Hens are molting, fishmeal to supplement feed with extra protein

[stromsmith]

I think ChickenCanoe's way will work well but isn't the only way that will work well. I don't care if I know how much protein my hens eat. They know how much they need far better than I do.

As long as it is a complete protein (like meat and fish are) and not too high in salt or fat (like meal worms are but fish usually isn't) then I would give it to them separate from their other food and free choice. I do that with fish carcasses from local lakes sometimes so it isn't totally theoretical.

And you posted while I wrote. I don't seen a risk to the easy way in this case. But, that way should work well too.

Thanks @saysfaa! My original thoughts were inline with yours, not just the easy lazy way. I figured they would eat the amount of protein that they want or need in a free feeding bowl dedicated to fishmeal. As a quick trial I put out a few ounces of fishmeal yesterday AM ... it was gone so fast! I appreciate having both options.

 

[stromsmith]

16% is too low in general, whether they're molting or not. Get them a better feed that's at least 18-20% protein and you won't have to do math with supplements. I feed a 20% protein flock raiser feed to the whole flock all year round (with calcium added on the side) and don't need to supplement with anything else. They are doing great.

Thank you @K0k0shka, I will tweak the ratio a bit to get a higher protein percentage. I have heard/read too much protein in feed is hard on the birds kidneys, but surely not enough protein has its own negative impacts. Will try to get it just right.

 

[stromsmith]

I didn't know the fish meal is that fine. That would make it impractical to feed it separately.

The fish meal I have is fine similar to a cornmeal. I did a tiny bowl of a couple ounces inside a larger taller bowl figuring they would make a mess. They did spill over in the larger bowl and eventually cleaned that out too.

 

[K0k0shka]

Thank you @K0k0shka, I will tweak the ratio a bit to get a higher protein percentage. I have heard/read too much protein in feed is hard on the birds kidneys, but surely not enough protein has its own negative impacts. Will try to get it just right.

It’s hard to dose it right if you are mixing it yourself. Why not just get a pre-mixed complete feed that’s ready to use, at a good percentage like 20%? Then you won’t have to be guessing if they’re getting the right amount.