Getting free produce - is more protein necessary?

[Timothy Menezes]

I would leave they're normal layer feed as is, and toss in a can of tuna, or put out a small bowl of gamebird layer, all flock, starter, or broiler food on the side if your worried about it.

Don't stress, if you feed to much vegies they will eat what they want and leave the rest.

 

[Shamo Hybrid]

Chickens know how to regulate their intake needs when it comes to food (i think?), unlike goldfish where they will explode if you keep feeding them flakes! I'm assuming like with oyster shells and calcium, a chicken only eats the oyster shells when she feels a depletion in calcium? But with protein, I'm not soo sure.... maybe they will keep overloading on protein without knowing.

 

[Compost King]

If the feed my chickens are eating is low in protein I dump a worm bin where I compost coffee grounds in their run... I wait until the coffee grounds are all taken care of by the worms first.... and if they need protein they feast on worms, if they do not need protein they pass up on worms. Worm composts are a great way to turn food chickens will not eat into food they will eat. Worm composts also have other things in them that chickens eat.

 

[OasiVerde]

If the feed my chickens are eating is low in protein I dump a worm bin where I compost coffee grounds in their run... I wait until the coffee grounds are all taken care of by the worms first.... and if they need protein they feast on worms, if they do not need protein they pass up on worms. Worm composts are a great way to turn food chickens will not eat into food they will eat. Worm composts also have other things in them that chickens eat.

@Compost King I would like to start a worm compost bin in my green house. Would you like to share pictures of your set up? I started a couple of years ago with plastic bins stacked on top of each other. I have no idea what I did wrong, but all the worms died and I have never tried it again.

 

[Folly's place]

I feed an all-flock feed to everyone all year (Flock Raiser, 20% protein) with separate oyster shell. The birds free range and get a few kitchen scraps and scratch occasionally, and do fine. If you are feeding a layer feed, you have much less 'wiggle room', especially for your hard working laying hens!
Mary

 

[Compost King]

Not much of a set up as far as bins go, Just a lone bin with holes in the bottom filled with bedding Material (this time loose straw that got wet so it couldn't go in a coop) coffee grounds and filters a little bit of chicken feed that got moldy and there is moldy bread in there too.

Not sure how your green house is set up, or if you have a plethora of worms in your soil like I do. Or how much worm compost you want to do. Unless its small scale I suggest compost piles or raised beds for worms. I have mountains of composts and this bin is strictly for making extra food for chickens stuck in breeding pens so they can get the same healthy foods as the free rangers. When this is finished composting I throw it in a chicken run along with leaves in fall/Winter, Grass Clippings spring and summer, they get all the same stuff free rangers get. I used to build elaborate stacked bin for worm composting until I realized a compost pile is pretty much the same thing and cheaper to create/maintain.

 

[Timothy Menezes]

You could try something like this 18% protein layer if you want some extra leeway.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/nutrena-naturewise-hearty-hen-layer-pellet-40-lb-91057

 

[OasiVerde]

Not much of a set up as far as bins go, Just a lone bin with holes in the bottom filled with bedding Material (this time loose straw that got wet so it couldn't go in a coop) coffee grounds and filters a little bit of chicken feed that got moldy and there is moldy bread in there too. View attachment 1598007

Not sure how your green house is set up, or if you have a plethora of worms in your soil like I do. Or how much worm compost you want to do. Unless its small scale I suggest compost piles or raised beds for worms. I have mountains of composts and this bin is strictly for making extra food for chickens stuck in breeding pens so they can get the same healthy foods as the free rangers. When this is finished composting I throw it in a chicken run along with leaves in fall/Winter, Grass Clippings spring and summer, they get all the same stuff free rangers get. I used to build elaborate stacked bin for worm composting until I realized a compost pile is pretty much the same thing and cheaper to create/maintain.

Thank you for your picture. That looks great! So simple and easy to maintain! I like that you have a system for your compost and who gets it.
When I tried worm composting, I bought three plastic bins, drilled holes in them, stacked them and added kitchen scraps and shredded paper.
My property has a small layer of soil and then it;s rocks . Not many worms around, only in the raised vegetable beds in the run. The greenhouse is empty at the moment. There is an aquaponic setup, but that needs some work to get it working again.The fish tanks and the pumps are working, but they are currently not connected to the grow beds. There are three raised/grow beds, with pond liner and small rocks in there. I emptied one today. They are big, so I could put a divider in there and turn one side into a worm bin.

 

[Acre4Me]

In addition to above suggestions, also know that there are game bird feeds for quail, pheasants etc. they are typically not medicated. Your feed store or feed mill may have these available. They are often around 28% protein and formulated for birds. You could look for turkey starter too, as that is also around 28% protein, but seems to typically be medicated.

 

[Acre4Me]

I'm on the fence about this... Most people would probably say that you should provide supplemental protein but a part of me wonders if we really need to be that scientific about our birds' diets. After all, most of us don't calculate the exact percentage of proteins vs. carbs vs. fats in our own diets. And, a person's nutrient consumption can vary a lot from day to day and from season to season. For example, in more traditional, rural economies, fall and winter are typically when people eat more protein as that's when animals are slaughtered, spring is a pretty lean time when winter stores are depleted yet it's too early for new crops, and summer is all about fresh fruit, vegetables and berries.

If my chickens are any indication, they seem to self-correct their diets pretty well. If I supplement too extensively with fruit and veggie scraps, they stop eating them after a while, or only nibble at them before walking away, and that's my sign to hold off or go lower on produce for the time being. In the summer, when bugs, worms and grass are abundant, my chickens eat a lot less of their normal feed and barely care for supplemental produce as they prefer to forage.

Except that chickens and humans are different. Any animal keeper needs to be aware of the needs of their animals, and the needs of chickens are well understood. It is also understood that if the nutrition of chickens is deficient then there are consequences to the health of the animal (as there are consequences for humans that have poor/deficient diets too). Anyone wanting eggs from their chickens will want to be sure to provide the nutrition needed for flock health and strong/good quality eggs. A layer feed is often 16% protein, considered the minimum for chicken laying health. Often it is recommended to move to a higher protein feed for molt or when there is feather-picking in a flock. So, yes we can be and should be mindful of the daily nutritional needs of the flock. Good for the OP to ask since they are trying to maintain a healthy flock.