On a special adjustable stand, he should not keep his head in an inclined position while eating. The water bowl should always be filled with fresh water. Do not leave food out after eating; it must be removed before the next feeding.

Up to three months, dogs are fed 5-6 times a day. The basis of the diet will be various cereals and bread. You can feed it with steamed feed and give it slightly warm. From 5-6 weeks, start giving ground beef; at the first feeding, 1 teaspoon will be enough. By the end of the sixth week, its portion should be one and a half tablespoons. During the week, the puppy should receive up to three liters of milk, 1 kilogram of cottage cheese and 2 eggs. Egg shells can be crushed in a mortar and added to food - puppies begin intensive bone growth and calcium is vital for them.

After one and a half months, start giving, having first cut off the claws. The foot itself can also be cut into 2-3 parts. 2-3 paws a day will be enough. Chicken heads with severed beaks, slightly beaten off with an ax, can also be given in the same quantity.

After two months, the amount of meat the puppy receives should be increased. There is no need to chop off chicken paws and heads and no longer need to cut off claws and beaks. Tubular poultry bones and pork and lamb rib bones should not be given - sharp edges can damage the dog's intestines. Add raw beef, pork and lamb cartilage bones and ligaments to your diet. It is better to give them at the end of feeding, so that the puppy gnaws on them slowly. Don't forget to add boiled vegetables to your food. By 9 months, the volume of raw meat in the diet should be about 0.5 kilograms. Teach your puppy to eat vegetables, herbs and fruits from childhood.

Movements
Exhibitions
Knitting. Puppies
Choosing a puppy
Raising a puppy
Sales of puppies
Breeding
Development of the character of a wolfhound
For beginning breeders
Basics of proper feeding
Feeding the puppies
Something about enteritis and plague
Should the Caucasian Wolfhound be a factory breed?

BASICS OF CORRECT FEEDING

There are many different opinions on the topic of proper feeding, but I have never heard a reasonable, well-founded answer. The most correct answer, in my opinion, was this: “My dog ​​eats what she wants!” From the answer it can be judged that this dog breeder had no problems with food for his pet, although here it can be argued that it is impossible to know everything that a dog on a leash wants. Most likely, we must assume that she was spoiled by the generous hand of her master.

When kept freely, Caucasian wolfhounds hunted gophers, mice and other living creatures, and ate the meat of dead domestic animals. The preferred food for dogs has always been animal entrails. In the wild, all kinds of grass were enough for dogs, but they needed semi-digested grass, neutralized from the effects of tannins, acids, etc. The animals’ stomachs contained almost everything that nature offered. In addition to vitamins and minerals taken from nature, the stomach and intestines of animals contained derivatives of vitamins, hormonal substances, microflora and other secretions. Once, noticing the dogs’ increased interest in fresh manure, I got sheep on the farm and began giving them plenty of bran and crushed grain. As a result, the food consumed did not have time to be completely digested, and all their manure was eaten by the dogs, although, as it seemed to me, I was fully providing them with nutritious nutrition.

A dog owner must first weigh his options and offer his dog suitable and species-appropriate food. Ignorance can easily lead to suffering for the animal. Poor nutrition can cause obesity, exhaustion, internal or skin diseases. Proper nutrition is not one that maintains health, but one that creates health.

Ideally, meat should be the basis of food. First of all, it contains animal protein, which serves to build body tissues and restore dead cells. Protein can partially serve as a source of energy. Replacing fats and carbohydrates with protein as an energy source can lead to digestive and metabolic disorders. This is usually accompanied by prolonged loss of appetite and exhaustion with seemingly abundant feeding. As a rule, excess protein content in the diet is determined by the viscous consistency of stool with an unpleasant odor.
Plant foods are primarily a source of carbohydrates, vitamins, microelements, coarse fibers and other substances that play an important role in digestion. Plant proteins are more difficult for a dog to digest and are ineffective compared to animal proteins. A dog deprived of meat, fish, eggs, milk, etc., as a rule, loses muscle mass.

Carbohydrates found in cereals and pasta must be digestible, which is achieved by steaming with boiling water. From the point of view of the physiology of canine digestion, the most beneficial plant food for a dog is crushed barley. Barley swells well and contains little protein and a lot of carbohydrates. Corn grits swell poorly and therefore are poorly digested in the dog’s stomach. Rice and peas are also difficult for dogs to eat. If you make a compound feed from crushed cereals for a dog, you can recommend approximately the following composition: barley - 50%, wheat bran - 30%, oats - 19%, corn - 5%, sunflower cake - 5%.

Having heard a lot about the poor digestibility of plant foods, many dog ​​breeders cook cereals quite diligently, thereby destroying vitamins, mineral salts and biologically active substances. In fact, it is enough to pour boiling broth or water over the feed and let it steam. If the feed is steamed with water, then it is advisable to add additives such as milk, eggs, fat, vegetable oil and other “baked goods”, as well as table scraps. A good addition to a dog's food is raw food made from finely chopped vegetables, fruits, herbs, young nettles, etc.

Until about 6 months, a young dog needs to be fed 3-4 times a day. After 6 months - 2 times a day.

On average, once a week it is advisable to give dogs fasting days in order to cleanse the intestines, restore appetite and increase the digestibility of food. On such days, you can offer your dog wheat bran mixed with water and raw pureed vegetables. Do not limit the amount of food.

Bran can be replaced with crushed cereal or mixed feed. You can offer soft bones, cartilage, tendons, and skin. They can also serve to strengthen teeth and develop jaws. When trying to combine dietary food, dogs usually eat the tastiest foods, leaving the raw bran and feed behind. The dog may ignore the diet food on the first day. Don't be upset. After a long run in the evening (or you can also swim), offer the dog the same food again at night and the next day, until he eats everything offered for the first time.

Keep in mind that tasty treats such as whole milk, eggs, muscle meat and other tasty but hard-to-find foods can quickly and permanently ruin a dog's appetite. In addition, such a spoiled dog begins to refuse even delicacies, because due to their high protein content they inhibit intestinal function and overall metabolism. It should be remembered that protein in nature can have a consistency ranging from liquid to very solid. Compare the white of eggs and the white of bird feathers or ram's horns. Protein, partially dissolved in the stomach, enters the intestines in the form of a sticky mass, so its movement through the intestines is difficult. To strengthen the functioning of the intestines, it is necessary to receive roughage, natural vitamins and various food acids contained in foods.

Dogs that have completely lost their appetite should eat once a day and go on diet food twice a week. A dog that has lost its appetite is a torment for a loving owner. Long walks over rough terrain, running, swimming, the dog eating medicinal herbs, rotten food, animal feces, i.e. everything that the dog considers it necessary to eat, it must eat. There is no need to prevent her from doing this if there is no danger of poisoning with pesticides. The body of an adult wolfhound that has received all vaccinations is not afraid of infectious diseases. True, there is a danger of infection with worms, but this is inevitable. They need to be kicked out regularly. With one-time feeding, the stomach is overloaded. Bones, ligaments and joints are heavily loaded and suffer permanent damage. Over time, when your appetite is restored, you still need to switch to a two-meal diet.

If possible, food should be varied, both in composition and taste. With a varied diet, the risk of loss of appetite and poor nutrition is reduced.

Fresh water should be given 2 times a day. If the dog is on a leash - no restrictions. If the wolfhound is contained! freely, there should be water constantly. In hot weather, a dog drinks a lot of water, but extreme thirst for no known reason is a sign of illness.

Of course, breeders do not always have the opportunity to provide their pets with adequate nutrition. Often, nurseries, unable to be profitable, are converted into chicken coops and other utility premises. But even bitter disappointments are not a reason to refuse to keep at least one Caucasian wolfhound. Almost all breeders have a love for this breed for life. Therefore, you should not despair if you are experiencing temporary difficulties with adequate nutrition for your dog. Foods of animal origin containing protein are particularly problematic. This is due, first of all, to the high cost of products and the inaccessibility of cheap waste from sausage shops, canteens, shops, etc. The so-called “flexibility” of the body saves the situation. In the wolfhound, this flexibility is not much inferior to ordinary mongrels. Caucasian wolfhounds are capable of losing and gaining weight within the range of about 20 kg. However, you should not test your dog’s vitality, although I myself, with bitterness in my soul, am a witness to the vitality of my former dogs, which I mistakenly gave to stingy owners. Of course, a stingy person has no moral right to keep a dog, much less on a leash.

In the absence or deficiency of animal proteins, you should:

1. Increase the content of plant proteins in the diet through products such as wheat flour, pasta, crushed oatmeal, rolled oats, millet, buckwheat, crushed peas, etc.

2. Increase the amount of animal fat in the diet. If there is no animal fat, then part of it can be replaced with vegetable oil. It is necessary to take into account that the dog’s stomach digests vegetable oil worse than animal fat.

If there is no other choice, then you can resort to canned food, making combinations with natural products.

It is best to use a raw feeding method whenever possible. If you have to cook flour or pasta, then rolled oats or buckwheat can be poured with boiling water, etc. If there is a shortage of animal food, you should take special care of mineral supplements.

We suggest that you take the information offered and think about it soberly. The author does not claim that his opinion is the only correct one.

Premium? Premium!

Premium class feed is undoubtedly the leader of the Russian feed market. You can find a huge number of companies on the Internet. If you read the label carefully, you will find something like the following on most foods:

Food with natural antioxidants.

Contains substances for your dog's health

A specially developed complex... will make (the fur thicker, the dog faster, more active).

Veterinarian approved...

Add your phrases to this list. And you will most likely find that all manufacturers write about the same thing.

The main myth in food is that ordinary components - vitamin E (a natural antioxidant, found in oils and fats, included in one of the GOST indicators) are passed off as know-how, or a complex of herbs, natural fiber, all those components that It simply needs to be included in food to ensure normal digestion. That is, food with a super ingredient and regular food are essentially the same food. The exception, perhaps, is professional veterinary diets, which are not used in everyday feeding.
If you are, you will see that it is impossible to single out at least a dozen significantly significant differences between premium and superpremium. The quality of ingredients, high levels of protein and fat - typical features of the premium class - essentially mean the introduction of minimal (less than 20% of the composition) specific substances. The requirements for feed are defined in GOST and all producers operating in Russia are forced to comply with these requirements.

Moreover, you can often hear that “economy” is death! Don’t feed “economy”! Your dog will die! At the same time, cats and dogs live peacefully in the world, eat these foods and feel great. Moreover, on the most poisonous cat food (by the way, the composition is not the worst, in fact), cats live for 15 and 18 years (a practical example). Again, I personally feed my dog ​​the same economy food.

Economy is a dog's death! Why hasn't my dog ​​died yet?

I know several people who feed their dogs pork feed. Or they give you a couple of loaves of bread a day. Probably many will be surprised. But dogs don’t die from chicken feet the next day, even though they suffer from constipation. And certainly no one deliberately cooks three grains with the addition of a piece of beef, because a dog cannot eat pork, and it is a carnivore and needs meat, etc. etc.

In the private sector, this is how dogs are fed. Rinses. Compound feed. Cheap cereals. Animals live 8-10 years, which is not short for animals kept in open-air cages. And no one dies in the first month, bitches bring puppies, and males roll fatly from side to side.

It's simple - the animal can easily adapt its digestion to the food, extracting the necessary nutrients from it. Scientifically speaking, in high-protein feeds the same protein can be digested by 50%, 70% and 90%. So how much of this protein your dog actually gets is a mystery.

I transferred my second dog from bread and paw food (he stopped eating porridge at 4-5 years of age, now he is about 8 years old) to economy class. In winter it’s a little more expensive, in summer it’s cheaper. But still, it was an economy meal, the cost of which was 1.5 times cheaper than chicken feet (based on the cost of a daily portion).
For the second year he lives on dry land. Snow in winter, a bucket of water in summer. Free food. Why did I give up straight sex?

Now, when agricultural production in Russia has been virtually destroyed. production, finding decent meat at normal prices has become almost impossible. Usually in the store you can find a piece of elite beef or pork, but not as meat for dogs. Under the guise of such meat for dogs, they usually sell something that is no longer possible to eat.

It is almost impossible to balance the diet even according to domestic standards. Yes, of course, you can cook taking into account all the recommendations, but then the price becomes sky-high.
So it turns out that buying “economy” is very economical. And just think, a dog that is not used for breeding, running around in a limited closed area, has minimal needs for energy and nutrients. And this is exactly the case when you can use regular feed.

Of course, if you have a breeding bitch who will go to an exhibition or she has already gone into breeding, it would be unprofessional to recommend feeding her with feed from the lower segment. !

Veterinary clinics are feed sellers just like stores. Most likely, experts will recommend food of that brand. Which is in the clinic and with which this company cooperates. Therefore, if you seriously decide to become concerned about dog nutrition, consult with several veterinarians or breeders.

COMBINED FEED (MIXED FEED)

Compound feed is a ready-made feed mixture, compiled on the basis of scientific data on feeding farm animals according to a specific recipe and correctly balanced in terms of the content of essential nutrients, minerals and vitamins. In compound feeds, the lack of nutrients in some components is compensated by their presence in others. This is their high nutritional value.

The effectiveness of feeding mixed feed to animals is confirmed by numerous domestic and foreign scientific data and production experience.

The use of mixed feed, for example for dairy cows, can increase their milk yield by 10-20% and reduce the cost of nutrients for milk production by 7-15%.

The Central Research Laboratory of the Compound Feed Industry found that pigs at six months of age, fed with compound feed, weighed an average of 94 kg, the average daily gain was 801 g. 4.5 feed units were consumed per 1 kg of gain. Concentrate-fed gilts weighed only 60 kg at the same age.

Experiments by the All-Union Institute of Animal Husbandry have shown that feeding calves with compound feed allowed saving 210-215 kg of whole milk and 300 kg of skim milk and reducing the cost of a feed unit by 1.5 times than when raising calves without compound feed.

The use of compound feed also plays an important role in poultry farming.

The effectiveness of feeding compound feeds formulated on a scientific basis is confirmed by the widespread practice of collective and state farms in the country.

The special importance of compound feeds also lies in the fact that they significantly increase the degree to which animals use not only concentrated feed, but also the nutrients of the entire diet.

When developing the formula for mixed feed, which is currently being introduced into production, data from numerous studies conducted by various research institutions in the country were summarized.

Combined feeds produce three main groups: concentrated feeds, complete feeds and protein-vitamin-mineral supplements.

Concentrate feed includes mixtures of concentrated feed and minerals, in some cases antibiotics, microelements and vitamin preparations. They are intended to be included in diets. Compound feed concentrates are produced both in loose form and in the form of granules.

Complete feed consists of a mixture of concentrated and roughage feed (hay, straw, corn cobs) with the addition of minerals, as well as other substances that help increase animal productivity. They are produced in the form of briquettes.

Protein-vitamin-mineral supplements consist of concentrated feed with a high protein content, as well as preparations of vitamins, minerals, trace elements and antibiotics.

They are used directly on the farms themselves in a mixture with the grain mixture.

Due to the needs of animals of different types, ages, economic purposes and physiological conditions, the formulations of compound feeds produced in the country are different. Thus, the recipe for pigs is divided into 6 categories, for cattle - into 5, for poultry - into 12 categories. In addition, in each category, depending on the availability of basic feed on farms, recipes differ in the composition of the ingredients they contain.

In order to maximize the unification of feed produced by different factories in different zones of the country, and to ensure control over their quality, a state standard is mandatory for all factories. These standards set out the basic requirements for the quality of the finished product, manufactured according to certain and approved recipes.

Much attention is currently paid to the formulation of feed additives.

As an example, we can give a recipe for a protein-vitamin-mineral feed additive for growing pigs, developed by the All-Union Research Institute of Animal Husbandry (Table 63).

Table 63

Recipe for protein-vitamin-mineral feed additives for fattening growing pigs

As you can see, this recipe determines not only the content of feed units, digestible protein, sodium, phosphorus, calcium, carotene, but also potassium, sulfate compounds of iron, copper, zinc, cobalt, potassium iodide, as well as essential amino acids, vitamins and antibiotics.

Simultaneously with the increase in the production of compound feeds, the principle of combining feeds and increasing their biological value is being improved.

The biological value of compound feeds is increased through a more rational combination of components, regulation of their organic and mineral composition, as well as by including (depending on their purpose) various vitamins, microelements, antibiotics and biostimulants.

It is known that high productivity of animals is ensured by those diets that contain not only a sufficient amount of protein, but also all the essential amino acids. The lack of any one essential amino acid reduces the degree of use of other amino acids, and this, in turn, leads to a decrease in the efficiency of the entire diet, a decrease in animal productivity and an increase in feed costs per unit of production.

Pigs and poultry especially need a full set of essential amino acids. In the diet of pigs, one can most often find a deficiency of amino acids such as lysine, methionine, and tryptophan.

Currently, analyzes have established the content of the most important amino acids in feed; therefore, it is possible to select feed components for different types of animals taking them into account.

Animal feeds are generally relatively rich in essential amino acids. Therefore, more complete use of slaughterhouse waste, waste from the fish and fish canning industry, and the production of feed yeast will undoubtedly contribute to increasing the biological value of compound feed.

Compound feed for piglets up to four months of age, chickens, as well as hens with high egg production should be checked for amino acid content and balanced so that their dry matter contains 0.9-1.1% lysine, 0.6-0 methionine, 8% and tryptophan 0.2-0.3%. Under these conditions the mixture is very effective in feeding.

The enrichment of mixed feed with vitamins is also of great importance. Artificially dried grass flour (vitamins A and B2), irradiated yeast (vitamin D2), etc. are used as the most important sources of vitamins for livestock farming.

In feed mixtures for suckling and weaned piglets, chickens and calves aged 10-12 weeks, it is necessary to include antibiotics: biomycin, terramycin 1.5-2.0 g, biovit 40 40-50 g, vitamin A concentrate 5 g, vitamin concentrate D 0.5 g, choline chloride 100 g and, if necessary, anthelmintics (sheep phenothiazine 100 g) per hundredweight of dry food.

The most important factor in increasing the biological value of mixed feed is the correct regulation of the absolute and relative composition of certain macroelements. It is especially important to regulate the ratio of sodium, potassium, calcium, manganese, chlorine, phosphorus in the feed, that is, the elements that determine the reaction of the ash part of the feed, the presence of acid and alkaline equivalents in it.

The content of these macroelements in mixed feeds should be regulated based on taking into account these elements in the main part of the diets typical for a given yen.

The feed should include 1.5-2% of feed chalk, finely ground limestone or travertine (for pigs and poultry), or 1-1.5% tricalcium phosphate or defluorinated phosphate (for cattle and sheep), as well as 0.5- 1% table salt.

Research institutions of the USSR and foreign countries have also conducted many studies that have shown the high efficiency of using various microelements in animal husbandry under certain conditions. The latter are contained in feed depending on their presence in the soil. For example, the soils of the Baltic republics, as well as a number of other regions with podzolic soils, turned out to be poor in salts of cobalt, copper, zinc, and manganese.

Therefore, the formulation of microelement salts for the enrichment of feed mills is developed differentially for individual zones of the USSR, based on the biochemical characteristics of the soils and feeds of the zone served by the feed mills.

Thus, the Latvian Research Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine and the Institute of Biology of the Academy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR have developed the following microadditives.

1. Compound feed for bacon fattening of pigs (g per 1 ton): cobalt carbonate 8.4, zinc carbonate 14.0, manganese sulfate 14.0, potassium iodide 1.4, nicotinic acid 3.0, biovit (M-50) 300 .

2. Compound feed for chickens from four days of age: cobalt carbonate 2.5, copper sulfate 200, manganese sulfate 250, zinc carbonate 12, biovit 100, penicillin 5, furazalidone 30.

Furazalidone is included in feed for chickens as an experimentally proven agent that has high antibacterial activity against such dangerous infectious diseases of animals as typhoid, white diarrhea, paratyphoid.

The most uniform distribution of enrichment mixtures in mixed feed is ensured by preliminary preparation of mixtures of fillers and microingredients and their subsequent dosing into the compound feed.

Powerful stationary plants with a capacity of more than 280 tons per day are located on transport routes in areas of widespread production of feed and food grains and flour-grinding enterprises.

However, along with large feed mills of national importance, there are plants with medium capacity (from 110 to 200 tons per day) and low capacity (from 30 to 100 tons per day) that have zonal significance. Small-sized, universal feed mills (MUKZ-35) with a capacity of 50 tons of feed per day are becoming even more widespread, especially in the RSFSR.

At the same time, special feed mills are being built at elevators, mills, and cereal factories, and installations are being introduced that are adapted for the production of feed directly on the farm using feed of its own production as the main ingredients. Feed mixtures are also prepared according to recipes. Sample recipes for some feed mixtures for cattle, pigs and poultry from the main feed available on the farm (silage, sugar beets, pulp, etc.) are given in Table 64.

Table 64

Approximate recipes for feed mixtures (%)

When producing compound feeds for different sex and age groups of pigs, it is very important to take into account the protein and fiber content. In compound feeds for suckling piglets, digestible protein per 1 feed unit should be 150-160 g, and fiber should not be more than 5/0; for weaned piglets, queens in the second period of pregnancy and suckling piglets - at least 135 g of indigestible protein, fiber for weaners is allowed a maximum of 7%, and for queens 10%.

In compound feeds for fattening pigs, you must have at least 125 g of digestible protein and no more than 8-9% fiber.

For dairy cows, young fattening cattle and sheep with a lack of protein feed, 2.5-4% urea (urea) is added to the feed composition.

The All-Union Animal Husbandry Research Institute has developed a recipe for experimental feed for dairy cows and sheep, in which sunflower cake was replaced with urea and grain concentrates (Table 65):

Table 65

Recipe for experimental mixed feed with synthetic urea per 100 kg of feed (%)

In the feed for dairy cows, instead of 20.5 kg of sunflower cake and 3 kg of wheat bran, 2.5 kg of urea and 21 kg of barley were included, and in the feed for sheep, instead of 35 kg of cake, 4 kg of urea and 28.5 kg of corn grain were included.

Testing of these feedstuffs at the Bogoroditsky Agricultural College (Tula Region) and on other farms showed that the daily milk yield of cows fed feedstuff with urea was 1.5-2 kg higher than that of cows given control feedstuff without urea. but did not differ noticeably from the milk yield of cows fed mixed feed with cake.

Compound feed with urea was also studied on other farms - on the Pakhomovo breeding farm in the Zaoksky district of the Tula region.

Positive results were also obtained when testing these feedstuffs when feeding sheep.

The ingredients of feed mixtures must be free of signs of mold, putrid or musty odor and a certain moisture content. It is especially necessary to monitor the condition of animal feed, which, with high humidity, quickly deteriorates and causes intoxication (poisoning) of the animal’s body. The moisture content of these feeds should not exceed 14.5%.

Feed mixtures for young animals, pregnant and suckling queens should not include grain waste that contains seeds of wild plants, as this can disrupt digestion and cause poisoning.

To increase the biological value of feed mixtures, it is advisable to include leguminous crops in their composition in quantities no greater than those indicated in Table 66.

Compound feeds should be fed only to the group of animals for which they are manufactured.

For example, feed intended for fattening pigs cannot be fed to suckling and weaned piglets, as it can cause gastric diseases. In addition, it is high in fiber and low in digestible protein. Compound feed for suckling or weaned piglets should not be used for fattening pigs. It is expensive, contains a lot of digestible protein, which at this age is less effectively used for the formation of meat.

Table 66

Maximum norms for the inclusion of legume grain in mixed feed (%) l.

Compound feed concentrates (loose) are fed on the farm like regular concentrated feed in dry or moistened form.

The most economical method is to feed dry feed from self-feeders, which eliminates the need to install feed kitchens.

Granulated feed concentrates are fed to animals without prior preparation in dry form.

The Kuban Agricultural Institute (I F Tkachev) recommends the following simple recipes for feed mixtures prepared directly on farms with corn harvest reserves.

1. Corn dirt -50%, barley dirt -20%, peas or beans -20%, alfalfa hay meal - 8%, feed chalk - 1%, salt - 1%

2. Corn dirt - 50%, barley dirt - 20%, sunflower cake or meal - 20%, hay flour - 8%, chalk - 1%, salt - 1%.

3. Corn dirt -40%, barley dirt -20%, sunflower cake or meal -20%, wheat bran -20% (for dairy cows),

4. Dry pulp -55%, wheat bran - 20%, sunflower cake - 10%, molasses - 10%, urea - 5% (for dairy cows).

The mixture is prepared as follows. First of all, create a recipe for such a mixture. Feed is selected in accordance with the productivity of the animals for which it is intended. For young animals and dairy cattle, mixtures are made that are rich in protein feed, and for fattening animals - with a high content of carbohydrates. Minerals must be added to the mixture. Then the number of kilograms of each type of feed, as well as mineral supplements, is calculated. All feed is finely crushed or ground, poured into the bin and mixed thoroughly. Further preparation of mixtures for feeding is the same as for grain.

On livestock farms, with significantly less manual labor, feed mixtures can be prepared using an AKN-1M feed preparation unit (Fig. 49). The feed is mixed evenly on it, which cannot be achieved when doing this work manually.

The unit not only mixes feed, but also crushes it to the required degree of grinding.

The feed mixture on the unit is prepared as follows. Based on a given diet, they calculate how much to include in the mixture with a total weight of 350-400 kg of various feeds, and weigh them on scales or measure them using a volumetric method.

Weights of individual types of feed are calculated using the formula:

Rice. 49. AKN-1M unit for preparing mixed feed.

Then the unit is put into operation and various feeds are alternately loaded into the receiving bucket 7. It is better to first load all the bulk feeds (grain, cake, etc.), and then the coarse ones (hay, corn cobs). From the receiving bucket, through a window with an adjustable damper, they enter the hammer crusher and are crushed there. The degree of grinding is changed by replaceable sieves.

The crushed feed is sucked out of the crusher by a fan and pumped through pipe 9 into one of the mixing hoppers /. Each bin holds 350-400 kg of mixture. Switching the feed loading of one or another bunker is done by handle 10.

Feed that does not require crushing (bran, etc.) is fed through pipe 6 directly into the fan and then into the mixing hopper. When crushing roughage (hay, etc.), the adjusting valve of the crusher inlet neck is opened completely. The filling of the bunkers is monitored using the viewing window //.

After filling one of the bunkers, the vertical mixing auger installed inside the bunker is turned on for 5-7 minutes, and the feed is mixed. Then, handle 2 opens the valve and the finished feed mixture is unloaded through neck 3. When unloading feed from the hopper, the mixing auger continues to operate.

Simultaneously with mixing feed in one bunker, a new batch of feed can be loaded into another bunker. 1

On this unit, 2-3 people prepare 600 kg of mixture per hour.

The unit can be used simply as a crusher. It is driven by a 14 kW electric motor or by a tractor power take-off shaft

The unit is easy to attach to Belarus or 1-28 tractors and can be quickly transferred to various farms. In this embodiment, it can be successfully used primarily in non-electrified farms, serving in turn a number of farms and departments.

Prepared feed mixtures, like other concentrates, are fed to cattle, sheep and horses in a slightly moistened form, and to pigs and poultry in the form of a steeply mixed porridge. Mixtures containing 25-30% protein feed and hay flour should not be boiled, salted or yeasted.

During storage, mixed feed should not be allowed to mix with each other or with other feed. They must be stored in a dry place.

Recently, our feed industry has begun to produce feed in granular form; granulated feed is more convenient to transport, store and feed.

When feeding animals, significantly less time is required for distribution, since such feed can be poured into automatic feeders one slot every 2-3 days.

Many studies have been conducted here and abroad to determine the effectiveness of feeding farm animals with granulated compound feed. Experiments show that feeding granulated compound feed, compared to loose feed, helps to increase the productivity of farm animals. At the same time, feed costs are 10-19o/p less.

In our country, the production of granulated feed has begun to develop in recent years.

At feed mills, two methods of the technological process for producing granulated feed are used - wet and dry.

Granulated feed produced by the wet method have greater mechanical strength and do not lose their shape in water for a long time. Their production is more expensive and the technology is more complex, so they are used only for feeding fish in ponds and reservoirs.

Granulated feed produced by the dry method have a more shiny, polished surface, lose their shape faster in water and crumble during transportation. Their production technology is less complex; They are used to feed farm animals.

Table 67 shows data from the laboratory of compound feeds of the All-Union Institute of Grain, characterizing the quality of compound feeds obtained by dry and wet methods.

The All-Union Institute of Animal Husbandry studied the effectiveness of feeding granulated mixed feed to young cattle against the background of the main economic diet.

Table 67

Qualitative characteristics of granulated feed

There were two groups of bulls in the experiments. Animals in the control group received loose feed in addition to the main diet, while animals in the experimental group received granulated feed. The tested feed had the same composition: corn grain - 30%, wheat bran - 1 / grain waste - 10, cotton cake - 10, sunflower meal - 10, grass meal - 20, chalk - 2, salt - 1%. 1 kg of feed contained 0.98 feed units and 171 g of crude protein

In terms of chemical composition, granulated feed, due to the action of steam and pressure on it, differed from loose feed in that it contained 1.46% less fiber and 2.33% more nitrogen-free extractive substances. 1

Experiments have shown that, with all other feeding and housing conditions being equal, animals fed granulated feed had 10-13% higher daily weight gain at lower feed consumption per 1 kg of weight gain compared to control bulls fed loose feed.

In the USA and Western European countries, most of the feed is prepared in granular form.