Extra protein

[skippakate]

What are some protein treats I can give to my 4 month old hens?

 

[jeepguy982001]

they have a thread on treats here. sry i don't know how to post it. stuff like cooked eggs, most kinds of meat if it isn't too salty.

 

[petejd]

scrambled eggs..

 

[al6517]

Better feed, a more high protien more specific feed will do wonders. I am not a fan of cat food or anything like that, when real chicken feed will produce better results.

 

[Judy]

I buy mine a can of canned mackerel now and then, and give different leftovers with meat. A turkey or chicken carcass is great. Things like BOSS and game bird feed make good snacks or treats, and have a little more protein than our layer feed. I like to give them some animal protein now and then, though. Cat food isn't good except in very small quantities (see the note at the bottom of the treats chart.) And birds are lactose intolerant.

Here is the treats chart:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2593-Treats_Chart

 

[al6517]

I also am a firm believer in animal protien in feed and other supplements to their normal feed regimine. If you watch your leftovers and table scraps closely the chickens can benifit from that.

Can you elaborate on the lactose intolerance of the chickens, I haven't heard that and it's intriquing.

 

[jeepguy982001]

i've never heard of the lactose intolurent thing either my chickens flip out and go crazy playing keep away if there was some cheese in the scraps i give them.

 

[OldChurchEggery1]

I mentioned this under another post, but I give mine excess Jersey milk. They drink it down like it's the best thing since...well, old sliced bread! Grubs and worms are good, too. If you're trying to make a new garden plot, spread a tarp out over the ground for about 2 weeks before breaking it up with your tiller. There will be a goldmine of grubs under there, especially if your tarp is dark colored. I guess they congregate where the temperature is warmer and they feel protected. Those foolish fools! The chickens will have a heyday snapping them up.

 

[saladin]

Quote:
I have fed birds milk replacer for years with no problems. They love it.

 

[SteveBaz]

Information provided by;
Animal Feed Resources Information System Animal Production and Health Division


BLOOD MEAL
Whole blood meal is produced by spray drying at low temperatures the fresh whole blood from animal processing plants. The fresh blood is typically collected in on-site cooling tanks that utilize agitation to prevent coagulatio of the fresh blood. The whole blood is then centrifuged to remove foreign material. Whole blood meal contains about 80% crude protein, with 1% methionine (2.4% methionine + cystine).

FEATHER MEAL
Hydrolyzed poultry feathers or feather meal is produced by hydrolyzing clean, undecomposed feathers from slaughtered poultry. Hydrolysis is accomplished with steam and pressure which break the keratin bond and increases the digestibility of the protein in the feathers. The quality of feather meal is affected by the length of time that it is hydrolyzed. The protein content of feather meal is typical 85%. If 75% crude protein or less, the hydrolyzation was incomplete.

FISH MEAL
Good quality fish meal is a brown powder which will average between 60% and 70% protein. The oil content in the meal will range from 2% to greater than 14%. The moisture level will commonly range from 6 to 12%. The ash content will range from 18% (more common for an industrial fishmeal) to 25% (more common for a white fish meal). The odor of fish meal, as would be expected, is that of fish. It is easily distinguished from other ingredients. If an acrid "scorched" smell is present this usually indicates overheating or scorching. If this occurs, a blackish dark-brown color is common and the quality of protein is usually affected in a negative manner.

MEAT & BONE MEAL
Meat and bone meal is prepared from the wastes materials associated with slaughtering operations (carcass trimmings, condemned carcasses, condemned livers, inedible offal (lungs) and bones) and also from the rendering of dead animals. There can be a wide variation between plants and batches in what goes into the meat and bone meal that is being prepared. If the ash content is high, this indicates that it contains a higher amount of bones and is referred to as meat and bone meal. If the ash content is lower it is referred to as meat meal. Typically when the phosphorus content is above 4.5 % P, then it is called meat and bone meal and when it is below that level it is referred to as meat meal or some other term. In addition to the protein (amino acids) meat and bone meal is an excellent source of calcium and phosphorus and some other minerals (K, Mg, Na, etc.). The ash content of the meat and bone meal normally ranges from 28 to 36 %; calcium is 7 to 10 % and phosphorus 4.5 to 6 %. When using meat and bone meal as the primary supplemental protein source the mineral levels may limit its use in some diet formulations. Meat and bone meal like with other animal products is a good source of Vitamin B-12. Like other animal protein sources meat and bone meal has a good amino acid profile. Digestibility of the protein fraction is normally quite high, ranging from 81 to 87 % (Kellems, 2000). Its protein quality is lower than fish meal or soybean meal for applications in feeding swine or poultry when used to supplement CP in cereal based diets. In ruminant it can readily be used to replace most other supplemental protein sources. The CP is less ruminally degradable, and will pass thorough the rumen without being degraded when compared to many other supplemental protein sources. Processing temperature will also effect the availability of the protein fraction. Often pepsin digestibility of the protein fraction is used as a means of determining the extent of processing and availability of the protein fraction. Excessive heating during processing can reduce the digestibility of the CP.

POULTRY BYPRODUCT MEAL
This meal is a combination of all poultry by-products processed together in the same proportions as they occur in the processing plant. Composition can be quite variable for plant to plant and batch to batch, depending upon what is being included. It is suitable to be used in poultry diets.
Caution:
Proper heat treatment is required to prevent the spread of disease (Salmonella, etc.).

FLAX SEED MEAL
Flax seed contains high levels of protein (26%) and oil (41%). It is also an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, particularly linolenic acid. Flax is currently used in poultry feeds to alter the fatty acid composition of eggs (i.e., omega-3 enriched eggs). High levels of flaxseed (>10%) result in a decrease in overall egg acceptability as assessed by aroma and flavor. Current practice in feed formulation is to stabilize flaxseed with the addition of a tocopherol/vitamin E antioxidant at the level of 10 mg/100g of feed. The flavor quality of vitamin E/omega-3 fatty acids enriched eggs have been found to be superior to eggs solely containing enhanced omega-3 fatty acids. Flax seed has also been shown to be successful in the production of omega-3 enriched chicken meat, although the use of full-fat flax seed resulted in lower live weights and smaller carcasses. Flax seeds are very small so adding grit to the diet.

SOYBEAN MEAL
Soybean meal dominates the market for protein supplements for poultry. There are a number of reasons for this, including its consistency in nutrient content, its ready availability year-round, and its high content of crude protein. Because poultry producers desire high-energy diets, soybean meal is a superior value because no other common plant protein feedstuff exceeds soybean meal in crude protein content. Soybean meal matches or exceeds all other common plant proteins in both total and digestible amino acid content (Table 1). Soybean meal is perhaps the only common protein supplement that is typically included in poultry rations with no limitation as to the quantity used. When properly toasted to denature the trypsin inhibitors, there are no antinutritive factors to consider when formulating diets. With the single exception of methionine, soybean meal is an almost ideal protein supplement for all types of poultry. When blended with corn or grain sorghum, soybean meal provides a good balance of all the essential amino acids needed by poultry except for methionine. However, methionine is economically provided by supplements produced by the chemical industry, allowing simple corn-soybean meal diets to effectively meet the amino acid requirements of the chick.

ROASTED WHOLE SOYBEAN MEAL
Here has been an increased interest in the use of whole soybean meals, especially in organic poultry diets. Farmers can grower soybeans but can not get them mechanically extracted (only approved method for organic soybean meal production since the more commonly used solvent extraction method is not permitted). When whole soybeans are used they must be roasted to de-activated the trpysin-inhibitors they contain. This anti-nutritional factors is typically deactivated by the temperatures involved in oil extraction and the production of soybean meal. Research has shown that it is possible to include 15% roasted soybeans in starter turkey diets or replace 100% of the sobyean meal with roasted soybeans in grower and finisher diets for female turkeys with no adverse affects on growth performance or carcass composition.

SUNFLOWER
Sunflower seeds are used for oil production. The meal remaining after oil extraction is a potential feed ingredient for poultry. Sunflower meal has a relatively high protein content (17-21%) but is low in energy and deficient in lysine, limiting its use. Solvent extracted sunflower seed meal cannot be used in certified organic feeds. The oil must be removed with mechanical extraction. It is also possible to include whole sunflower seeds in poultry diets. Reserach has shown that whole sunflower seeds can be included at up to 30# of layer diets with no adverse affects on hen performance. Hens fed diets containing sunflower seeds, however, give eggs with a significantly reduced color score (i.e., they look pale) and a significant rise in yolk cholesterol content. When the seeds are ground, they can be included in broiler diets up to 50%.