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.

 

[The_Chicken_Tender]

My neighbours give their cats dry cat food only once a day, inside the house in the evening. After that they are locked in for the night.
In the afternoon if my chickens free range, one (hungry) cat always comes to eat from the chick feed.

I don’t know what goes into your cat food. But I doubt if its healthy food for chickens and I rather eat eggs from organic chicken feed and what they find in our garden, than eggs from undefined cat feed.

This is part of a translated article https://dier-en-natuur.infonu.nl/huisdieren/64384-honden-en-kattenbrokken-ingredienten.html

Spoiler: what goes into dog and cat feed

Amount of meat in the kibble
Most kibble contains 4 percent meat. And this is incredibly low for a carnivorous animal. The meat composition is often also vague: it's the waste meat that we humans don't want to eat. This is then processed into animal feed. Sometimes the packaging states: 4 percent meat (of which 97 percent is poultry). A quick glance might suggest the kibble contains 97 percent poultry. However, this isn't true: the kibble consists of slightly less than 4 percent poultry. (Namely, 97 percent of that 4 percent). So read the packaging carefully!

Price/Quality
A manufacturer can't make cheap kibble containing only meat. In principle, it can be said: the more expensive the feed, the more meat it contains. Because meat, including waste meat, is simply expensive. This is partly why the more expensive kibble is generally of a higher quality. But even this doesn't tell the whole story: you're also paying for the brand name, of course. A well-known brand can easily charge a bit more in price, because people will buy it anyway.

The Other 96 Percent
Now that we know that kibble often only contains 4 percent meat, you're probably wondering what's in the remaining 96 percent. This includes grains: corn or wheat, or usually beans. But also beet pulp or other waste grains. In any case, products that a dog or cat wouldn't naturally eat.

Sometimes rice is also added to the kibble, masquerading as lamb and rice. This is often white rice or broken rice, the waste product of white rice. While it's recommended for dogs with intestinal problems, it's better to prepare rice yourself or give them rice water to drink.

Not edible!
Let's be honest: if a dog or cat had the choice, they certainly wouldn't eat the unprocessed kibble. To ensure the animal eats it anyway, fats are added. Ever wondered where that used McDonald's frying oil goes? Right, it's on the dog and cat food. At least that way we know for sure that our pets are eating those nasty kibbles.

Somewhere else I have been reading the grains in the cat feed are boiled /heated to make it digestible for cats.

That is also my concern. I feed Scratch and Peck, which is supposed to be very high quality, and kibble definitely isn't on the same level! I even feel bad feeding it to my cats, but there really isn't a better solution for that at the moment

 

[The_Chicken_Tender]

I use a dog door to keep my chickens out of mine! Works great! Yeah chickens LOVE cat food

Great! I got a small cat door, and hopefully they can't figure it out

 

[The_Chicken_Tender]

Your chickens need more/better protein than they are getting on their current feeding regime, whatever that is. That's why they are so keen to eat the cat's food; cat food is more reliably composed of animal proteins, as they just won't be fooled into eating plant protein like dogs will. So you could solve the problem by putting out some cat food for the chickens until they've had enough - they will stop when they hit their protein targets (individuals will vary in their requirements).

Interesting. I am currently feeding scratch and peck 18% protein, and they get mealworms almost everyday. I just replied to another comment about this, but I don't think I want my chickens eating the kibble, since the ingredients are not 'clean,' especially since we eat the eggs. Would you suggest going higher than 18%? I have some leftover meatbird feed, 21%, that I could potentially give them?

 

[McChooky]

My chickens are molting and getting 20% protein but I've never fed them meat bird feed sorry!

 

[The_Chicken_Tender]

My chickens are molting and getting 20% protein but I've never fed them meat bird feed sorry!

Good to know! I haven't seen layer feed with that much protein, but I'll look next time I'm at the feed store!

 

[McChooky]

Good to know! I haven't seen layer feed with that much protein, but I'll look next time I'm at the feed store!

Presently its on sale at Chewy(or was) All flock 20% protein (Kalmbach)

 

[NatJ]

Good to know! I haven't seen layer feed with that much protein, but I'll look next time I'm at the feed store!

Try chick starter, and provide a separate source of calcium (such as oyster shell.)

The only thing that makes a feed "layer" is the calcium level. If you provide the calcium separately, laying hens can do well with pretty much any complete chicken feed (chick starter, grower, all flock, flock raiser, etc.)

If you do want the calcium in the feed, start reading labels. Layer feeds usually have more than 3% calcium, while feeds for other chickens have closer to 1% calcium. I've seen something, maybe it was called "Feather Fixer," that had a higher protein than most layer feeds while still having the high calcium of a layer feed. There are probably others as well.

Presently its on sale at Chewy(or was) All flock 20% protein (Kalmbach)

That does not have the high calcium of a layer feed, so hens that are laying will need a separate source of calcium if they eat this feed.