AGRIBUSINESS: How to Feed chicken with watermelon and banana peels.
The current increase in prices of maize which is a major component of poultry feed has increased the cost of poultry feed,leading to more farmers looking for alternatives without dropping egg production.
A 100kg bag of maize, which used to cost about N6, 000 in is now being sold for about N12, 000 and the cost of fish meal which is another important ingredient in poultry feeds, has increased by 60 per cent.
A kilogramme of fish meal that used to sell for N500 now costs about N900.
How to Feed chicken with watermelon and banana peels. The high cost of feed has led to reduced production in some farms as some farmers are giving reduced rations to their birds which invariably reduces egg production .
Farmers seeking alternative sources of feed with intention to boost production and profit can adopt any of these proven methods.
Watermelon is a popular fruit in the country and many people have switched to this fruit because of the profit potential in the cultivation and also because of its health benefits.
Poultry birds can also be given cuts of watermelon fruit as a replacement feed. The ration of the birds can be supplemented by up to 30%, this will reduce the cost of feed and number of the feed the farmer procures.
AGRIBUSINESS: How to Feed chicken with watermelon and banana peels. Researchers at UP Los Baños have gone a step further with the watermelon by using the rind. The team fed watermelon rind to chickens for 6 months and compared the weight and production to chicken given ordinary commercial feed.
The result showed that the commercial feeds can be replaced with watermelon rind up to 20%.
The method of use was as follows
1) wash the rind.
2) boil the rind.
3) dry the rind in the sun .
4) grind and mix with the commercial feed .
Researchers in Southern Mindanao Agricultural Research in Kabacan, North Cotabato have used banana peels in broilers.
The Broilers fed with 5% chopped banana leaves gained weight of 1-1/2 kilos more than those fed with commercial starter mash ration or with 10% added banana leaves.
The method of use is as follows 1.) Wash and Chop fine raw banana peels.
2.) Boil for one hour, drain and allow to cool.
3) Dry the banana peel.
The peels were incorporated to feed as follows ; for every kilo of the dried peel add 1) 150 gms dried chicken manure.
2) 100 gms rice bran.
3) Mix thoroughly and allow to dry in the sun.
4) blend the mixture to about 1 mm size.
This can be mixed up to 15% commercial broiler starter mash and finisher mash as follows
1)850 gm commercial mash then
add 2) 150 gm banana peel mixture.
For broiler feed, ration diet is starter mash from day 1 to day 42, and finisher mash from 42-49 days. Chickens fed 25% with this in 56 days had same weight with those fed with 100% corn.
Watermelon is very useful aside from the fruit itself the rind itself is food ,see the rind is also useful in feeding snails.
The current increase in prices of maize which is a major component of poultry feed has increased the cost of poultry feed,leading to more farmers looking for alternatives without dropping egg production.
A Queensland watermelon grower says he sings and talks to his crop to ensure he gets the sweetest fruit, but the tastiest is left in the field.
Grower Anthony Rehbein says he sings to his watermelons to ensure he gets the best fruit. (ABC Rural) Anthony Rehbein will harvest 100 tonne of the fruit per day for an eight week period over summer, and has used social media to allow consumers to follow the life cycle of a watermelon."Everyday since I planted them I talk to them, sing to them, look at them, touch them, make sure there's no stress so no matter what crop you grow you've got to nurture just like kids," he said.Despite the love and attention Mr Rehbein gives it, he said fussy consumers have forced him to leave behind a quarter of his crop, because the melons contain seeds."There's two types (of melon) and you can't grow one without the other," he said."There's a pollinator, which is a seeded watermelon, and then there's a seedless, which is three quarters of your crop.
The bees come in, do their work and cross pollinate so the customer gets seedless watermelons."That's the only way you don't get seeds, is through bee pollination, and using the Red Tigers, which is a fantastic seeded watermelon, and the Royal Armarda, which is our seedless."You've got to have both."But Mr Rehbein still believes the seeded varieties are the better eating fruit.
Mr Rehbein sais the busy harvest is an exciting time on the farm."The pickers go out and pick virtually every daylight hour that we have," he said."They're looking for the blush of the melon, like a slight yellowing or a sunburn on top, which tells you that the internal colour is nice and red and ready to go."They give it a little 'love tap' so that they know that the melon is solid and full inside.
He said the melons hit the Sydney or Melbourne markets within three days of being picked."When it's hot, people like melon and it's a great time of year, we're coming out of winter, great to take to the beach," he said.Read the benefits of watermelon;www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7719362384747421432#editor/target=post;postID=1320249339715928435;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=6;src=postname
Story credit; ABC NEWS.
HOW TO FEED CHICKENS WITH WATERMELON. 
. Fruits and vegetables have increasingly found usefulness in raising birds ,these has been incorporated as extracts or whole plants to tap into the benefits. The use of natural supplement in animal production is very necessary not only for financial implication but also on health grounds.
Watermelon given to dogs must be clean,diced/cubed and seedless, and give moderate servings /mealtime.
If your dog is eating poop; supplement with watermelon and you will be amazed at the result.
