Poultry Feed Formulation Calculator: Layers, Chick Mash & Broiler Feed
Tick the feed ingredients you have, enter what they cost you, and this calculator finds the cheapest mix that meets the published nutrient standard for your birds: layers, chick mash, growers, broiler starter and finisher, or improved kienyeji.
Checked 20 Oct 2026 against the sources listed below.
1. What are you feeding?
2. How much?
3. What do you have?
Tick what you can buy or already have, and what it costs you per kg in KES. Prices are typical Nairobi prices: change them to yours.
Energy feeds
Grains and brans: the bulk of the mix.
Protein feeds
Cakes, soya, fish and insects: for growth, eggs and milk.
Minerals
For bones, shells and appetite.
Extras from the agrovet
Tiny amounts that balance protein cheaply.
4. Prices to compare
Your layers mash formula
We'll find the cheapest mix of your ingredients that meets the published standard for layers mash, then show what you save.
Built on published data from Feedipedia, KALRO, ILRI and breed company guides. We're not nutritionists or vets; if you're unsure, check the formula with your vet.
The full explanation, with worked examples and what to watch for: Layers Mash Formula: How to Make Layers Feed at Home in Kenya
About this tool
The preview is free and shows the cost per kg and what you'd save against shop feed. A small M-Pesa payment unlocks the exact kilos for your batch, the nutrient check, mixing steps and a PDF.
Example: maize, soybean meal, pollard, omena, feed lime, DCP, salt and methionine at typical Nairobi prices make a balanced 70 kg batch of layers mash for about KES 68 a kg.
How to make your own chicken feed
Home-made chicken feed is a mix of four kinds of ingredient, weighed out in the right proportions:
- Energy feeds, the bulk of the mix: maize, maize germ, wheat pollard, sorghum or cassava.
- Protein feeds: soybean meal, sunflower cake, omena (dagaa, mukene), fishmeal, groundnut cake or black soldier fly larvae.
- Minerals: feed lime or oyster shell for calcium, DCP or bone meal for phosphorus, and salt.
- Extras: a vitamin-mineral premix, and small amounts of lysine or methionine from the agrovet.
The hard part is getting the proportions right. Too little protein and growth or laying drops; too little calcium and layers lay thin-shelled eggs; too much salt and birds die. This calculator does that balancing for you, using laboratory values for each ingredient and the published needs of each type of bird, and picks the cheapest combination of what you have.
Guides by type of bird
Each guide below explains what goes into the feed, the nutrient targets and how to mix it:
- Layers mash formula, with chick mash and growers mash recipes
- Broiler feed formulation: starter and finisher, for Kenya and Nigeria
- Kienyeji chicken feed formulation: growers and layers
The calculator above works out the exact kilos for your own ingredients and prices.
What layers mash, chick mash and broiler feed need
These are the targets the calculator works to, as fed:
| Feed | Energy (kcal/kg) | Crude protein | Calcium | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chick mash (0–8 weeks) | 2,850–3,050 | 18–21% | 0.95–1.2% | Hy-Line Brown guide |
| Growers mash (9–18 weeks) | 2,700–2,900 | 15.5–18% | 0.9–1.2% | Hy-Line Brown guide |
| Layers mash | 2,600–2,850 | 16–19% | 3.6–4.2% | Hy-Line Brown guide |
| Broiler starter (0–3 weeks) | 2,900–3,150 | 21–24% | 0.9–1.1% | Cobb500 and NRC |
| Broiler finisher (3 weeks to sale) | 3,000–3,200 | 18–21% | 0.75–1.0% | Cobb500 and NRC |
| Kienyeji growers | 2,600–2,900 | 16–18% | 0.8–1.2% | Kingori et al. (Kenya) |
| Kienyeji layers | 2,600–2,900 | 14–17% | 3.0–4.0% | Kingori et al. and Hy-Line |
Each also has minimums for lysine, methionine, available phosphorus and sodium, and a ceiling on fibre. Protein alone isn't enough: a mix can hit 16% crude protein and still be short of the amino acids a laying hen needs.
Can you make chicken feed without soya?
Often not, at least not a balanced one. When we tested the ingredients most Kenyan farmers mix (maize, maize germ, pollard, sunflower cake, omena and lime), the mix came out short of lysine and methionine, and no combination of those ingredients could meet the layers standard. Adding soybean meal plus feed-grade methionine fixed it. Fishmeal, roasted full-fat soya or black soldier fly larvae can also stand in for soya. If your ingredients can't make a balanced feed, the calculator tells you what's short and which one or two additions would fix it.
Is it cheaper to make your own chicken feed?
It depends on what you pay for ingredients, and the calculator shows you honestly either way. In October 2026, maize at typical Nairobi retail prices costs about the same per kilo as a bag of layers mash, because mills buy in bulk at wholesale prices. Making your own pays off when:
- You grow your own maize, or buy it at harvest when it's cheap. Enter the price you could sell it for.
- You can get protein locally, such as omena at the lake or sunflower cake from a nearby press.
- You buy in bulk for a big flock.
There's also quality. The Kenya Veterinary Policy 2020 describes substandard feeds as "a major constraint" on livestock productivity. A mix you weigh yourself, from ingredients you've inspected, is a feed you know meets the standard.
Ingredients to handle with care
- Mouldy maize or groundnut cake can carry aflatoxin, which kills birds and lowers egg production. Never use anything mouldy or musty.
- Omena varies a lot: sandy omena has far less protein. Buy clean, dry fish.
- Raw soybeans stunt growth. Use soybean meal or roasted soya only.
- Cotton seed cake contains gossypol, which can discolour yolks. The calculator keeps it to 5% for poultry.
- Salt is toxic to chickens in excess. The calculator keeps sodium within safe limits; weigh it, don't guess.
- Cassava must be well sun-dried: fresh or poorly dried cassava contains cyanide.
Frequently asked questions
How do I formulate layers mash at home?
Pick an energy feed (maize), one or two protein feeds (soybean meal, omena), feed lime for calcium, DCP for phosphorus, salt and a layers premix, then weigh each so the mix reaches about 16–17% crude protein, 2,600–2,850 kcal/kg and 3.6–4.2% calcium. This calculator works out the exact kilos for your batch from the ingredients you have.
What is a good layers mash formula for 70 kg?
With typical Kenyan ingredients, a balanced 70 kg batch is mostly maize, with soybean meal, wheat pollard, feed lime and omena, plus small amounts of DCP, salt, methionine and premix. The right amounts change with your ingredients and prices, which is why the calculator works out the kilos for yours.
How much feed does a layer eat per day?
Plan for about 120 g of layers mash per hen per day. Commercial brown hens eat a little less on high-energy shop feed and a little more on lower-energy home mixes, because hens eat to meet their energy needs. 100 layers eat roughly 12 kg a day, so a 70 kg bag lasts about six days.
Why do my hens lay thin-shelled eggs?
Usually not enough calcium. Layers mash needs about 3.6–4.2% calcium, which means roughly 8–10% feed lime or oyster shell in the mix. Calcium for chicks and growers is much lower: too much before laying damages their kidneys.
Is the formula safe to use?
It's calculated from published sources (Feedipedia, KALRO and breed company guides) and checked against nutrient minimums and safe limits for each ingredient. We are not nutritionists or vets, and ingredient quality varies, so if you're unsure, show the formula to your vet or a livestock extension officer first.