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Read articleFeed Processing
Hammer Mill vs Roller Mill for Animal Feed: Which Should You Buy?
How hammer mills and roller crushers work, what particle sizes they produce, and which animals and feed types each one suits.
Quick answer
A hammer mill is the more versatile choice: it grinds grain, straw and dry forage to any fineness by changing the screen. A roller mill (corn cracker) is better when you want uniform cracked grain with very little dust — for poultry scratch feed, calf starter or steam flaking.
How each machine works
Hammer mills spin free-swinging hammers at high speed. Material is shattered by impact until it passes through a perforated screen; the screen hole size controls particle size. Roller mills squeeze grain between two (or more) grooved rollers; the roller gap controls how coarsely kernels are cracked.
Side-by-side comparison
| Factor | Hammer mill | Roller mill |
|---|---|---|
| Materials | Grain, straw, hay, dry roughage | Grain only |
| Particle size | Fine flour to coarse meal | Cracked to rolled |
| Uniformity | Wider size distribution | Very uniform |
| Dust / fines | Higher (use a cyclone) | Low |
| Energy per tonne | Higher | Lower |
| Wear parts | Hammers, screens | Rollers |
Which one for which animal?
- Pellet production (all species) — hammer mill; pellet mills need meal ground below about 3 mm.
- Broilers and layers (mash) — hammer mill with 2–3 mm screen.
- Pigs — hammer mill, 2–4 mm; very fine grinding can cause stomach ulcers.
- Cattle, sheep, goats — coarse hammer milling (4–8 mm) or roller cracking; cracked grain reduces acidosis risk.
- Scratch feed and calf starter — roller cracker.
Practical tips
Keep grain moisture below about 14% for efficient grinding. Fit a cyclone or bag filter to a hammer mill used indoors. Rotate or flip hammers when one edge wears to maintain capacity, and keep a set of spare screens in your most-used sizes.
