Particles Size as Feed Quality Parameter in Ghana - A Case Study of Dormaa Municipality

Abstract

There is a general agreement between researchers that particle size of poultry feed should be between the size ranges of 600-900 µm. This study investigated the particle size of poultry feed produced in the Dormaa Municipality of Ghana. A survey was conducted on various feed mills which were made up of nine on-farm mills and five community-based commercial mills. Feed samples were collected from each mill and analyzed using the sieving method for the particle size. The results showed that 42% of mills produced feed coarser than the accepted particle size ranges of 600-900 µm. The geometric mean diameter (GMD) of the samples ranged from 608-1791 µm. A comparison of the on-farm and commercial feed mills showed that there was no significant difference (P = 0.669) between GMDs of the feed produced by the commercial and on-farm mills. This study confirmed that particle size analysis should be carried out routinely at the feed mills, in order to control the quality of the feed being produced.

Keywords

• Particle size
• Poultry feed
• Size distribution
• Geometric mean diameter