Grain Extruders: How to Improve Feed Quality and Animal Growth

Maximizing feed quality is a priority in agriculture and livestock farming. To achieve this goal, many farms and processing plants turn to modern solutions such as grain extruders. These extruders significantly contribute to improving animal growth by processing grain into an expanded mass that ultimately takes the shape of small sticks.

One of the key processes carried out by extruders is the deactivation of anti-nutritional substances found in legumes. As a result, the feed becomes more digestible and beneficial for animals, which translates into healthy and balanced development. Moreover, under the influence of high temperatures, the feed is disinfected, eliminating harmful microflora, fungi, and pathogenic bacteria. This is particularly important in the case of young animals and chicks, which are more susceptible to pathogens.

A key element of the extrusion process is the level of pressure and high temperature. Thanks to the short-term exposure to temperature (occurring in a fraction of a second), vitamins and other nutrients remain intact. As a result, animals do not lose energy on digesting the feed, which leads to increased body weight and milk production. Feed digestibility by animal organisms reaches up to 90%.

Another advantage of extruded feed is its exceptional physical stability. The finished product is perfectly suitable for transport and storage because it does not separate or crumble. This means lower losses and higher efficiency.

The extrusion process is a precise operation, and the working part of the feed extruder consists of two chambers. The raw material is poured into the loading chamber and then subjected to heat treatment at temperatures reaching 160–180 degrees under high pressure. The material then “explodes.” As a result of this process, the grain foams, increasing its volume several times. Thanks to this, animals require less feed in the form of airy sticks to achieve full nutritional satisfaction compared to traditional pellets. 

In summary, grain extruders are a key tool in the process of improving feed quality and enhancing livestock production efficiency.

Here is the link to our extruders! We warmly encourage you to browse our offers of extruders to suit your needs.