🐄 Section 1 — Animal Setup
🌾 Section 2 — Feed Ingredients
Locally available Kenyan feeds are pre-checked. Uncheck feeds you cannot source, or add others.
💰 Section 3 — Budget (Optional)
Formulate feed rations for Friesian cross dairy cows, Boran beef cattle, Red Maasai sheep and East African goats using Napier grass, dairy meal and local Kenyan feeds. Prices in KES.
Locally available Kenyan feeds are pre-checked. Uncheck feeds you cannot source, or add others.
Kenya has one of East Africa's most developed livestock sectors, with dairy, poultry, beef, and small ruminant production contributing significantly to the economy and food security. The dairy industry is particularly important, with Kenya being one of Africa's largest milk producers, centered in the Rift Valley (Nyandarua, Nakuru, Uasin Gishu) and Central (Kiambu, Murang'a) regions. The poultry sector includes both indigenous birds and a growing commercial layer and broiler industry. The commercial feed milling industry is well-established, with major producers including Unga Group, Pembe Flour Mills (Sigma Feeds), Athi River Mining (feed division), and numerous smaller millers across the country. Kenya's pastoral regions (northeastern counties, parts of Rift Valley, and the coast) support large populations of cattle, sheep, goats, and camels. The Kenya Dairy Board and the Kenya Poultry Farmers Association support industry development and quality standards.
Kenya offers a diverse range of locally available feed ingredients suited to its varied livestock systems. Maize (and maize germ from milling) is the primary energy source for commercial feeds, though local production often falls short of demand, requiring imports. Wheat bran and wheat pollard from the extensive milling industry are widely used energy and protein sources for dairy cattle across the highlands. Cottonseed cake from Coast and Eastern Province cotton gins provides affordable protein for ruminants. Sunflower cake from the Nakuru and Trans-Nzoia regions is an increasingly important protein source. Soybean meal is partially produced domestically but largely imported. Omena (silver cyprinid fish) from Lake Victoria is dried and used as a protein source in poultry feeds, though prices have risen considerably. Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) is the backbone of Kenya's smallholder dairy feeding system, grown on field boundaries and as dedicated fodder plots in the highlands. Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) is cultivated commercially and sold as hay, particularly from the Naivasha, Athi River, and Laikipia areas. Desmodium (silverleaf) serves as both a high-protein leguminous forage and a companion planting crop. Lucerne (alfalfa) is grown under irrigation in Laikipia and parts of the Rift Valley, providing premium quality forage. Dairy meal, a commercially produced compound concentrate, is widely available and used by smallholder dairy farmers across the highlands.
Feed costs are the dominant operational expense in Kenyan livestock production, accounting for approximately 60 to 70% of dairy production costs and up to 75% of poultry production costs. Dairy farmers in the highlands face the highest feed costs during the dry seasons (January to March and July to September) when Napier grass growth slows and they must purchase supplementary feeds. Dairy meal prices vary from KES 1,800 to 2,500 per 70 kg bag depending on brand, composition, and season. Farmers can reduce costs by growing adequate Napier grass and conserving it as silage during peak growth periods, using total mixed ration (TMR) approaches that maximize utilization of cheaper local ingredients, and purchasing concentrate ingredients (wheat bran, maize germ, cottonseed cake) directly from processors rather than through dealers. Rhodes grass hay, delivered from commercial hay producers in the Rift Valley, typically costs KES 350 to 500 per bale (15 kg) and is an essential dry-season supplement. Poultry farmers benefit from joining Sacco-style purchasing groups to buy maize and other ingredients at harvest-time prices for bulk storage. The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) provides feed formulation advice, and county-level livestock extension officers can help farmers develop cost-effective feeding programs using locally available ingredients.