pig protein for chickens and ducks???

[mirandap]

I went to buy layer crumble and duck feed, i had this old Man ( 80years old at least) Laugh at me. He shook his head and said get some pig protein and walked out. Any info on pig protein for bird, is it better than what i buy? I was going to ask the Man But he was gone.

 

[RMorrow]

I would venture to say that it would be good as an occasional supplement but not as a maintenance diet replacement. The agricultural feed industry is pretty aggressive in trying to have feeds available that will maximize your livestock yield that way they can keep your business. The pig protein probably has some very beneficial components but it is probably lacking in some of the more essential elements necessary for long term healthy poultry. Just my 2 cents.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I went to buy layer crumble and duck feed, i had this old Man ( 80years old at least) Laugh at me. He shook his head and said get some pig protein and walked out. Any info on pig protein for bird, is it better than what i buy? I was going to ask the Man But he was gone.

I would venture to say that it would be good as an occasional supplement but not as a maintenance diet replacement. The agricultural feed industry is pretty aggressive in trying to have feeds available that will maximize your livestock yield that way they can keep your business. The pig protein probably has some very beneficial components but it is probably lacking in some of the more essential elements necessary for long term healthy poultry. Just my 2 cents.

The feed industry does not formulate feed for or market it to your chickens. All the formulation and marketing is aimed at humans or the chickens' owners. But some humans do not care about your chickens health. Therefor certain activists politically correct humans have objected to some chicken feed ingredients. Most notable is meat and dairy by products or an ingredient called tankage. Since few suburbanites keep back yard swine, the lucky pigs get all of the tankage that they can eat.

Oh there is still "some" tankage in chicken feed that is marketed to the masses but the feed companies use a much more processed (and expensive) form of tankage that now has been given some fantastic non de plumes or nicknames to hide its true origin. Pig feed on the other hand is still high in this good kind of protein and it has far fewer highly processed forms of protein. Therefor it is more complete and a better and a higher protein source for chickens. Also because most pork today is produced on large feeding operations few if any backyard chicken owners have the opportunity anymore to find out the real truth about feeding chickens pig feed.
That old fellow knows what he is talking about.

When buying bulk chicken feed direct from the feed mill the chicken feed and hog or pig feed often comes out of the same bin.

 

[mirandap]

Thanks!
The Man looked like farmer so I didnt get feed, i wanted to ask about pig feed. Normally old people have things they found out years ago .
Also 100lb is only $17. My birds already get 100lb of scratch from the grain elevator. And i just mix the layer and duck feed in with the scratch.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Thanks!
The Man looked like farmer so I didnt get feed, i wanted to ask about pig feed. Normally old people have things they found out years ago .
Also 100lb is only $17. My birds already get 100lb of scratch from the grain elevator. And i just mix the layer and duck feed in with the scratch.

That sounds like a sound plan

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Thanks!
The Man looked like farmer so I didnt get feed, i wanted to ask about pig feed. Normally old people have things they found out years ago .
Also 100lb is only $17. My birds already get 100lb of scratch from the grain elevator. And i just mix the layer and duck feed in with the scratch.

Just curious, why mix your feed in with the scratch? Doesn't that the defeat the whole purpose of buying "scratch"?

 

[mirandap]

I just put the food in the feeder vs tossing it on the ground. So it is easier to mix it in one bin.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I just put the food in the feeder vs tossing it on the ground. So it is easier to mix it in one bin.

Well, what I mean is, scratch is not food, it is a treat/supplement meant to be thrown on the ground to appeal to the bird's desire to scratch and hunt for tidbits, while feed is actual food designed to make up the majority of the birds intake and provide the nutrients and so forth that it needs for proper metabolic processes. To me it seems wasteful and and a little backwards to mix scratch into the feed, which lowers the nutritional value of the feed and leaves you with nothing to put out for the chickens to "scratch" at throughout the day.

 

[mirandap]

I thought scrach was food. my birds are free to eat what they find. I have no cages or fences. With 6.5acers for them do play.they are let out of the coop at 9:30am. Most of the day they are off in the woods. Until 8:30pm when they go to bed.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I thought scrach was food. my birds are free to eat what they find. I have no cages or fences. With 6.5acers for them do play.they are let out of the coop at 9:30am. Most of the day they are off in the woods. Until 8:30pm when they go to bed.

Gotcha. Yeah, scratch isn't food, and its mainly useful for people who aren't able to free range, to give their birds something to do all day. In your case, you really could do without it, although nutritionally I'm sure it isn't hurting them since I would guess they get most of their food from foraging and your 'feed' is acting like more of a supplement, rather than the other way around with some flocks (like mine).