Mash Preparation Requires Skill

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31783, 13 September 1968, Page 8

Mash Preparation Requires Skill

rpHERE is more to poultry mash than meets the eye Few persons outside the poultry industry realise the work, care and skill that must go into blending and mixing a successful poultry mash. The success of a mash, too, must be judged not only by the results it gives, but also on its cost, and therefore the expenditure needed to achieve the results. Depending on the bird—whether it is a meat chicken, or a laying bird, for instance—different mashes must be fed. One large Christchurch company producing mash, Wood Brothers, Ltd, produces 30 different

formulae for different purposes. One mash may have up to 21 different constituents, although 10 or 12 is the average. These constituents may include wheat, barley, maize, tallow, meat meal and fish meal. This particular company mixes its mashes at the rate of six tons an hour, the ingredients being precisely measured by using a large electronic control panel. The amounts of various ingredients are set on the panel according to a predetermined formula, and the machine automatically measures the correct amounts from hoppers into the mixer, and mixes for a preset time.

Some mash is processed into pellets, being subjected to pressure and heat, and forced through a die. If the pellets are for chicks, they can be broken to a smaller size by yet another machine. Pellets have the advantage that birds cannot merely pick out and eat the grains they like: they must consume the entire, balanced food. Pellets are also easier to handle and tend to be less wasteful in use. Samples of the mash are frequently tested for quality, and some are sent to Australian laboratories for this to be done. Practical tests with different formulae are also carried out regularly-