Blood meal

Uses

Dietary supplement

Blood meal can be used as a livestock dietary supplement and is mainly added to supply dietary lysine for cattle, fish and poultry. Prior to use, it is sometimes mixed with molasses.

Feeding blood products to ruminants (such as cattle and sheep) is illegal in the United Kingdom and European Union, in part due to the risk posed by transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.

Organic fertilizers

Blood meal, bone meal, and other animal by-products are permitted in certified organic production as soil amendments, though they cannot be fed to organic livestock. Blood meal is different from bone meal in that blood meal contains a higher amount of nitrogen, while bone meal contains phosphorus. Alternatives to blood meal include feather meal and alfalfa meal. Blood meal is sometimes used as a composting activator.

Pest control

Blood meal can be spread on gardens to deter pest animals such as rabbits. The theory is that the animals smell the blood and are repelled by the odor.

Classifications

• It is a proteinaceous concentrate according to classifications of feed.
• It is a protein-yielding feedstuff according to classifications of feedstuffs.

Processing

Blood needs to be dried before being used as blood meal. Several drying methods are available: solar drying, oven drying, drum drying, flash drying or spray drying.

Blood meal is sometimes made from fish (this type of blood meal is categorized as a type of fish meal), mixed with bone meal (often branded as bone + blood meal), and other types. These types depend on the source and processing of the blood meal.

References

References

1. Hughes, Megan. (30 April 2024). "What to Know About Blood Meal vs. Bone Meal for Fertilizing Plants".
2. (1915). "Feeds and feeding: a hand-book for the student and stockman". Henry-Morrison.
3. (1998). "Comparison of fermented dried blood meal and cooked dried blood meal as protein supplements for growing pigs.". Tropical Animal Health and Production.
4. (14 January 2019). "Guidance: Supplying and using animal by-products as farm animal feed".
5. (12 March 2025). "Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies".
6. "Using Blood Meal To Improve Your Garden Soil".
7. "Composting For The Home Owner - Materials".
8. (1997). "Review: Rodale's All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening: The Indispensable Resource for Every Gardener". Rodale Press.
9. (1994). "Solar gardening: growing vegetables year-round the American intensive way". Chelsea Green Publishing.
10. Heuzé V., Tran G., 2016. Blood meal. Feedipedia, a programme by INRA, CIRAD, AFZ and FAO. https://www.feedipedia.org/node/221 Last updated on March 31, 2016, 10:31