Innovation Made in Moldova: Turning Poultry Feathers into Animal Feed

For the first time in Moldova, two young people from the city of Straseni use feathers as raw materials for the production of a protein concentrate, to further obtain animal feed. Brothers Denis and Vladimir Anton built the equipment necessary for the entire production process with their own hands. It is an innovative solution for the processing of poultry feathers that remain in large quantities on farms and abattoirs.

The obtained protein concentrate can replace fishmeal, which is widely used in animal feed. Therefore, from raw materials that no one needs and are usually buried, young people managed to get a functional product that helps animals grow, has an anti-allergic effect and can be added to feed for pigs, birds and even dogs. In the resulting finished product, the protein level exceeds 80 percent, the fat level is up to 10 percent, and the level of bacteriological contamination is significantly lower than the legal norms. Now, about 40 percent of all feathers in the Republic of Moldova are used as raw materials for protein production.

Anton brothers stated for tv8.md that before obtaining the finished product, the raw material must go through two important stages:
- at the first stage, the feathers undergo a fermentation process. Here the feathers' keratin bonds are broken;
- at the second stage, the product is processed and crushed, the activation of molecules takes place and, at the same time, the transformation of keratin into a functional protein.

The new product will be soon exported to neighboring countries: Romania and Ukraine, but the Anton brothers are constantly developing and improving it and plan to export the protein concentrate to European countries where there is a higher demand.