Layers Mash Formula: How to Make Layers Feed at Home in Kenya

A balanced home-made layers mash in Kenya is built on ground maize, a protein mix (soybean meal, sunflower cake and omena), wheat pollard and feed lime, plus small amounts of salt, methionine, DCP and a layers premix. Done right, it reaches the standard laying hens need: about 16% crude protein, 2,600 kcal/kg of energy and 3.6% calcium.

The exact kilos depend on what you can buy and what it costs, and getting them wrong is how home mixes lose eggs. Our layers mash formulation calculator works out the cheapest balanced mix from your own ingredients and prices. The full recipe for your batch, with a printable PDF, unlocks for a small M-Pesa payment.

What a layers mash has to deliver

The targets come from the Hy-Line Brown commercial layer guide (December 2025), converted to a home mash that hens eat at about 120 g a day; ingredient values come from Feedipedia's Sub-Saharan tables and KALRO. The calculator checks every one of these lines, not just protein.

What goes into layers mash?

Every layers mash has the same four building blocks:

1. Energy feeds (roughly two-thirds of the bag): maize, maize germ or wheat pollard. Maize is the backbone.
2. Protein feeds (roughly a fifth to a quarter): soybean meal, omena (dagaa or mukene), sunflower cake or fishmeal.
3. Calcium (a little under a tenth): feed lime or oyster shell. Layers need far more calcium than any other bird, because every eggshell is mostly calcium.
4. Small extras (a few hundred grams a bag): salt, a layers premix (vitamins and trace minerals), DCP for phosphorus, and a little methionine.

The mistake most home mixes make is in step 2. Crude protein alone isn't enough: hens need enough lysine and methionine, two amino acids that maize, germ and sunflower are short of. When we tested the classic Kenyan home mix of maize, maize germ, pollard, sunflower cake, omena and lime, no combination of those ingredients could meet the layers standard. Adding soybean meal and a little feed-grade methionine fixed it; the calculator tells you exactly how much.

Chick mash and growers mash

Young birds need more protein and much less calcium. Too much calcium before laying damages a pullet's kidneys, so never give layers mash to chicks or growers.

• Chick mash (0–8 weeks): about 18% crude protein and 2,850 kcal/kg. More soybean meal than a layers mash, and only a pinch of lime.
• Growers mash (9–18 weeks): about 15–16% crude protein and 2,700 kcal/kg. Maize germ can carry much of the energy, which keeps it cheap.

Switch to layers mash at the first eggs, around 18–20 weeks. The calculator builds chick, growers and layers recipes from the same ingredients, so you can plan the whole flock.

How to mix layers feed at home

1. Weigh everything. A kitchen scale for the small items and a hanging scale for the sacks. Guessing by the tin is how home mixes go wrong.
2. Pre-mix the small items. Stir the salt, premix, DCP and methionine into 5–10 kg of ground maize first.
3. Mix on a clean floor. Spread the maize, protein feeds and lime on a tarpaulin, add the small-item mix and turn it over with a shovel at least three or four times.
4. Bag and label. Write the date and "layers" on each bag, store it off the floor somewhere dry, and use it within 3–4 weeks.
5. Switch slowly. Mix old and new feed for 5–7 days so egg production doesn't dip.

How much layers mash does a hen eat per day?

Plan for about 120 g per hen per day. Hens eat to meet their energy needs, so they eat a little more of a lower-energy home mash than of a rich commercial feed. 100 layers eat roughly 12 kg a day, so a 70 kg bag lasts them about six days.

Is it cheaper to make your own layers mash?

Not always. When we priced a balanced mix at typical Nairobi retail prices in October 2026, it came out more expensive per kilo than a bag of commercial layers mash. Retail maize alone costs almost as much as the finished bag, so buying every ingredient by the kilo rarely beats a mill that buys by the lorry.

Home-made layers mash pays off when:

• you grow your own maize, or buy it at harvest when prices drop;
• you buy omena or fishmeal at the source, at the lake or the coast;
• you buy in bulk for a few hundred birds;
• you want to know exactly what's in the feed. Kenya's Veterinary Policy 2020 calls substandard feeds "a major constraint" on livestock productivity (Competition Authority of Kenya, 2024).

Enter your own prices in the calculator and it tells you honestly whether your mix is cheaper than the bag. Planning a whole egg business? Our layers business plan builder works out capital, break-even and profit from your flock size and feed price.

What to watch out for

• Mouldy maize or groundnut cake. Aflatoxin lowers laying and can kill birds. If it smells musty, don't use it.
• Sandy omena. Cheap omena is often full of sand, which carries no protein. Buy clean, dry fish.
• Building lime. Use feed-grade lime only.
• Too much salt. Salt is toxic to chickens in excess. Weigh it.
• Cotton seed cake. It can discolour yolks; keep it small for layers, or leave it out.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best layers mash formula in Kenya?

The best formula is the cheapest one that meets the layers standard with the ingredients you can get, and that changes with your local prices. With common Kenyan ingredients it is mostly maize, with soybean meal, sunflower cake, omena, pollard and feed lime, plus salt, premix, DCP and methionine. The calculator gives the exact kilos for your batch.

Can I make layers mash without soya?

You can replace soybean meal with fishmeal, roasted full-fat soya or black soldier fly larvae. Without any of them, maize, germ, pollard, sunflower and omena alone usually fall short of lysine and methionine, and egg production suffers.

How much feed lime do layers need?

Enough to bring the whole mix to 3.6–4.2% calcium, which is a little under a tenth of the bag once you count the calcium in omena. Thin or soft shells usually mean too little calcium.

What is the protein content of layers mash?

About 16–17% crude protein. Just as important are lysine (at least 0.76%) and methionine (at least 0.37%).

Where can I get a layers mash formula PDF?

Our poultry feed formulation calculator builds the formula for your own ingredients and prices, and gives you a PDF to print or share on WhatsApp. For improved indigenous birds, see our kienyeji chicken feed formulation guide, and for meat birds, our broiler feed formulation guide.