Short answer: Blood meal is a dense, high-protein by-product from slaughterhouses that can help a grain-based mash in Ghana, but it is short of isoleucine and tastes poor, so birds often eat less of it at higher shares. Use dried, feed-grade blood meal at a low share beside another protein, and never mix fresh blood from a slaughter slab into the mash.
Key takeaways
- Dried blood meal carries roughly 80 to 90 per cent crude protein and is rich in lysine.
- It is poor in isoleucine and low in methionine, so it cannot be the only protein in the ration.
- Birds often eat less of the mash at higher shares, which can cancel out the protein you gained.
- Only dried, feed-grade blood meal from a processor with a heat-treatment and salmonella record is worth buying.
- Fresh blood from your own slaughter should never go into the feed.
What blood meal is, and how the factory makes it
A slaughterhouse produces a great deal of blood, and in most places it is collected, cooked and dried into a powder. That powder is blood meal. Its protein comes from the blood itself, mostly haemoglobin and plasma protein, so the nutrient is concentrated, and a small weight of blood meal carries a large weight of protein.
The drying method changes the product a lot. Spray-dried blood meal is usually the most digestible, because the blood dries quickly at a moderate temperature. Flash-dried and ring-dried meals can also be good, but if they are overheated, the lysine becomes less available to the bird. A sack that looks dark brown, hard and clumped has probably been overheated, or stored damp, or both.
High protein on the sack, uneven amino acids in the bird
Dried blood meal often sits at roughly 80 to 90 per cent crude protein, far above any grain or soya. That number tempts farmers to treat it as a pure protein. It is not. The amino acid balance is the real measure, and blood meal is lopsided.
| Amino acid | Blood meal | What it means for the mash |
|---|---|---|
| Lysine | High | Helps correct the lysine gap in a maize-based mash |
| Isoleucine | Very low | The main limit. Needs a second protein or a supplement |
| Methionine | Low | Still needs a methionine source in most rations |
| Leucine | High | Can worsen the isoleucine shortage if it dominates the protein |
The practical point is this. A ration that uses blood meal for its lysine still needs isoleucine and methionine from somewhere else, usually soya or fishmeal, or a synthetic amino acid that your nutritionist can add. Blood meal works best as one of two or three proteins, never as the only one.
Why birds eat less of it, and what that does to your gain
Blood meal is not appetising. It has a metallic, sometimes sour smell, and it clumps when it is damp. Birds often pick around it. At low shares they hardly notice. At higher shares they eat less of the whole mash, so the protein you added is cancelled by the energy you no longer get from the grain.
Introduce it in steps. Mix it into a small portion of the feed first, watch the birds clean the trough, and raise the share only once the feed is being cleaned up. If you see birds leaving mash in the corners, the blood meal is the first suspect.
Safety: the risks that matter more than the protein
Blood is a route for bacteria. A properly dried, heat-treated blood meal from a licensed processor has been through steps that kill most pathogens, including salmonella. A damp, badly stored or re-bagged product has not. Ask the supplier how the product is heat-treated and whether each batch is tested for salmonella. Keep the bag closed and dry, and keep rats and wild birds away from it.
Origin matters too. Feeding animal proteins to animals is tightly controlled in many countries, and rules about ruminant-derived material are strict in some markets. Ask where the blood came from, and check the current position with the Veterinary Services Directorate and the feed rules that apply to you. Do not buy an unlabelled sack from a roadside seller.
Finally, never mix fresh blood from your own slaughter into the mash. Fresh blood spoils within hours, carries more bacteria and is hard for the bird to digest. Blood from a slaughter slab belongs in a proper disposal route, not in the feed trough.
What to ask for on the analysis sheet
- Crude protein and moisture, with the date of the test.
- Lysine, methionine and isoleucine values, not only the total protein.
- How the product was dried: spray, flash or ring.
- Evidence of heat treatment and a salmonella test for the batch.
- The origin of the blood, and the processor's name and registration.
- The colour and smell on arrival: bright, brownish-red and dry, not black, sour or lumpy.
A supplier who cannot give the amino acid values is selling you only the easy part of the story. Ask for them, and compare the lysine you buy per cedi rather than the protein per sack.
Inclusion rates by stage
The shares below are ceilings for dried, feed-grade blood meal, on the condition that isoleucine and methionine are covered by other ingredients. Start at the starting share, and raise it only when the feed is being cleaned up and the birds are growing evenly.
| Stage | Starting share of mix | Ceiling | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chick starter, 0 to 6 weeks | 1 per cent | 2 per cent | Chick weights at day 14 and day 28 |
| Grower, 7 to 18 weeks | 1 per cent | 2 per cent | Weekly weights and feed cleanup |
| Broiler starter and grower | 1 per cent | 3 per cent | Feed intake and evenness of the flock |
| Layers, point of lay to peak | 0.5 per cent | 1.5 per cent | Feed intake, egg weight and yolk colour |
| Breeders | None | 0.5 per cent | Fertility and hatchability |
Some people find the chick line higher than expected, because blood meal is a useful lysine source for young birds. The ceilings still assume the other amino acids are balanced. Without a formula in front of you, stay at the bottom of each range.
A worked example: 500 broilers over three weeks
Take 500 broiler chicks on a grower ration. Over three weeks they might eat around 0.1 kilograms a day each, on average, which gives about 1,050 kilograms of feed for the period. At 2 per cent blood meal, the batch needs about 21 kilograms of blood meal across the three weeks, which is one sack of whatever size you normally buy.
Now the cost sum. Do not compare the blood meal price with the soya price per kilogram of protein. Compare the cost of the lysine and isoleucine you get into the mash, and remember that a cheap protein may need extra soya or an amino acid supplement to correct it. That is where most of the apparent saving disappears. Write both prices on the wall, do the sum with your own figures, and trust the sum over the seller.
Storing blood meal without losing it
Blood meal draws moisture out of the air and turns into a hard, dark lump. In the rains, a bag left open for a day can be ruined. Keep it sealed in a dry, cool store, raised off the floor on a pallet or planks, and away from the wall where damp gathers.
Use the oldest bag first, and write the arrival date on every sack. Any bag that has been wet at any point should come out of the feed store. Keep the store rat-proof, because rats will open a bag of blood meal faster than they open almost anything else.
Need chicks for your next batch?
Send breed, number and town. We reply with price, hatch date and delivery cost in writing.
Mistakes we see with blood meal on farms
- Using blood meal as the only protein because the sack says 85 per cent.
- Raising the share fast because the birds seemed to like it on the first day.
- Buying an unlabelled sack from a roadside seller with no analysis sheet.
- Mixing fresh blood from the slaughter slab into the mash to save a bag.
- Leaving the bag open in the rains, then mixing lumps into the batch.
The first two are the most common. Both start with a bird that looks fine on day one and a farmer who wants a bigger saving by day two.
Pairing blood meal with the other proteins
A sensible mash uses blood meal beside soya and a fish or insect protein. Soya brings the bulk of the protein and some isoleucine. Fishmeal brings methionine and a second amino acid profile, and it is useful when the fish is good quality. Blood meal adds lysine on top, so the mash depends less on any single ingredient. Our piece on fishmeal in poultry feed explains how to read those sheets.
If you are not sure how much of each you need, your nutritionist can set the proportions with a least-cost formula. The aim is not to use the most protein. The aim is to supply the protein the bird can actually use. Our methionine and lysine guide shows why the amino acids matter more than the protein total.
A checklist before the first sack goes in
- The sack is sealed, dry and labelled with the processor's name and a batch date.
- The analysis sheet shows lysine, methionine and isoleucine, not only protein.
- The product is spray-dried or otherwise properly heat-treated, and tested for salmonella.
- The colour is bright and brownish-red, the smell is mild, and the meal runs freely.
- The starting share is at or below the table figure for your stage.
- You are weighing feed, watching the trough for cleanup and logging weights.
- Your vet knows you are using blood meal, and you have checked the origin rules.
Where our chicks fit into a blood-meal ration
We are a hatchery, so we do not sell blood meal or any other feed ingredient. What we do is supply the bird that will eat the mash. A fast-growing broiler strain needs its lysine and isoleucine balanced carefully, and the blood meal question matters most in a meat programme. For laying hens, our layer chicks respond to intake and amino acid balance from point of lay, which is when most farmers first notice a feed problem.
Chicks go out the day they hatch in boxes of 50, and we deliver to all 16 regions with the delivery cost confirmed before you pay. Read more on our delivery page, check the current starting prices, or place an order. You can also WhatsApp +233 24 915 1503 with your questions.
If you are still choosing between strains, the breeds page is the place to start.
Questions farmers ask
Is blood meal good for chickens?
It is a good source of lysine and very high in protein, so it helps a grain-based mash. It is not good on its own. It is short of isoleucine, and birds often eat less of it at higher shares. Use dried, feed-grade blood meal at a low share beside soya or fishmeal, and check the amino acid values before you buy.
How much blood meal should I add to layer feed?
For most layer mashes the share sits at 1.5 per cent or lower, using dried, feed-grade blood meal. Start at about half a per cent, watch feed intake and egg weight for two weeks, and only then raise the share. A nutritionist can set the exact figure for the ingredients you are using.
Can I use fresh blood from my own slaughter?
No. Fresh blood spoils quickly, carries bacteria and is poorly digested by birds. Dispose of it safely, and use only dried, feed-grade blood meal from a processor with a safety record in your feed.
Does blood meal cause salmonella in a flock?
It can, if it is not properly heat-treated or if it gets damp after processing. A dried, heat-treated product from a licensed processor, with a salmonella test, is the one to buy. Keep the bag sealed and dry, and keep rats out of the store.
Why do my birds leave the feed when I add blood meal?
Blood meal has a strong, metallic smell and a poor taste to birds. Introduce it in small steps, mix it into a portion first, and watch the trough. If birds still leave the mash, cut the share back and check the batch for damp or sourness.
Is blood meal cheaper than soya?
It can look cheaper per kilogram of protein, but the true cost depends on the lysine and isoleucine you still have to buy to balance it. Compare the cost of the amino acids rather than the protein, and do the sum with current prices from your supplier, since feed prices have risen sharply lately and change quickly.
Can blood meal be used for turkeys or ducks?
The same basic rules apply. Dried, feed-grade blood meal can help the protein, but the amino acid gap and the palatability problem are the same, and the share must be set for the species. Turkeys and ducks have their own requirements, so take advice from your vet or feed supplier before you change their ration.
