Feed Protien %... 24%, 20% Is more better?

[Living_Legend]

???????

 

[Relleoms]

Good question! How much is too much? Last spring we had an outbreak of coccidiocis & the hatchery suggested lowering our protein to no more than 16-17%, but everything I’ve seen on message boards seem to suggest 20% is a better goal.

 

[Jenna1414chickens]

Agree^^ I've heard you should give them around 20%. We are currently giving ours around 18%.

 

[Living_Legend]

right i see 16% 20% 24%..... price higher each one. One would guess more the better without asking right?

should chicks start higher like 24 then go to 20 when they are older or start at 16 and go higher? os stay the same from chick to chicken.....

 

[Living_Legend]

so we are thinking 20% from day 1 till day 1000?

 

[sylviethecochin]

High production birds output a lot of protein in their eggs, but they're also bred to process protein more efficiently. Heritage birds actually need more protein than high-production birds, which is counter-intuitive, I know.

I've heard that too much animal protein causes kidney failure. On further research, that seems to be mostly an urban myth resulting from one study on a diet done in mammals (human beings.)

I've also heard that too much protein makes the animals eat less (they're getting all of their nutrients) and they don't build up any reserves or mass associated with carbohydrates. Not sure how true that is, or how relevant it is to an animal being fed a complete feed.

The only problem that I know for certain to be associated with too much protein is that it makes poop stink.

EDT: bottom line is I generally feed about two percent above the recommended minimum (18% to production layers, 20% to chicks) to allow for the fact that the nutrients degrade as the feed ages. After that, I don't worry about it. I haven't seen any problems in my flock.

 

[PirateGirl]

Depends, broilers, layers, actively laying, molt... There's a good chart in Storey's Guide... perhaps I can pull it up online.

 

[PirateGirl]

I found these two different charts. They aren't identical, but similar. You can get the idea.

 

[Living_Legend]

Good information without checking I would have bought 24% protein thinking higher is better. Basically I'm raising chicks in the chickens layers so I will stick to 20% starter and transferred to regular 18% feed after 6 weeks

 

[Living_Legend]

Side note question. I want to start a thread of my entire Journey with chickens like my own personal thread is there a place in the Forum where people do that?