Inspirational ideas: Alternatives for expensive protein feed for laying hens

German farmer searches sustainable alternatives for imported protein feed

Sourcing the protein components of animal feed is expensive and farmers often have to rely on imported oilcakes and soya. A number of European farmers are now searching for viable alternatives. German farmer Peter Probst, who runs an enterprise of organic eggs, and Prof. Knut Schmidtke, chairman of Organic Farming at the Dresden University of Applied Sciences (HTW Dresden), have started an Operational Group project to test and evaluate the impact of using clover in animal feed.

Peter Probst's farm has been organic since 2011. He owns over 100 ha of farmland in the German state of Saxony. As well as sheep, cows and horses, he has 1600 laying hens. Peter currently feeds his hens with pellets containing sesame seed meal for protein. He recently teamed up with the applied research and technology institute ZAFT at Dresden University. Knut Schmidtke suggested Peter to test red and white clover as a suitable replacement. He explains: “In previous experiments clover had shown to be a suitable nitrogen source in fertilising gardening plots, so we had the idea to also use it as a protein compound in the feed of non-ruminants such as laying hens.” Peter adds: “We needed to add clover into our crop rotation for non-ruminants because this is good farm practice in ecological farming. We chose to set up an Operational Group to cultivate the white and red clover and test it to increase the proportion of protein components in the feed produced in Germany and even on-farm.”

Peter continues: “We wanted to evaluate whether red and white clover pellets are easily digestible for the laying hens, and analyse the nutritional values. In doing so, we worked with a poultry expert and tried different mixes of feed with differently aged hens. Each time, we evaluated the feedstuffs regarding laying hen performance and egg quality, compared to the regular feed. This happened every 8 weeks in a group of 100 hens.”

The project has been running for over a year now and results have already proven useful for Peter. “We found out that white clover is indeed well-suited as a feed component. On the other hand, when 15% of red clover pellets are used in the feed this had a negative influence on egg production and egg quality. It may be that smaller proportions could work better. When it comes to the costs, there is not much difference compared to our normal protein components. Depending on the nutritional value and protein content, some mixtures we tested were slightly cheaper, others a bit more expensive.”

Peter will use the results in his daily work: “We have decided to start with using a proportion of 5% white clover pellets in the diet of the laying hens and we will gradually raise the percentage. For the older hens this means the feedstuff will be 0.01€ cheaper per kg. For the younger hens this actually makes the feedstuff 0.02€ more expensive per kg, because they contain a necessary additional 4% potato protein. However, a significant improvement in production rate was noticed and the feedstuff give the yolk a very attractive and even colour.” 

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