It depends upon whether that is all they're getting. Keep in mind chickens are omnivores.
I'm struck by how so many people think that chickens are exclusively seed eaters and can survive, much less thrive on an all seed diet.
Perhaps it's because most people do offer scratch grains or because the 2 main ingredients in feeds are usually a grain and a legume.
While that blend is adequate in energy, most minerals, some vitamins and supplies a crude protein level of about 16 or 17% crude protein, there are still striking deficiencies.
Essential amino acids; minerals like manganese, iodine, iron, potassium and vitamins D, A , K come to mind.
Even though chickens of various ages have crude protein percentages recommended, chickens (and all animals) don't really have a specific requirement for crude protein percentage, but rather for the individual components that make up protein - amino acids.
Proteins are made up of several different combinations of amino acids. In digestion, proteins are broken down into individual amino acids that are absorbed into the bloodstream. The amino acids are then incorporated into new protein molecules. When formulating diets with commonly available grains and protein sources, the level of crude protein typically used to describe the diet usually will contain adequate amounts of amino acids.. However, it is important to remember that this is not always true when using synthetic amino acids and alternative or by-product feed ingredients, and that the dietary levels of amino acids should always be checked. It is becoming increasingly important to specify lysine and methionine levels when formulating poultry diets. That's why they are always listed in the guaranteed analysis on feed labels.
There are 13 amino acids essential to chickens while there are only 9 in humans. The limiting amino acid concept shows that If a diet is inadequate in any essential amino acid, protein synthesis cannot proceed beyond the rate at which that amino acid is available.
There are some essential amino acids deficient in your mix. Notably, lysine, methionine and sometimes tryptophan are low in vegetative sources. Feed manufacturers add synthetic amino acids or an animal protein to make up for what is missing in their mix of seeds.
Your seed mix is also low in things like xanthophyll, carotenoids that contribute to a yellow pigment in yolk and skin.
If you want to avoid a complete chicken feed, you probably need to include some animal protein, green vegetation and fruits to fill in the nutritional gaps in your original mix.
http://extension.missouri.edu/p/G8352
I'm struck by how so many people think that chickens are exclusively seed eaters and can survive, much less thrive on an all seed diet.
Perhaps it's because most people do offer scratch grains or because the 2 main ingredients in feeds are usually a grain and a legume.
While that blend is adequate in energy, most minerals, some vitamins and supplies a crude protein level of about 16 or 17% crude protein, there are still striking deficiencies.
Essential amino acids; minerals like manganese, iodine, iron, potassium and vitamins D, A , K come to mind.
Even though chickens of various ages have crude protein percentages recommended, chickens (and all animals) don't really have a specific requirement for crude protein percentage, but rather for the individual components that make up protein - amino acids.
Proteins are made up of several different combinations of amino acids. In digestion, proteins are broken down into individual amino acids that are absorbed into the bloodstream. The amino acids are then incorporated into new protein molecules. When formulating diets with commonly available grains and protein sources, the level of crude protein typically used to describe the diet usually will contain adequate amounts of amino acids.. However, it is important to remember that this is not always true when using synthetic amino acids and alternative or by-product feed ingredients, and that the dietary levels of amino acids should always be checked. It is becoming increasingly important to specify lysine and methionine levels when formulating poultry diets. That's why they are always listed in the guaranteed analysis on feed labels.
There are 13 amino acids essential to chickens while there are only 9 in humans. The limiting amino acid concept shows that If a diet is inadequate in any essential amino acid, protein synthesis cannot proceed beyond the rate at which that amino acid is available.
There are some essential amino acids deficient in your mix. Notably, lysine, methionine and sometimes tryptophan are low in vegetative sources. Feed manufacturers add synthetic amino acids or an animal protein to make up for what is missing in their mix of seeds.
Your seed mix is also low in things like xanthophyll, carotenoids that contribute to a yellow pigment in yolk and skin.
If you want to avoid a complete chicken feed, you probably need to include some animal protein, green vegetation and fruits to fill in the nutritional gaps in your original mix.
http://extension.missouri.edu/p/G8352
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