After that, you can add the other ingredients. This spread of overall change in color will give you the idea if the mixing oil has been uniform or not. Pre-mix mixing. What is pre-mix? Pre-mix is the mix of ingredients with small quantities in the form of the mix, such as vitamins, minerals, or ingredients like big mix or other ingredients. This premix is what you are going to add in the feed mix you have prepared in the previous step. In case you don't have this premix and you must mix these ingredients by yourself, you have to make sure that you do this accurately. Please pay attention to the loss of ingredients during mixing as these ingredients are in small quantity. It is recommended that you add 10% extra of these micro ingredients to be on the safe side for proper mixing and availability in your main feed mix. Conditioning As the name suggests, the conditioning is the process where you condition your feed mix by making it more homogenized with the help of high temperature and moisture. This process is done by the equipment called conditioner. The feed mix is treated with high temperature such as with temperature ranging from 70 degree to 90 degree Celsius. The microorganisms which are might be present in your feed mix are mostly destroyed successfully through this high temperature treatment. The moisture is added in the feed mix in the form of steam. In other words, you may have hot steam which is added in the feed mix inside the conditioner. Now you have perfect feed mix which is ready to be used into fish feed pellets in the next step. Pelleting. In this process you will be making pellets by processing the feed mix and passing them through the extruder machine. In case you don't have the access to conditioning technology you can add 10 to 20 percent water in the feed mix while you are putting the feed mix. mix for extruding. This will make the mix more homogenized and easy to make durable pellets. But remember to add the water in small quantities and gradually. An example of small extruder which is also used to produce pasta by the way is here. Please also check the link below for checking out such extruder for small scale fish feed production. To make sure you have the right size of the pellet produced, use the right size of dye which often comes together with extruding machines. You also need to know what is the size of the fish you are producing your feed for. The cutting speed of the pellet is also something you need to adjust while you are producing feed. To learn more about the extrusion, please refer to the book which I have mentioned in the link below. I recommend this book. for someone who is keen to learn more about extruder technology. Commercial extruder Over the years, the extrusion technology has become very advanced. In typical industrial extruder, high temperature and pressure is used to make sure that good quality of feed is produced. But of course, this technology is high cost. Now you have your feed ready for your fish. But please wait, we are not finished yet. We need to dry the feed pellets before we can offer it to the fish drying the fish feed in case you don't have the access to drying equipment you can use your oven at home by spreading the feathers evenly on the tray Make sure to keep the moisture levels in the feed between 6 to 12%. To achieve this at home, adjust the oven temperature to 55 degrees Celsius for 6 to 12 hours and keep checking. checking the moisture level after every three hours to keep the check. You can also use the sunshine to dry the small batch of your feet if you're lucky enough to have the access to sunshine. The common issues which are associated with the moisture level in the feet are that if the feed is too dry your fish might don't eat it properly as too much dry feed will reduce the digestibility of the feed the higher moisture level will also result into bad quality of feed so please pay attention to it now when you are ready with the feed for the fish but let me tell you about another technology which you might like to know about. Vacuum coating when you are making the feed for the fish like tilapia you don't need much oil but some fish species love to have a lot of oils in their feed such as salmon and trout. So you need to know how their pellets are different as they have more oil in them. But you may think how come A small pellet can have oil for them. The answer might surprise you that the apparently looking small piece of pellet can take up to 30% of the oil. And this is done through the technology called vacuum coating. With the help of vacuum coater, the oil is pumped into the pellets. These type of pellets with lots of pores in them. is achieved by extrusion technology as you have learned about it in the previous steps in simple words the extruded pallet is like a sponge with lots of holes where it can absorb the oil so that salmon fish can enjoy their meal to packaging and storage of feed now let me tell you about the storing of feed which we have prepared after going through all the steps of fish feed production. You can store the feed in dry polythene or paper bags depending on what is available to you. Commercially, the feed is packed in 25 to 500 kilogram of bags. Make sure you store the feed in less humid, dry and cool place so that the feed can be saved from fungus and mold. Like fish, rats also love to eat the feed so watch out and remember this is not their farm. I hope you enjoyed the learning. Thank you.

which you will learn processing of ingredients grinding of ingredients mixing of ingredients micro ingredients mixing or pre-mix mixing conditioning pelleting extrusion drying and packaging before we start going into the details of different steps of fish feed production Make sure that the ingredients you are going to use to produce feed are clean, hygienic and safe to use. It is important that you make sure that any of the ingredients you are going to use don't have any apparent issue. For example, fungus or mold.

They should also not be too old to use. If they have been in the storage for long time, it is good that you evaluate them carefully. and always remember to check or any expiry dates on the packages for more on quality aspects please check the previous episode of this series you should also pay attention to the moisture level of the ingredients before you are going into the next steps because it may bring difficulties later for example in grinding and mixing process now When you are sure about the status of the quality of ingredients and satisfied with the overall condition of the ingredients, it is time to weigh them.

Weighing of the fish feed ingredients. Weigh all the ingredients which you are going to use in your formulation or recipe one by one and make a list with the name of the ingredients and their weights. Please also remember to label the ingredients because it is very easy to forget and make errors. This will help you avoid redoing the things later. Grinding.

Typically, if you are producing feed at small scale, you may have to grind all the ingredients by yourself. In some cases, however, you might be able to arrange the pre-grinded ingredients. So let's say you have to grind the ingredients by yourself. Make sure that you grind all the ingredients uniformly.

For example, if you are using wheat and corn together in one formulation, grind both ingredients at the same particle size such as 0.5 to 1 millimeter size for proper mixing in the next step. Usually at the industrial scale, the mixing is done either by hammer mill or roller mill after you have grinded each ingredient and put them in their bags next step is mixing them and converting them into a mix which we will from now on refer as feed mix mixing of ingredients depending on what type of technology you are using the mixing time for ingredients will differ if you are doing mixing On a smaller scale and using kitchen mixer, make sure to mix the ingredients properly, for example for 10 to 15 minutes. Here again, the goal of mixing should be to have uniform and even mixing. At industrial scale where the mixers like barrel mixers are used, the time for mixing is much shorter and we can obtain more homogenized mix.

So it is very important to keep in mind to pay attention to uniform and homogenized mix to work further on in the next steps. In case you are going to add oil in the mixing process, as this is what you are going to do to prepare the tilapia feed batch at the smaller scale. It is recommended that you add the oil in the feed mix slowly while mixing and making sure that it is evenly distributed across the feed mix.

If you observe closely, you will see that the feed mix has changed its color to darker color. After that, you can add the other ingredients. This spread of overall change in color will give you the idea if the mixing oil has been uniform or not.

Pre-mix mixing. What is pre-mix? Pre-mix is the mix of ingredients with small quantities in the form of the mix, such as vitamins, minerals, or ingredients like big mix or other ingredients. This premix is what you are going to add in the feed mix you have prepared in the previous step.

In case you don't have this premix and you must mix these ingredients by yourself, you have to make sure that you do this accurately. Please pay attention to the loss of ingredients during mixing as these ingredients are in small quantity. It is recommended that you add 10% extra of these micro ingredients to be on the safe side for proper mixing and availability in your main feed mix.

Conditioning As the name suggests, the conditioning is the process where you condition your feed mix by making it more homogenized with the help of high temperature and moisture. This process is done by the equipment called conditioner. The feed mix is treated with high temperature such as with temperature ranging from 70 degree to 90 degree Celsius. The microorganisms which are might be present in your feed mix are mostly destroyed successfully through this high temperature treatment.

The moisture is added in the feed mix in the form of steam. In other words, you may have hot steam which is added in the feed mix inside the conditioner. Now you have perfect feed mix which is ready to be used into fish feed pellets in the next step.

Pelleting. In this process you will be making pellets by processing the feed mix and passing them through the extruder machine. In case you don't have the access to conditioning technology you can add 10 to 20 percent water in the feed mix while you are putting the feed mix.

mix for extruding. This will make the mix more homogenized and easy to make durable pellets. But remember to add the water in small quantities and gradually.

An example of small extruder which is also used to produce pasta by the way is here. Please also check the link below for checking out such extruder for small scale fish feed production. To make sure you have the right size of the pellet produced, use the right size of dye which often comes together with extruding machines. You also need to know what is the size of the fish you are producing your feed for.

The cutting speed of the pellet is also something you need to adjust while you are producing feed. To learn more about the extrusion, please refer to the book which I have mentioned in the link below. I recommend this book.

for someone who is keen to learn more about extruder technology. Commercial extruder Over the years, the extrusion technology has become very advanced. In typical industrial extruder, high temperature and pressure is used to make sure that good quality of feed is produced.

But of course, this technology is high cost. Now you have your feed ready for your fish. But please wait, we are not finished yet. We need to dry the feed pellets before we can offer it to the fish drying the fish feed in case you don't have the access to drying equipment you can use your oven at home by spreading the feathers evenly on the tray Make sure to keep the moisture levels in the feed between 6 to 12%.

To achieve this at home, adjust the oven temperature to 55 degrees Celsius for 6 to 12 hours and keep checking. checking the moisture level after every three hours to keep the check. You can also use the sunshine to dry the small batch of your feet if you're lucky enough to have the access to sunshine. The common issues which are associated with the moisture level in the feet are that if the feed is too dry your fish might don't eat it properly as too much dry feed will reduce the digestibility of the feed the higher moisture level will also result into bad quality of feed so please pay attention to it now when you are ready with the feed for the fish but let me tell you about another technology which you might like to know about. Vacuum coating when you are making the feed for the fish like tilapia you don't need much oil but some fish species love to have a lot of oils in their feed such as salmon and trout.

So you need to know how their pellets are different as they have more oil in them. But you may think how come A small pellet can have oil for them. The answer might surprise you that the apparently looking small piece of pellet can take up to 30% of the oil.

And this is done through the technology called vacuum coating. With the help of vacuum coater, the oil is pumped into the pellets. These type of pellets with lots of pores in them. is achieved by extrusion technology as you have learned about it in the previous steps in simple words the extruded pallet is like a sponge with lots of holes where it can absorb the oil so that salmon fish can enjoy their meal to packaging and storage of feed now let me tell you about the storing of feed which we have prepared after going through all the steps of fish feed production.

You can store the feed in dry polythene or paper bags depending on what is available to you. Commercially, the feed is packed in 25 to 500 kilogram of bags. Make sure you store the feed in less humid, dry and cool place so that the feed can be saved from fungus and mold. Like fish, rats also love to eat the feed so watch out and remember this is not their farm. I hope you enjoyed the learning.

Thank you.

Transcript for:Comprehensive Fish Feed Production Guide

Transcript for:
Comprehensive Fish Feed Production Guide