How to Regulate the Hardness of Pellet Feed

How to Regulate the Hardness of Pellet Feed

Future Fortune contains other products and information you need, so please check it out.

With deep research of feed industry, more and more researchers and manufacturers put the emphasis not only on ingredient quality and formula but also on feed processing technology to improve feed quality. Because feed processing technology can flexibly regulate the hardness of pellet feed. The hardness of pellet feed is the important indicator of pellet appearance quality and also has certain influence on animal production performance. In the whole feed processing technology, besides feed formula, factors influencing pellet hardness mainly include feed ingredients grinding process, expansion of raw material, feed ingredients mixing, water adding and fuel injection process, steam modulating process, dies in pelletizing, post curing & post spraying and drying & cooling.

I. Ingredients Grinding

The pulverization fineness of feed ingredients plays the decisive role in feed pellets hardness. Generally speaking, the finer the particle size the better the starch gelatinization, which can ensure stronger bonding of feed ingredients. Thus feed pellets have good hardness and are not easy to be broken. In actual production, the pulverization fineness should be adjusted depend on animal production performance and diameters of ring die holes. For poultry feed pellets, the particle size of raw materials should be bigger with average diameter of 800-900μm; for baby pig pellets, the particle size is around 400-500μm; for finishing pig pellets, the particle size is reduced to 600-700μm; for fish and aquatic feed pellets, the particle size is below 250μm.

For poultry feeding, the pellets should be with greater hardness and lower pulverization rate to reduce feed wastage. To improve the hardness of poultry feed pellets, you can regulate the proportion of coarse, medium and fine particle size in the mixing of grinded ingredients as follows: coarse particle size with the diameter of above 900μm are less than 15%; medium particle size of 700μm are round 35%; fine particle size of below 500μm are more than 50% including no less than 25% fine powder of below 250μm. The starch in the fine powder can be fully gelatinized in the conditioning process, which can enhance the bonding of particle sizes in pellets. So these coarse, medium and fine particle sizes are bonded together to form big pellets to improve the pellet hardness and reduce product pulverization rate.

For pig feeding, the hardness of pellets should be moderate. Too hard, the product palatability and production performance get lower; too soft, pulverization rate gets higher and production performance gets lower, which results in increased wastage. In the proportion of grinded materials, the particle sizes of 700-500μm should be over 70%, and particle size of below 250μm should be over 20%. Thus, this distribution of particle sizes contributes to forming pellets, improving pellet performance quality and keeping the right pellet hardness and lower differentiation rate.

For fish feeding, the proportion of crushed materials depends on fish physiological characteristics. Particle sizes of 250μm should be not less than 85%. Moreover small particle sizes are beneficial to pellet forming and stability in the water. Fish feed pellets are always in high hardness because of the demand for high stability of fish feed in water.

II. The Expansion of Raw Materials

The expansion of raw materials can bring the following advantages for pellet making like destruction of anti-nutritional factors, killing bacteria, eliminating hazardous material, denaturation of proteins and starch gelatinization. Gelatinized starches have significant influence on the hardness of pellets. Puffed materials now are mainly used in the production of high-grade baby pig feed and special aquatic feed. For special aquatic feed, the expansion of raw materials can increase starch gelatinization degree to enhance hardness of shaped pellets, which improves pellet stability in the water. For baby pig, feed pellets should be crisp but not too hard to benefit its feeding. However, due to high starch gelatinization degree, baby pig feed pellets are formed in strong hardness. So we should adopts other ways to lower pellet hardness.

III. Feed Ingredients Mixing, Water Adding & Fuel Injection

Raw materials mixing can strengthen uniform distribution of various feed particle sizes to ensure formed feed pellets in basically identical hardness. Water adding technology in the mixer is still being actively sought. In hard feed pellet production, adding 1%-2% water in the mixer is beneficial to improving the stability & hardness of pellet feeds. But the increased water brings negative effect on drying & cooling feed pellets and also is bad for pellet storage. In the wet pellet feed production, you can add 20%-30% water in powder and 10% water in the mixing, which is easier than adding water in conditioning. Feed pellets made of high-moisture materials are featured with low hardness, wet & soft, good palatability, which can improve livestock and poultry production performance. In the large-scale farming enterprises, the wet pellet feed can be adopted. Because it can not be stored which means wet pellets should be immediately used after production. Adding fats in the mixing is generally adopted to meet the nutrition needs of animals. Adding 1%-2% fats does not significantly reduce the pellet hardness but adding 3%-4% fats will significantly reduce the granule hardness. So the amount of adding fats should be controlled.

Steam conditioning is the key part in feed pellet production. Conditioning effect directly affects granule internal structure and appearance quality. Steam quality and conditioning period are two vital factors that affect conditioning effect. Highly dry and saturated steam can provide more heat to increase the temperature of materials, which makes starch gelatinized. The longer the conditioning time the higher gelatinization degree of starch. Therefore formed granules are with compact structure, high stability and strong hardness. For animals and poultry feeding, you can adjust steam addition to keep conditioning temperature from 70 to 80&#;. Through adjusting length of conditioner, paddle angle and rotating speed, you can keep conditioning period for around 30 seconds. For fish feed, double layer or multilayer jacketed conditioner is always employed to improve temperature and prolong conditioning period, which contributes to better strengthening fish feed pellet stability in the water and hardness.

V. Ring die

The aperture and compression ratios of ring die can prominently affect granule hardness. Adopting ring dies with the same aperture but different compression ratios, increase of pellet hardness will accompany with the the increase of compression ratios. With the suitable compression ratios, you can produce pellets with right hardness.

The length of pellet also has distinct effect on pellet pressure bearing capacity. For pellets of the same diameter without any defects, the longer the pellet the greater the hardness. So adjusting cutting blades position can ensure suitable granule length to keep the same hardness. Diameter section shape of granule also has certain effect on granule hardness. 8 shape section has stronger pressure bearing capacity and can test higher hardness level than circular section. In addition, material of ring dies also influences granule appearance and hardness. Pellets made by ordinary steel ring die have significant difference compared with that made by stainless steel ring die.

VI. Post Curing and Post Spraying

Post curing and post spraying are rarely employed in livestock and poultry feed production process, but widely in fish and specific aquatic feed production. Post curing can fully gelatinize starch in pellets. Starch gelatinization can strengthen pellet internal structure to avoid water infiltration, which improves aquatic pellet hardness and stability in the water. Post spraying is used in hot pellet feed spraying technology. Fats or others that sprayed will penetrate interior of granules to reduce the pellet hardness but improve its stability in the water.

In order to prolong storage period and meanwhile ensure pellet quality, it is necessary to dry and cool feed pellets. In pellet hardness test, we desperately cool the same feed pellets for many times in different cooling periods: 5 minutes, 10 minutes and 15 minutes, then test the granule hardness. It has shown that for lower hardness pellets, cooling period has little affect on its hardness, but for greater hardness pellets, the longer the cooling period the lower the hardness. Probably due to internal moisture loss, pellet brittleness gets increased, which lower its hardness. Compared with fast cooling in 3 minutes with large air flow( with whole ventilation door) and slow cooling in 20 minutes with small air flow( with two-thirds of ventilation door), we find that in the former situation, the hardness of pellets become lower and surface cracks become more than that in the latter situation. In addition, particularly worth mentioning is that crushing big pellet into small particle can significantly reduce its hardness.

In feed pellet making process, factors that affect pellet hardness are more that the above. Believe that more and more methods of regulating granule hardness can be mastered by people. In the future we can produce kinds of pellet feed favored by animals!

Chicken feed processing is a key link in the farming industry, and its success is directly related to poultry farming efficiency and product quality. In this complex and precise field, every step of chicken feed making line is crucial. This article will delve into the characteristics and considerations of chicken feed processing to provide a full range of practical guidance for farmers to ensure their excellence in this critical aspect.

Key Characteristics of Chicken Feed Production

The characteristics of chicken feed pellet production provide flexible and scientific options for feed processing. The nutritional value of feeds is effectively enhanced through rational use of chicken pellet feed, careful management of fats and oils, scientific use of enzymes, and precise handling of trace perishable ingredients. These strategies not only help optimize chicken feed formulation and improve the production efficiency of the farming industry, but also lay a solid nutritional foundation for the health and growth of chickens.

Want more information on Small Feed Pellet Line? Feel free to contact us.

Mash Feed & Crumble Feed & Pellet Feed & Mixed Feed Pellets

• Rational Application of Feed Pellets

Whether making chicken feed for layers or making chicken feed for broilers, chicken food more choose pellet form. Because chicken feed pellets palatable, reduce grading, avoid picky eating. The diameter of the granular material is generally 3~5mm. But broiler chicks should use crushed material, its diameter is generally 2mm.

When considering buying an animal feed pellet mill and starting your chicken feed production business plan, it is a best practice to clearly state to the animal feed machine supplier the specific type of animal feed you plan to make. By clearly stating your production needs, the animal feed pellet machine manufacturer will be able to equip you with dies that have holes of the appropriate diameter size. If you need it, you can contact us directly.

• Addition and Management of Fats

Adding the right amount of fats and oils can regulate the energy concentration of the ration for chickens. It is recommended to mix fats and oils, but the amount used should not exceed 5%. To ensure the quality and stability of fats and oils, the feed should not be stored for too long, and appropriate number of antioxidants should be added.

• Optimal Utilization of Enzyme Agents

Reasonable use of enzymes to reduce chicken feed costs. Adding non-starch polysaccharide enzyme or composite enzyme in feed has become the main technical way to improve the energy of broiler feed and reduce the amount of fat added. The effect of enzyme preparation is better in the early stage of broiler chickens, especially when added to wheat diet, the effect is more prominent.

• Handling of Sensitive Micro-ingredients

Adopting the process of adding after pelletizing to deal with trace perishable ingredients. Additives that are contaminated or easily damaged in the making pellet process, such as drugs, vitamins, enzymes, and biotin, can be added after pelleting.

Crucial Points for Making Chicken Feed Pellets in Production Line

There are many considerations to focus on during the production of chicken feed pellets. From the matching of raw materials to pellet production to packaging and storage. Together, these considerations build an efficient, high quality chicken feed making process.

Chicken Feed Making Process Flow Chart

Combination and Proportioning of Chicken Feed Pellet Ingredients

Reasonable matching of feed ingredients can make the nutrients more comprehensive, and the biological value of the feed can be improved through complementary effects. At the same time, it is also easy to formulate feed rations that meet feeding standards. However, too much raw material increases the storage space, increases the energy consumption of crushing, therefore, chicken feed mill plants require comprehensive consideration of costs and benefits.

Adjustment and Residue Cleaning of Chicken Feed Formulas

Stabilize the types and ratios of raw materials, and pay attention to cleaning up residues when substantially adjusting the formula to prevent cross-contamination. Regularly clean equipment and containers to ensure the stability of chicken feed formulation.

Grinding and Moisture Control

Pay attention to the crushing particle size. Crushing is generally required to pass through a sieve of less than 1mm. Control the appropriate moisture. The addition of water can reduce the cost of making feed pellets, provide feed conversion rate and animal growth rate. It should be noted that the general water content of pelleted feed does not exceed 16%. However, Which Chicken Feed Pellet Making Machine Is Suitable for Processing High Water Content? Let us reveal the answer next.

Flat Die Chicken Feed Pellet Mill & Ring Die Chicken Feed Pellet Mill

Choosing a Pellet Machine for Chicken Feed Based on Raw Material Characteristics

Flat die feed pellet mill and ring die feed pellet mill are both used for processing pellet feed, etc., and they have some different characteristics when dealing with different raw materials.

•    Flat Die Feed Pellet Mill

Flat die feed pellet machine mainly presses the raw material into pellets by means of a flat die. Because of its relatively simple structure, easy operation and strong adaptability to raw materials, flat die feed pellet machine is suitable for small scale chicken feed production. In addition, flat die pellet mills are also frequently used as homemade feed pellet mills and are ideal small chicken feed pellet machines to make chicken feed at home. 

•    Ring Die Feed Pellet Mill

Ring die feed pellet machine uses ring-shaped molds in which the raw material is rolled inside the mold, resulting in a higher compression ratio. Therefore, it is suitable for manufacturing raw material with high water content. Ring die pellet mill is more complex than flat die pellet mill, but is usually superior in pellet density and hardness. Ring die pellet mill is popular as a large chicken feed making machine among chicken feed plants.

Contact us for more information on chicken feed making machines.

Starch Gelatinization and Amino Acids

Pay attention to the starch pasting degree. Allowing the starch in the raw material to be pasted as much as possible is an important method of producing high quality pellet feeds, but too much pasting can reduce nutrient utilization.

Pay attention to the effect of processing on amino acids. The chicken feed manufacturing process causes amino acid losses; therefore, pellet diets should increase the lysine and methionine concentration of the diet.

Feed Fine Powder and Mold Prevention

When the modulation time and temperature are insufficient, the pellet stability is poor and the increase of fines affects the quality. Therefore, chicken feed plants should choose the right chicken feed grinder machine and optimize fines process.

Use suitable mold inhibitors, preservatives, or antioxidants to prevent mold. Propionic acid and its salts are commonly used as mold inhibitors in broiler feed.

Storage and Preservation of Chicken Feed

Complementary feeds should not be stored for a long time. Without adding antioxidants and mold inhibitors, the storage time is not more than 7~10 days, and it is better to mix it as you use it. Besides, when chicken feed pellet mills make chicken feed pellets, packing and sealing the pellets is important to maintain the quality of the pellets and prevent moisture and pests.

You are welcome to ask us any questions and needs you may have about the manufacturing process of making chicken feed and the complete chicken feed production line. We will provide free and professional answers.

The company is the world’s best Fish Feed Production Line supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.