---
title: Alternate Recipes
slug: help/en-us/feedcomp/_NDC-alternate-recipes
docTags: 
createdAt: 2026-04-22T17:07:14.064Z
---

:::hint{type="info"}
**💡 Tip: **First time using FeedComp? [Start Here: Better Feeding Made Simple](docId\:v9LrP06GJnHphYg6TeHXY). 
:::

An alternate recipe is a backup recipe that can temporarily replace a primary recipe when it can’t be made, such as during ingredient shortages and when you need to incorporate leftover feed (weighbacks) to reduce waste.

## Why Use Alternate Recipes?

- **Keep feeding when ingredients run out. **Switch to a pre‑approved backup recipe that doesn’t use the missing ingredient so you avoid skipped or improvised feedings.
- **Use weighbacks instead of wasting feed. **Build leftover feed (weighback) into a planned alternate recipe to reduce waste, as well as meet nutrition and ration goals.
- **Depend on safe, flexible options. **Alternate recipes are set up ahead of time with clear rules, so you can choose an alternate recipe when you encounter real‑world issues, instead of improvising substitutions in the moment.
- **Maintain accuracy and traceability. **FeedComp keeps pen conditions and as‑fed amounts consistent when you switch, and clearly shows when an alternate is active and which recipe it’s replacing.

## Guidelines

FeedComp enforces these guidelines to keep substitutions simple, so it's easy to track what was actually fed and avoid confusion:

- **One Alternate per Recipe:** A primary recipe can only have one alternate assigned.
- **Reusable Alternates:** A recipe can serve as the alternate for multiple different primary recipes.
- **Active Status:** Only active recipes can be assigned as alternates.
- **One-Way Assignment:** If Recipe B is the alternate for Recipe A, Recipe A cannot be the alternate for Recipe B.
- **Alternates Can’t Have Active Alternates:** You cannot activate an alternate for a recipe that is already serving as an alternate for something else.
- **Actives Can’t Become Alternates While Replacing:** A recipe that is currently replacing another recipe (i.e., its alternate is active) cannot have that alternate activated until it stops replacing the other recipe.

See [Alternate Recipes](docId:6OT_-QwrGLZCUp-puvf8o) for instructions on assigning and activating alternate recipes.