Fish meal: composition and application

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Experienced farmers advise pets and poultry to mix fishmeal into feed without fail. This is a very useful product that helps accelerate growth and development. It contains just a huge amount of various vitamins and minerals.

Phosphorus and selenium

What are the substances that are part of a product such as fishmeal, are considered useful? In very large quantities, fishmeal, like all seafood, contains phosphorus. This element is involved in almost all life processes of the animal organism. It is he who accelerates their growth. A distinctive feature of phosphorus is that it is completely absorbed by the body.

Another substance found in fishmeal, selenium, provides a boost to the immune system. There is a lot of this trace element in legumes. However, in the soils on the territory of our country it contains very little. Accordingly, feeding peas and beans to animals does not allow it to be fully replenished. This is where fishmeal comes in.

Protein content of fishmeal

The proteins in fishmeal are verya lot - at least 60-65%. And in an expensive and high-quality product - 70%. It is this substance that is the source of protein. Another component of it is amino acids. They are needed by the body to build muscle tissue. He cannot make them on his own. Flour contains the most effective natural amino acids: cystine, methionine, lysine, threonine.

Fish meal, whose composition allows it to be successfully used in agriculture, also contains animal fats. They ideally complement the vegetable, entering the body with grass, fruits and vegetables. The correct balance of these substances stimulates the production of antibodies, as a result of which animals are much less likely to get sick. Another type of trace elements is polyunsaturated acids. They contribute to the production of a special hormone - progesterone. It, in turn, has a beneficial effect on the ability of animals to reproduce.

The digestibility of the protein contained in fishmeal is very high and is about 95%. Actually, there is a lot of protein, as the main product, in it - about 60%.

Flour composition

The chemical composition of this product can be seen in the table below.

Useful substances	Quantity
Protein	60 %
Fiber	1 %
Fat, raw	1 %
Phosphorus	3.5 %
B	1mg/kg
B4	3500mg/kg

Vitamins in fishmeal

Fishmeal, the composition of which in terms of trace elements is unusually diverse, including vitamins A, D, B. They are not enough in vegetable feeds. In flour, on the contrary, there is a lot. Vitamin A contributes to the growth and development of the organism of animals. He is directly involved in the formation of new cells. Vitamin B stimulates nervous and muscular activity, and D promotes the absorption of animal phosphorus. Its deficiency can cause rickets.

Benefits of fishmeal

Fishmeal, whose producers currently sell a fairly high-quality product, when added to feed allows:

• To accelerate the growth and development of pets and poultry.
• Strengthen their immune system.
• Improve the development of nerve and bone tissues. This reduces the risk of various kinds of skeletal deformities.

What animals benefit from fishmeal

It is very useful, for example, to give fishmeal to egg-laying hens. This increases the number of eggs they lay. It also prevents the development of various diseases. In addition, the use of this product can significantly improve the quality of the eggs themselves. Fish meal, the use of which in agriculture is more than justified, is very often used in the field of dairy farming. Feeding her cows allowsreduce the fat content of milk. Also, the meat of such animals has an optimal fat composition. In fur farming, this product improves the quality of the fur. It is very useful to give it to rabbits and nutrias.

From what raw materials flour is produced

Production of fishmeal is a process that requires the use of special equipment - presses, conveyors, etc. It can be made from almost any commercial marine fish. However, small varieties are most suitable for this purpose, which, by the way, are usually not suitable for human nutrition. Flour production is one of the main directions of the fishing industry. To obtain 1 ton of this product, it is necessary to process approximately 5-6 tons of raw materials. About 6.5 million tons of this useful product are produced annually around the world.

Methods for making fishmeal

Production of fishmeal is a process carried out in the following ways:

• Direct dry.
• Extraction.
• Press-dryer.
• Centrifuge dryer.
• Combined.

Direct drying method

Cooking fishmeal takes place in special drums with agitator blades. Before loading the crushed raw materials, they are heated to a temperature of 85-90 gr. Initially, the fish is boiled for about half an hour. The term of hot processing directly depends on the content of lipids in raw materials. After cooking is completed, pressure is built up in the drum, whichgradually increase. Drying time is usually around 4 hours if the fish contains 10-12% water initially.

After the flour is ready, it is removed from the drum with a stirrer and fed to a press to partially remove fat. The resulting briquettes are crushed in a special mill and passed through magnets to remove microscopic metal dust particles that have fallen. Then the flour is packed into bags or bags and sent to the warehouse.

Extraction method

In this case, the production of a product such as fish meal is based on a process called azeotropic distillation. It did not receive a particularly wide distribution. It is mainly used only in the manufacture of granular fishmeal. It is obtained in this case on special installations using solvents such as trichloroethane, isopropyl alcohol, hexane and dichloroethane.

Press-drying method

In this case, the raw material is fed through the conveyor into a special hopper, and then into the brewing tank. After hot working, it enters the screw press to remove moisture. The mass remaining after squeezing is dried and crushed.

One of the modifications of this method is the centrifuge-dryer. In this case, after cooking, the fish does not go under the press, but into a special centrifuge.

The broth left after processing raw materials in all these ways is used to prepare another very useful product - fish oil. It is also very commonly added to animal feed. Extremelyit is useful, for example, for ducklings and chickens. Receiving fish oil, young birds are much less sick, and the lunge also decreases. This product, like flour, is mixed into bird feed. Experienced farmers recommend pre-diluting it with water in a ratio of 1: 2.

Can I make my own fishmeal

Some farmers are interested in the question of how fishmeal is made at home. As you can see, the technology for its production is not complicated, but it requires special equipment. Therefore, it is unlikely that it will be possible to do it on your own. Yes, and the product in this case will cost even more than the purchased one.

Fish meal: instructions for use

Norms of feeding fishmeal for different animals are different. So, dairy cows can be given half a kilo per day. In the diet of poultry, it should be 2-3%. Chickens, geese and ducklings can be fed up to 7% of the total amount of feed. Too much fish meal should not be given to the bird, however.

Which manufacturer's product to buy

Produce fishmeal in almost all countries of the world. The highest quality is considered to be produced in Chile and Peru. However, such flour is quite expensive. Therefore, domestic farmers prefer to purchase Russian-made products. In terms of quality, it is practically not inferior to Chilean and Peruvian, but at the same time it costs much less.

How to store the product

If the fishmeal is stored incorrectly,lipids will begin to oxidize, and the content of vitamins will significantly decrease in the supplement itself. In addition, the moisture content of the product may change. In a damp room, the flour will actively absorb water vapor, in a too dry room, on the contrary, give it away. The optimal humidity in the room for storing this product is 60-70%. In some cases, this figure may be slightly higher. However, in no case should it exceed 75%.

Thus, fishmeal is a product, as you can see, very useful and at the same time inexpensive. It is not difficult to make it, but it cannot be done without the use of special equipment.