Feeding your animals is a daily chore. How you feed them is going to depend on their purpose. Many animals are raised for food production. In this case, the stock feed you give them needs to be good enough. Here are some of the important things you need to know when looking for stock feed. 

Types

Many farmers use a fodder (mix of grains or ingredients used to make feed). What is in this fodder is dependent on where it is grown and for what purpose. The most common ingredients are barley, oats, alfalfa, wheat and other grains. Animals are much like humans. They need proteins, carbohydrates, and minerals. The necessary amount will depend on the animal and season. It is important to make sure that the feed is up to standards with your region's regulations. There is a multitude of choices for stock feed, and you shouldn't have much trouble identifying what is most suitable.

Additives

Some stock feed manufacturers add chemicals to the feed they make. Others use pesticides to cultivate the crops that are used to make these stock feeds. Some of these chemicals can be harmful to the animal and others can be harmful to the consumer. What an animal eats will affect the food product they produce. In rare cases, these additives are produced from byproducts and can carry disease-causing micro-organisms. It is very important to be aware of what additives are in your stock feed.

Location of Ingredients

The final thing to look for in your stock feed is where the ingredients came from. You will want to keep up with outbreaks of infectious diseases in animals. Infections can spread through the stock feed. They can also spread through contamination of any of the ingredients. If your animal ingests these contaminated products, they can become sick. This will result in a loss of both the animal and the product for which it was raised. The stock feed can be grown or purchased. Most sellers know where their stock feed comes from. If they do not, you can contact the manufacturer. The manufacturer can provide more detailed information about where the ingredients were sourced.

While there are many types of stock feed for your animal's needs, it is important that you know what to buy. You want to look for natural ingredients. Make sure that any additives are not harmful to you or your animals. Ensure you know where your stock feed ingredients came from. Most of all, you want to make sure that your stock feed is safe. Safe for the animals and safe for those they will feed. Keeping these tips in mind, you should be able to find a good stock feed for your animals.