15% grower/finisher feed?

[0die]

getting low on feed so went back to TSC...

saw some stuff labeled "grower/finisher" with 15% protein for 10-18 week chickens...so it implies that it's for after the main growing phase but just before they start laying...basically teenager stuff

my flock is all 12-14 weeks right now...

but most starter (kindergarten food) feed is 24%...starter/grower (grade school) is 20% and layer is 16%...

so what's with the 15% finisher (teenager/high school) feed??? is dropping to 15% really right at this age and then back up to 16% with calcium when laying

btw...mine have been on the 20% since the day they came home, maybe 3-6 days old on average.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

You can stay with starter their entire life if you switch to unmedicated. When they start laying provide oyster shells (buy 5 or 10 lbs bulk, they scoop it into bag for you). Toss a handful on the ground once or twice a week.

Depending on the breed of bird and if your only feed you can easily go to 15% protein. I like to see the full potential of standard bred birds so stay with 20% feed. My birds get pastured which requires more protein to offset the low protein their getting from grass and clover.

Ask about the protein levels of turkey finisher, sometimes that's 18% and comes in pellets which is a plus.

 

[aart]

I like to feed a 'flock raiser' 20% protein crumble to all ages and genders, as non-layers(chicks, males and molting birds) do not need the extra calcium that is in layer feed and chicks and molters can use the extra protein. Makes life much simpler to store and distribute one type of chow that everyone can eat.

The higher protein crumble also offsets the 8% protein scratch grains and other kitchen/garden scraps I like to offer.

Calcium should be available at all times for the layers, I use oyster shell mixed with rinsed, dried, crushed chicken egg shells in a separate container.

Animal protein (mealworms, a little cheese - beware the salt content, meat scraps) is provided during molting and if I see any feather eating.

 

[0die]

mine free range the backyard all day...I see them picking at the grass...so is the 15% too low since they are eating greens?

 

[donrae]

The 15% sounds pretty low to me. It's always hard to tell what they're getting when they free range--how much protein is in different bugs or grasses? I certainly have no idea.....but for myself I'd go with a little higher protein feed.

 

[Ridgerunner]

We all feed differently. To me it’s not as critical as some people think but my goals are different than other people. I’m not out to get the largest chicken or the largest egg I can. I’m quite happy with average sized chickens and average sized eggs.

The commercial operations that are raising pullets to be egg layers feed in a certain sequence. They feed a fairly high protein level feed to get the chicks off to a good start and help them feather out faster, maybe a 20% protein feed. Then somewhere around four to six weeks of age they switch to a Grower feed that may have about 16% protein. That’s enough protein for them to grow at a good rate. Then about 13 weeks, give or take, they switch to a 15% protein Developer/Finisher until they switch to a 16% Layer. After about 13 weeks they don’t need to put on a lot of body weight. The emphasis at this stage of growth is for their skeletons to develop and their internal organs to mature. 15% protein works just fine for that.

There are a few differences in what they do and what we do. They are using specialized hybrid pullets as specialized for laying as the broilers are for meat production. They pretty much control when the pullets will start to lay by controlling lights and what they eat. A higher protein feed can start them laying earlier than they want. They want them to lay a commercial sized egg when they lay so they are actually better off financially if they delay start of lay a bit. They don’t want their hens to get too big. The bigger a hen is the more it takes in feed to maintain that bigger body. They want most of what they eat to go into egg production, not body maintenance. The feed they give them is all they get. They do not forage and they do not get treats.

A lot of that stuff does not apply to most of us on this forum. It depends on your goals, chickens, set-up, management techniques and many other things but I don’t see anything wrong with feeding them a higher protein feed than the commercial operations, though I do limit my Starter to 20% unless I’m also raising turkeys. Then I use a 24% Starter for everybody. I also don’t see anything wrong with feeding them the 15% Developer/Finisher during those teenage weeks but I’ll qualify all that by saying it depends some on what else they are eating other than just their commercial feed. If they are getting high protein treats they don’t need a real high main feed. If they are getting a lot of low protein treats they may need a higher main feed. For the commercial operations it is an exact science. For us, not so much.

 

[aart]

We all feed differently. To me it’s not as critical as some people think but my goals are different than other people. I’m not out to get the largest chicken or the largest egg I can. I’m quite happy with average sized chickens and average sized eggs.

The commercial operations that are raising pullets to be egg layers feed in a certain sequence. They feed a fairly high protein level feed to get the chicks off to a good start and help them feather out faster, maybe a 20% protein feed. Then somewhere around four to six weeks of age they switch to a Grower feed that may have about 16% protein. That’s enough protein for them to grow at a good rate. Then about 13 weeks, give or take, they switch to a 15% protein Developer/Finisher until they switch to a 16% Layer. After about 13 weeks they don’t need to put on a lot of body weight. The emphasis at this stage of growth is for their skeletons to develop and their internal organs to mature. 15% protein works just fine for that.

There are a few differences in what they do and what we do. They are using specialized hybrid pullets as specialized for laying as the broilers are for meat production. They pretty much control when the pullets will start to lay by controlling lights and what they eat. A higher protein feed can start them laying earlier than they want. They want them to lay a commercial sized egg when they lay so they are actually better off financially if they delay start of lay a bit. They don’t want their hens to get too big. The bigger a hen is the more it takes in feed to maintain that bigger body. They want most of what they eat to go into egg production, not body maintenance. The feed they give them is all they get. They do not forage and they do not get treats.

A lot of that stuff does not apply to most of us on this forum. It depends on your goals, chickens, set-up, management techniques and many other things but I don’t see anything wrong with feeding them a higher protein feed than the commercial operations, though I do limit my Starter to 20% unless I’m also raising turkeys. Then I use a 24% Starter for everybody. I also don’t see anything wrong with feeding them the 15% Developer/Finisher during those teenage weeks but I’ll qualify all that by saying it depends some on what else they are eating other than just their commercial feed. If they are getting high protein treats they don’t need a real high main feed. If they are getting a lot of low protein treats they may need a higher main feed. For the commercial operations it is an exact science. For us, not so much.

Nice breakdown.

I feed the 20% protein crumble to offset the scratch they get every day.
2 scoops of feed to 1 scoop of ~8% scratch grains.
I have no idea exactly what % that works out to, maybe ~16-18%, but.....there it is.

 

[Ridgerunner]

20% + 20% + 8% = 48%

48%/3 =16%.

That assumes they eat equal shares of both feeds. Probably doesn't happen but its close enough.

 

[aart]

20% + 20% + 8% = 48%

48%/3 =16%.

That assumes they eat equal shares of both feeds. Probably doesn't happen but its close enough.

Sweet, that's simple!!...I'm pretty terrible at math...Thanks!

They usually clean up the 2 scoops of feed in a 24 hour period, if they don't, I adjust.... then adjust the scratch accordingly, so it's always 2 parts feed : 1 part scratch.
Course every bird is probably not getting equal shares...but like you said, close enough.