Blood meal

Blood meal is a dry, inert powder made from blood, used as a high-nitrogen organic fertilizer and a high protein animal feed. By weight, blood meal is generally 12% nitrogen, with trace amounts (≤1%) of phosphorus and potassium. It is one of the highest non-synthetic sources of nitrogen. It usually comes from cattle or hogs as a slaughterhouse by-product.

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. Molasses is sometimes added to the feed prior to use.

Feeding blood products to ruminants (such as cattle and sheep) is illegal in the United Kingdom and European Union, partially due to risk of the spread of 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; 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 animals considered pests, who smell the blood and are repelled by the odor.

Classifications

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) that is mixed with bone meal (often labeled as "bone + blood meal"), and other types. These types depend on the source and processing of the blood meal.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Hughes, Megan (30 April 2024). "What to Know About Blood Meal vs. Bone Meal for Fertilizing Plants". Better Homes & Gardens. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  2. ↑ Henry, William Arnon; Morrison, Frank Barron (1915). Feeds and feeding: a hand-book for the student and stockman. Henry-Morrison. p. 184.
  3. ↑ King'ori, A. M.; Tuitoek, J. K.; Muiruri, H. K. (1998). "Comparison of fermented dried blood meal and cooked dried blood meal as protein supplements for growing pigs". Tropical Animal Health and Production. 30 (3): 191–196. doi:10.1023/a:1005015804804. PMID 9719848. S2CID 28241258.
  4. ↑ Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs; Animal and Plant Health Agency (14 January 2019). "Guidance: Supplying and using animal by-products as farm animal feed". GOV.UK. Retrieved 24 December 2025. You can only feed these ABPs to non-ruminants (animals that do not chew the cud): ... blood products
  5. ↑ "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". EUR-Lex. 12 March 2025. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
  6. ↑ "Using Blood Meal To Improve Your Garden Soil".
  7. ↑ "Composting For The Home Owner - Materials". University of Illinois Extension. Archived from the original on 3 September 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  8. ↑ Bradley, Fern Marshall; Ellis, Barbara W. (1997). Review: Rodale's All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening: The Indispensable Resource for Every Gardener. Rodale Press. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-87596-743-1.
  9. ↑ Poisson, Leandre; Vogel Poisson, Gretchen (September 1, 1994). Solar gardening: growing vegetables year-round the American intensive way. Chelsea Green Publishing. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-930031-69-5.
  10. ↑ Burk, Kyle; Legg, Kevin; Danielson, Phillip; Parker, Glendon (2025), Islam Williams, Taufika (ed.), "Proteomic Analysis of Biological Fluids", Tissue Proteomics: Methods and Protocols, New York, NY: Springer US, pp. 143–155, doi:10.1007/978-1-0716-4298-6_10, ISBN 978-1-0716-4298-6, retrieved 2026-10-23{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
  11. ↑ "Blood meal | Feedipedia". www.feedipedia.org. Retrieved 2026-10-25.