Chickens addicted to cat food! Will a cat door keep them out?

[saysfaa]

I buy cat food for my chickens occasionally, the tuna ones. According to the labels, protein is only about 17%-20%, depends on the brand. Wholemilk powder is another protein source for them, the protein content in that is about 25%, but since chickens are lactose intolerant, I can only used it as 10% - 15% of their total feed.

Lean beef and pork have about 25% - 27% protein content, so when some chicken feed claim to have 20% - 30% protein content, I am like: how, is it mostly dried animal matter?

Fresh lean beef is 70 to 80 percent moisture.

Sometimes chicken feed has beef or pork. When it does, it is dried to about 15% moisture - then it is about 60 percent protein.

Soybean oil meal at about the same moisture level as the dried beef, as it is in chicken feed, is about 45 to 50 percent protein.

So it takes a little less than half of the chicken feed being beef to get 20% protein or a little more than half of the chicken feed being soy to get 20% protein. Or it would be so if none of the other ingredients provided any protein.

 

[RoyalChick]

I buy cat food for my chickens occasionally, the tuna ones. According to the labels, protein is only about 17%-20%, depends on the brand. Wholemilk powder is another protein source for them, the protein content in that is about 25%, but since chickens are lactose intolerant, I can only used it as 10% - 15% of their total feed.

Lean beef and pork have about 25% - 27% protein content, so when some chicken feed claim to have 20% - 30% protein content, I am like: how, is it mostly dried animal matter?

Are you looking at wet or dry food. Wet cat food has low ish protein because they may be quoting the % by volume and it is a lot of water.
My chickens get cat food (wet and dry). I feed the cats indoors but take the bowls out for the chickens to clean up the leftovers.

I think a cat door might keep out chickens but not a certainty. Chickens are certainly capable of pushing past an obstacle to get where they want to go.
I hang cardboard in their chicken door to reduce drafts when it gets very cold and that doesn’t seem to bother them. A cat door would need a heftier push of course.