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7. To make multinutrient blocks we need to go through the
following steps.
8. Collect what we need:
- moulds
- ingredients;
- mixing equipment;
- weighing
scales.
9. Collect the following ingredients:
- sugar cane molasses;
- urea;
- salt;
- Iime;
-
cement;
- fibre;
- bonemeal.
10. Make a test block.
11. Mix all the ingredients.
12. Pour the mixture into the moulds.
Moulds
13. As moulds we can use: polypropylene sacks; buckets; wooden boxes.
Polypropylene sacks
Polypropylene sacks
14. Polypropylene sacks have many advantages:
- They are inexpensive.
- They are easy to get.
- They can
be used to store the multinutrient blocks.
15. Buckets can be used to make 10 to 12 kg blocks and can be made of wood, metal or plastic.
16. Wooden boxes are used to make blocks of 25 kg and up.
Wooden boxes
17. Moulds need to be lined with a plastic or paper liner to prevent the blocks from sticking to the wall of the mould.
Mixing equipment
18. As mixing equipment we can use: a shovel; a feeding though or canoe; a spring scale.
A shovel; a feeding though or
canoe; a spring
scale
19. The ingredients should be mixed in the following proportions.
|
Sugar cane molasses |
50 percent |
|
Fibre |
20 percent |
|
Urea |
10 percent |
|
Cement |
5 percent |
|
Lime |
5 percent |
|
Salt |
5 percent |
|
Bonemeal |
5 percent |
The ingredients
20. To make eight blocks of 10 kg each we need: 8 kg urea; 40 kg sugar cane molasses; 4 kg cement;4 kg lime; 16 kg fibre; 4 kg salt; 4 kg bonemeal.
8 kg urea; 40 kg sugar cane
molasses; 4 kg cement
4 kg lime; 16 kg fibre; 4 kg salt;
4 kg bonemeal
Sugar cane molasses
21. Very important! Never add water to sugar cane molasses. It has to be thick. .
22. To check if the molasses is good, dip a spoon into it.
If the molasses stays on the spoon, it is good molasses.
Good molasses
But, if the sugar cane molasses runs off the spoon and leaves it clean, it is bad molasses.
Bad molasses
Urea
23. Urea is also used as a crop fertilizer.
24. Warning! Lumps of urea need to be broken up because if animals eat an entire lump they will get sick or even die.
Salt
25. Mineral salt is better than common salt. But, if we cannot get mineral salt, we can use common salt. Common salt is inexpensive.
Lime
26. It is better to use dolomitic lime. Dolomitic lime can be found as stones or ground. Dolomitic lime gets hot when water is added.
Dolomitic lime
27. Calcium carbonate is not as good as dolomitic lime, but it can also be used.
Cement
28. We use the same cement as is used in building construction.
Before using cement, it needs to be mixed with water in the ratio of two parts cement to one part water.
Mixing components
Fibre
29. Fibre is very important because it absorbs water and binds the block together.
Fibre
30. The best sources of fibre are dry leaves from forage trees. Cottonseed hulls and sugar cane bagasse are other good fibre sources.
31. Chopped hay or chopped rice straws can also be used.
32. Other sources of fibre are:
- wheat bran;
- chopped hay;
- soybean hulls;
-
cottonseed hulls;
- coffee bean bran;
- chopped maize cobs;
- chopped
rice straws.
Warning! Rice hulls are not good for making multinutrient blocks.
33. Before using fibre it must be chopped into small pieces, dried and passed through a 1- to 2- cm screen.
Bonemeal
34. Bonemeal is an ingredient used to make balanced animal feeds. It can be purchased in an animal feed store.
Bonemeal can be replaced by dicalcium phosphate.
dicalcium phosphate
35. Dicalcium phosphate is a mineral source extracted from phosphoric rock. It can be purchased in an animal feed store.
36. If we cannot get bonemeal or dicalcium phosphate, we can replace them with mineral salt.
37. If we are not using bonemeal or dicalcium phosphate, it is better to replace common salt with mineral salt too.
38. Never use phosphoric rock, it is toxic.
39. Before making the whole batch of mix, we should make a trial multinutrient block.
40. To make the trial block add together:
- 5 kg sugar cane molasses;
- 1 kg urea;
- 500 g cement
with 0.25 litre (250 g) water;
- 500 g dolomitic lime;
- 500 g common
salt;
- 330 g (one- third kg) bonemeal
- 2 kg fibre.
41. Then, stir and knead all the ingredients until they look evenly mixed.
42. Last, pour the mixture into moulds and leave it for a day to let the multinutrient blocks harden.
43. Take the blocks out of the moulds and check them.
Mould
44. A multinutrient block is good when:
- The ingredients are very well- distributed throughout the
block.
- It does not have lumps of urea and lime.
- It is hard.
- It is
resistant.
- It is sticky.
45. Blocks should be too hard to squash between our fingers.
Bloks
6. Blocks should be resistant enough not to break when a person steps on them.
Bloks
47. When we hold a block, our hands should feel the sticky sugar cane molasses.
Bloks
48. Attention! When the blocks do not feel sticky, we need to increase the amount of molasses we put into the mixture.
49. Now that we have experience, we can make a bigger mixture of multinutrient block.
50. Weigh and prepare the ingredients:
- 40 kg sugar cane molasses;
- 8 kg urea;
- 4 kg
cement;
- 4 kg dolomitic lime;
- 4 kg common salt;
- 4 kg
bonemeal;
- 16 kg fibre.
Weigh and prepare the ingredients
51. Very important! We have to break up lumps of urea, lime and salt.
Cement should be mixed with water; two parts of cement with one part of water.
52. Put the sugar cane molasses and urea into a feeding trough.
53. Stir them with a shovel until they look evenly mixed.
Stiring
54. Then add:
- salt;
- cement;
- dolomitic lime;
- bonemeal.
Keep mixing.
55. If the mixture becomes hot, do not worry, it means that it is being well mixed.
56. Look out! If the testing block was too hard, we need to decrease the proportion of cement in the mixture. If the testing block was too soft, we need to increase the amount of cement.
57. Pour the fibre onto a concrete floor, making a pile with a hole in the middle that resembles a volcano.
Fibre
58 Pour the mixture little by little from the feeding trough into the hole in the middle of the pile of fibre. Then start to mix with a shovel.
59. Keep on mixing until the mixture is even and without lumps.
60. Pour the complete multinutrient block mixture into the moulds.
61. Remember! Moulds should be lined with a plastic or paper liner to prevent the mixture from sticking to the wall of the mould.
Remember
62. Store the multinutrient blocks under cover in a dry place.
Leave the multinutrient blocks to dry out for a day.
63. The next day take the blocks out of the moulds.
64. It's easy! Turn the moulds over and knock the bottom and the sides.
Easy
65. If the paper sticks to the blocks, it does not matter. Animals will eat the paper without any problem. But, if we used a plastic instead of a paper liner, we need to remove the plastic from the blocks before feeding the blocks to animals.
66. Both small blocks (10 to 12 kg) and big blocks (20 kg and more) can be taken out from the moulds after a day.
Men
Store big blocks under cover in a dry place until they become hard.
67. To store blocks, we put them into individual plastic bags. If we used polypropylene sacks as moulds, we do not need to take the blocks out of the sacks. We can leave the blocks in the sacks instead of putting them into individual plastic bags.
68. Before storing multinutrient blocks, check them to make sure that they were well made.
Multinutrient blocks
69. Remember! Well- made blocks are:
- smooth and even;
- hard;
- resistant;
-
sticky.
70. How can we use broken and soft multinutrient blocks? It's easy!
71. Take the blocks out of the plastic bags and leave them to dry for a few days.
72. Then, break and grind the blocks and mix them with new mixture to make more multinutrient blocks.
Mixing
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