Birds eat for energy first. Learn what metabolisable energy and crude protein really tell you, and how to price the protein in a bag.
Halaal Farms Ghana team24 September 2026 · 11 min read
A bird does not eat protein. It eats feed, and it keeps eating until its energy need is met. That single fact explains most of what goes right and wrong with the two numbers that matter most on a poultry bag. Energy sets how much the bird takes in. Protein and the amino acids inside it set what the bird can build from that intake.
If the feed is thin in energy, the bird eats more to reach the energy it needs, and it may run short of other nutrients in the process. If the feed is rich in energy, the bird eats less, and any gap in protein or amino acids shows up faster in weight gain and feathering. Farmers who look only at the protein figure often miss this. The bag can look generous and still be the wrong bag for the flock.
So read the energy and protein figures together, and read them with the birds in front of you. A label can tell you what the feed contains. Only the flock can tell you whether it is working.
Most labels in the Ghanaian market show energy as metabolisable energy, written in kilocalories per kilogram, often shortened to kcal/kg. The word metabolisable means the energy the bird can actually use, after the losses in digestion are taken away. The number on the bag is therefore not the energy in the grain. It is the energy left for the bird after the feed has been digested.
Two feeds with the same protein can carry different energy because of what they are made from. Fat carries a lot of energy per kilo. Maize carries a good deal. Fibre carries little, and bulky by-products such as wheat offal carry less again. A feed that uses more fat and fewer fibrous by-products will usually show a higher energy figure, and a feed that stretches with bran will usually show a lower one.
Be careful when you compare energy figures. Some makers state energy on an as-fed basis, which includes the moisture in the feed, and others state it on a dry-matter basis, which leaves moisture out. The two numbers are not the same thing. If a seller quotes you an energy figure, ask which basis it is on. If the answer is unclear, do not treat the two bags as comparable until you have the same kind of figure for both.
In the hot months the energy question becomes more urgent. Birds in a hot house eat less, sometimes a lot less through the afternoon. When intake falls, so does the energy they take in. A more energy-dense feed can help hold intake up in that period, but a feed that is too rich can bring its own trouble, with fatter birds and wetter litter. The safe rule is to change feed slowly, over several days, and to watch what the birds actually eat.
Crude protein is measured in a laboratory by testing the nitrogen in the feed, then converting that figure into protein. It tells you how much nitrogen the feed contains. It does not tell you how much of that nitrogen the bird can use. Some of the nitrogen in a feed comes from ingredients that the bird digests poorly, such as feather meal or certain fibrous by-products. A feed can pass the crude protein test and still under-deliver on the job the farmer bought it for.
That is why the crude protein minimum on a label is a floor, not a target to chase on its own. A bag that comfortably clears its minimum may still be a poor buy if its protein is locked in ingredients that are hard to digest. A bag that sits at the minimum may do well if the protein comes from good ingredients and the amino acids are balanced. The number alone cannot separate the two cases.
Soya is the main protein source in most mill feeds, and fishmeal adds protein and some minerals. Local by-products vary a great deal in quality from one lot to the next. Ask the feed maker which protein sources are in the bag, and whether the blend changes when prices move. A maker who says the recipe never changes is either very consistent or not telling you the whole story.
Birds build feathers and muscle from amino acids, not from protein as a lump. Two of them, lysine and methionine, get the most attention in maize and soya diets, because they tend to run short before the others do. You will rarely find them printed on a small-farm label. The feed maker and the mill nutritionist will know them, and they should be able to tell you what the formula delivers.
So ask the question directly. Does the feed get its amino acids from the ingredients listed, and are they stated as digestible amino acids? If the answer is vague, ask about lysine and methionine by name. A maker who knows the answer will give it to you without fuss. A maker who does not know it is telling you that the protein figure is the only thing they have controlled.
The effect on the flock is easy to recognise even without a lab. Feathering is slow, the flock is uneven, and some birds in each batch never catch up. Growth can stall even when the protein figure on the bag looks fine. If you see that pattern, do not add more protein to fix it. Raise the question of amino acid balance with the maker first.
You are paying for protein, so compare the cost of protein, not the cost of the bag. The sum is simple. Take the price per kilo of feed and divide it by the protein fraction. A feed with 20 per cent protein carries 200 grams of protein in every kilo.
The 20 per cent here is a round number, chosen only so the sum is easy to follow. It is not a target for any birds and it is not the level of any feed you will buy. Put your own label's figure into the same sum.
The two bags look identical from the front and cost GH₵7.00 more per kilo of protein from the back of the store. That gap is the reason to run the sum before you buy. A feed with a higher protein figure is not automatically dearer per kilo of protein. Sometimes it is cheaper. Only the label figure and the price on the day will tell you which.
Use the same sum with the figures on your own labels and the prices your seller quotes. Write the answer next to the batch number. After two or three bags you will have a small record that is worth more than any advice from a shop counter.
Energy and protein have to move together. Birds need protein and amino acids in proportion to the energy they eat. If you raise energy by adding fat or grain without raising protein, the ratio falls, and the bird puts on fat before it puts on muscle. If you raise protein without enough energy, the bird eats more feed to meet its energy need, and the extra protein is used for energy or passed out. Either way you pay for something the bird is not using well.
This is why a change of feed should be a planned change, not a random swap when the price moves. A new bag with a different energy and protein balance needs a few days of watching. Note what the birds eat, how their weights move and how the litter looks. If the birds respond badly, go back to the previous bag while you ask the maker for an explanation.
The table below sets out what each figure means on the ground and what to watch in the flock. Use it when you read a new label.
| Figure or item | What goes wrong if it is off | What to watch in the flock |
|---|---|---|
| Metabolisable energy | Too low: birds eat more feed and gain more slowly per kilo. Too high: birds can gain fat before muscle | Feed taken per bird and the weekly weight sample |
| Crude protein (minimum) | Too low: slow feathering and slow muscle growth. Too high: extra cost with no return | Weight against the expected curve, and feathering in young birds |
| Lysine and methionine | Short: growth stalls even when the protein figure looks fine | Uniformity across the flock and slow catch-up birds |
| Crude fibre (maximum) | High: less energy per kilo and wetter droppings | Droppings and feed left in the trough |
| Calcium | Low in laying birds: thin or soft shells | Shell quality and the laying rate each week |
| Salt | Too high: extra thirst and wet litter. Too low: poor growth and appetite | Water intake and how wet the litter feels underfoot |
The seasons in Ghana change how the two figures behave in the house. The harmattan brings dry air, fine dust and cool mornings, and open-sided houses can feel very different at night from the afternoon. Birds tend to eat more in the cool hours and less when the heat builds. When the hot spell arrives after a cool stretch, intake can drop quickly, and the energy the bird takes in drops with it.
That is when a dilute feed hurts most. A bird that eats less of a thin feed can fall behind on energy and protein at the same time. Feed in the cool of the morning and again in the late afternoon. Check the trough at midday, and top up the water before you top up the feed. If a heat wave arrives in the middle of a feed phase, do not change the whole bag in a hurry. Make small adjustments to the bird's environment first, and only change the feed when you have a clear reason.
Dust and damp are the other seasonal problems. Dust settles on top of the feed in the trough, so the top of the pan is the first thing to clean. Damp weather after the rains can make the same feed cake and go off. Both are reasons to check the feed you put in the trough, not just the feed you have in the store.
A label gives you a claim, and a flock gives you the result. For broilers the two numbers to watch are weight and feed used. A broiler that is well managed reaches market weight after about 4.2 kg of feed, over six to seven weeks. That is a useful benchmark, not a promise, because weather, breed, house and management all change the result.
Weigh a sample of birds every week and write down the average. Compare it with the feed you have used so far. If the birds are heavier than expected and the feed bill is high, the bag may be richer than the flock needs in that phase. If the birds are light and the feed is not being eaten, check the feeders, the water and the house before you blame the formula. A good bag cannot make up for birds that cannot reach it.
Mortality is the second check. Well-managed flocks lose about 3 to 5 per cent. Poor management can lose 10 to 20 per cent. In a box of 50, that is roughly one and a half to two and a half birds at the good end, against five to ten at the poor end. Deaths have many causes, so do not blame the feed for every loss. But if losses rise after a change of bag, keep the bag, note the batch and call your vet the same day.
For layers, the weekly egg count and shell quality tell you more than any single weight. Shell quality is often the first sign of a calcium problem, and an uneven laying rate often points to an energy or protein shortfall that has been building for a while.
No. Extra protein costs money, and the bird can only use what its energy intake and amino acid balance allow. A higher protein figure is worth paying for only when the flock shows it is short, and when the protein is of good quality.
It is the energy the bird can actually use from the feed after digestion. It is not the energy in the grain before the bird eats it. Two feeds with the same ingredients can show different energy figures depending on how they are measured, so ask the maker which basis they use.
It can raise energy, but it also changes the balance of the whole diet, so protein and amino acids may fall behind. Make any change only on the advice of a feed adviser or your vet, and watch the flock closely for a week after the change.
Ask the feed maker for the specification of the phase you are feeding, and ask your district veterinary or agricultural office to check your plan. The right figures depend on breed, age and season, so we do not give a single target here. Confirm it with the people who can see your birds.
Good feed does its job best in a flock that was bred and hatched well from the start. If you are planning the phases for a new flock, our guide to phase feeding and our notes on soya and other protein sources in Ghana go into the feed side in more detail. When you are ready to start, read about our broiler day-old chicks and send the order form. Prefer to talk it through first? Call 024 915 1503, or email support@halaalfarmsghana.com. An order starts with a message, not with money.
Written by the Halaal Farms Ghana team. We hatch and import day-old chicks at Opeikuma, Kasoa, and deliver to all 16 regions. This article is general guidance for farmers. For diagnosis and treatment of sick birds, speak to a vet or your district veterinary office.
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