---
title: Alternate Recipes
slug: help/en-us/feedcomp/alternate-recipes
docTags: 
createdAt: 2026-04-23T18:27:13.979Z
---

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.

## Assign an Alternate

::::Tabs
:::Tab{title="Web"}
1. Go to **FeedComp **> **Recipes.**
2. Select a primary recipe.
3. Select **Assign Alternate Recipe **at the bottom right side of the screen.
4. Choose the backup recipe and select **Save**.
:::

:::Tab{title="Mobile"}
1. Go to **Adjustments > Recipes**.
2. Select a primary recipe.
3. Select **Edit Recipe**.
4. Select **Assign Alternate Recipe **at the bottom of the screen**.**
5. Choose the backup recipe and select **Save**.
:::
::::

## Switch to an Alternate Recipe

When the primary recipe is unavailable, activate the backup:

::::Tabs
:::Tab{title="Web"}
1. Go to **FeedComp **> **Recipes.**
2. Select the primary recipe you need to replace.
3. Under **Alternate Recipe**, select **Activate **on the right side of the screen and confirm your choice.
   Activated alternate recipes are marked by a green checkmark in the Recipes list.
:::

:::Tab{title="Mobile"}
1. Go to **Adjustments > Recipes**.
2. Select the primary recipe you need to replace.
3. Under **Alternate Recipe**, select **Activate** and confirm your choice.
:::
::::

## Return to a Primary Recipe

::::Tabs
:::Tab{title="Web"}
1. Go to **FeedComp **> **Recipes.**
   Activated alternate recipes are marked by a green checkmark in the Recipes list.
2. Select the primary recipe you need to restore. 
3. Under **Alternate Recipe**, select **Deactivate **on the right side of the screen and confirm your choice.
:::

:::Tab{title="Mobile"}
1. Go to **Adjustments > Recipes**.
2. Select the primary recipe you need to restore.
3. Under **Alternate Recipe**, select **Deactivate **and confirm your choice.
:::
::::

:::hint{type="info"}
**TIP: **Always preview your scheduled loads to verify which recipe is active before you begin feeding.
:::