Feed additives by species groups the additives, legal limits and approvals that apply to one kind of animal, because EU authorisations are granted per named animal category and US medicated-feed approvals per label population. Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003 defines a feed additive as a substance, micro-organism or preparation intentionally added to feed "or water" for a listed function (Article 2(2)(a)).
The programme pages below cover poultry, pigs, cattle, dairy cows, sheep and goats, horses, aquaculture and pet food. The same five feed additive categories apply to every species, so what changes from one page to the next is the animal category, the maximum and the approval, not the type of additive.
Every value on this page is compiled from EU acts, the EU Register of Feed Additives, the eCFR and named studies, checked on 3 November 2026; see the methodology.
What Does Feed Additives by Species Mean?#
Feed additives by species means reading every additive through the animal it is fed to, since the same substance can carry a different maximum, a different approval or none at all from one species to the next. EU maxima are total content in complete feed at 12 % moisture, while US figures are printed per ton, in ppm or per head per day in 21 CFR, and the two are not converted into each other here.
EU authorisations name animal categories, not species#
Each EU authorising act names its target animals as legal categories, such as "chickens for fattening", "laying hens", "weaned piglets" or "dairy cows and cows for reproduction", and the additive may only be used in those categories. An authorisation for "laying hens" therefore says nothing about "turkeys for fattening".
Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1115 of 26 May 2026 amends Regulation (EC) No 429/2008 and replaces its Annex IV on target animal categories, adding honeybees, camelids, dogs, cats and other pets; it applies from 16 December 2026. Antibiotic growth promoters, for every species, were marketed only until 31 December 2005 and deleted from the register from 1 January 2006 (Article 11(2)).
US approvals name label populations#
In the US, a medicated feed approval under 21 CFR 558 names its label population, for example broiler chickens, replacement chickens, laying hens or growing turkeys, and feed for any other animal falls outside that approval.
Monensin shows the spread: its US label populations include chickens, turkeys, bobwhite quail, cattle and goats (21 CFR 558.355). The US has no legal class "feed additive", only four routes, and 21 CFR 558 has 63 sections; each approval sits in the US rules for medicated feed. AAFCO does not approve feed; states enforce.
Directory of Species Programme Pages#
The eight species programme pages below cover poultry, pigs, cattle, dairy cows, sheep and goats, horses, aquaculture and pet food, each with its EU animal categories, main additive classes and one rule that sets the species apart. The first table compares the eight species pages.
| # | Programme page | EU animal categories (examples as in the acts) | Main additive classes | Species rule on the page (EU and US) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Poultry feed additives | "chickens for fattening", "laying hens", "turkeys for fattening", "minor poultry species" | coccidiostats, phytase and NSP enzymes, pathogen-claim additives, pigments | EU: no additive carries a necrotic enteritis or Clostridium perfringens claim (register scan 2026-11-03). US label populations: broiler chickens, replacement chickens, laying hens, growing turkeys |
| 2 | Pig feed additives | "weaned piglets", "pigs for fattening", "sows" | weaning toolbox without pharmacological zinc oxide, iron, sow probiotics | EU: medicated feed with antimicrobials "shall not be used for prophylaxis" (Regulation (EU) 2019/4 Art. 17(3), applicable from 2022-01-28); copper 150, 100 and 25 mg/kg (table below) |
| 3 | Cattle feed additives | "bovines before the start of rumination", "other bovines" | ionophores and liver-abscess drugs (US), direct-fed microbials, trace elements | US: monensin 5 to 40 g/ton (50 to 480 mg/head/day) for feedlot cattle (21 CFR 558.355). EU: no ionophore option for cattle |
| 4 | Feed additives for dairy cows | "dairy cows and cows for reproduction" | anionic salts, glucogenic precursors, rumen-protected nutrients, live yeast, 3-NOP | EU: 3-NOP (4c1) 53 to 80 mg/kg complete feed (12 % moisture), to 2032-04-28 (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/565). US: enforcement discretion 2024-05-24, lactating dairy cows |
| 5 | Sheep and goat feed additives | "ovines", "caprines" | coccidiostats, urinary acidifiers, live yeast, copper control | EU: copper 15 mg/kg ovines, 35 mg/kg caprines (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1039). US: monensin for goats, not sheep; lasalocid for sheep, not goats |
| 6 | Horse feed additives | "equines" | live yeast, biotin, vitamins and trace elements, toxin binders, ionophore exclusion | EU carry-over maxima in feed for equines: monensin 1.25, salinomycin and narasin 0.7, maduramicin 0.05 mg/kg (Regulation (EU) No 574/2011) |
| 7 | Aquafeed additives | "fish", "salmonids", "crustaceans" | pigments, phytase, binders, probiotics | EU: acetic acid 1a260 max 2,500 mg/kg for fish (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1755, to 2034-07-16); copper 50 mg/kg crustaceans |
| 8 | Pet food additives | "cats and dogs" | preservatives, palatants, vitamins, trace elements, urinary and renal zootechnicals | EU: ammonium chloride 4d8 (BASF SE) max 5,000 mg additive/kg for cats and dogs (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1786, to 2034-07-18). US: propylene glycol prohibited in or on cat food (21 CFR 589.1001) |
The 12 phase and production pages sit under their hub, and the second table lists what each page covers.
| # | Page | Under | What the page covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Broiler feed additives | poultry | programmes by phase, starter to finisher |
| 2 | Laying hen feed additives | poultry | pullet rearing to late lay |
| 3 | Turkey feed additives | poultry | histomoniasis, coccidiosis, leg health |
| 4 | Piglet and weaner feed additives | pigs | creep, nursery, iron supply |
| 5 | Sow feed additives | pigs | gestation, lactation, litter performance |
| 6 | Grower-finisher pig feed additives | pigs | enzymes, benzoic acid, narasin, ractopamine status |
| 7 | Feedlot feed additives | cattle | ionophores, beta-agonist status, liver abscess control |
| 8 | Calf feed additives | cattle | milk replacer, starter, coccidiosis control |
| 9 | Pasture and stocker cattle feed additives | cattle | ionophores, bambermycins, bloat control, free-choice minerals |
| 10 | Shrimp feed additives | aquaculture | attractants, binders, immunostimulants, pigments |
| 11 | Salmon and trout feed additives | aquaculture | astaxanthin, histidine, vitamin D |
| 12 | Feeding stimulants for fish and shrimp feed | aquaculture | krill and squid meals, betaine, nucleotides, DMPT |
How to Find the Right Species Page#
Find the right species page in four steps, from the animal on the label to the jurisdiction the feed is sold in.
- Name the animal category as the act writes it, for example "weaned piglets" rather than "pigs".
- Pick the production system or phase (broiler, layer, piglet, feedlot, transition cow) and go to its row in the second table.
- Choose the jurisdiction: EU category and maximum, or US label population and g/ton.
- Check the next two sections before a feed or premix serves more than one species.
Pet food and horse pages are written for manufacturers. Owner, backyard and treatment questions are not answered on any species page.
Why the Same Additive Has Different Limits per Species#
One additive can carry eight different EU maxima: total copper is capped at 15 mg/kg complete feed for sheep but at 150 mg/kg for suckling and weaned piglets up to four weeks after weaning, under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1039. The table compares the eight maxima, each a total once copper is added as an additive, with entries running to 2028-08-13.
| EU animal category (as in the act) | Max total copper, mg/kg complete feed (12 % moisture) | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| "bovines before the start of rumination" | 15 | EU legal maximum, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1039 |
| "other bovines" | 30 | EU legal maximum, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1039 |
| "ovines" | 15 | EU legal maximum, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1039 |
| "caprines" | 35 | EU legal maximum, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1039 |
| "piglets suckling and weaned up to 4 weeks after weaning" | 150 | EU legal maximum, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1039 |
| "from 5th to 8th week after weaning" | 100 | EU legal maximum, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1039 |
| "crustaceans" | 50 | EU legal maximum, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1039 |
| "other animals" (including other pigs and horses) | 25 | EU legal maximum, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1039 |
Ovine feed above 10 mg Cu/kg must carry the warning "The level of copper in this feed may cause poisoning in certain breeds of sheep." In the US, copper sources are GRAS under 21 CFR 582.80 "at levels consistent with good feeding practice", with no numeric limit; the forms and sources of copper in animal feed have their own page.
Authorisations That Stop at One Species#
Some authorisations stop at one species: in the EU, 3-NOP (4c1) is authorised at 53 to 80 mg/kg complete feed (12 % moisture) only for dairy cows and cows for reproduction, under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/565, running to 2032-04-28. In the US, 3-NOP is an unapproved animal drug under FDA enforcement discretion (letter of 2024-05-24) for lactating dairy cows at 60 to 80 mg/kg DM.
US approvals stop at species too. Monensin is labelled for goats in confinement at 20 g/ton, but not for sheep and not for lactating goats; lasalocid is labelled for sheep in confinement at 20 to 30 g/ton, but not for goats (21 CFR 558.355, 558.311). No ionophore is an EU feed additive option for cattle.
Horses show why such limits matter. Monensin is one of the coccidiostats whose carry-over into feed is capped, at 1.25 mg/kg compound feed (12 % moisture) for equines, sheep, goats and bovines (Regulation (EU) No 574/2011), and the horse oral LD50 is 2 to 3 mg/kg body weight against 50 to 80 in cattle (Nebbia et al. 2001, Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics).
Questions About Feed Additives by Species#
One question about feed additives by species comes up before any programme page: where the official list sits.
Is there a list of feed additives by species?#
No single official list sorts feed additives by species: the EU Register of Feed Additives names the target animal category in each entry, and 21 CFR 558 names the label population in each approval.
The species pages above group those entries per programme. To read the target categories in each entry, see how the EU Register of Feed Additives is organised.