Throughput agents alleviate concerns about pelleting broiler feed with low-moisture corn and large pellet die thicknesses

Low-moisture corn, due to late harvesting and/or improper handling and storage, may negatively impact the pellet production rate (PPR) and pellet durability index (PDI). This is likely due to less lubrication and particle agglomeration associated with the lower moisture content. Recently, Azomite® (AZM) was tested in combination with 32-, 38-, and 45 mm pellet die thicknesses (PDT), which showed that incorporating 0.25 % AZM increased PPR and largely maintained PDI relative to the 0.0 % AZM control within each PDT. Additionally, past research has shown that the inclusion of mixer-added water (MAW) at levels of 1.50 to 3.00 % can increase PPR and PDI. Therefore, the objective of this experiment was to determine the influence of PDT, AZM, and MAW on PPR, PDI tested for 30 sec (PDI-30), PDI tested for 60 sec (PDI-60), and hot pellet temperature (HPT) of a broiler grower diet manufactured with low-moisture corn. Modifying PDT had a similar effect on PPR and PDI relative to previously published literature, where increasing PDT resulted in decreased PPR and increased PDI. Additionally, the incorporation of 0.25 % AZM and 1.50 % MAW returned similar increases in PPR; however, these effects were not additive. It could, therefore, be concluded that AZM and MAW are effective feed additives to increase feed manufacturing efficiency and/or feed quality. However, the anecdotal incidents of plugs and slips at the pellet die associated with the 1.5 % MAW inclusion should be considered, as these may cause an overall decrease in high-quality feed production.