How Much Is TOO Much Protein / Fat?

[Sunshine Flock]

This is a good discussion. I've seen this topic before, but I think we tend to reach a point where we just don't know. One blog post I read said no more than a tablespoon a day of food that isn't their regular feed. But no source was sited.

Chickens aren't vegetarians, so it' unfair to deprive them of meat when it's available to them. But how much and how often? When my flock free ranges, sometimes they'll catch a lizard, and once, right in front of me, a hen caught a live mouse.

I don't want them eating rodents; not a good idea, I'm guessing. But since I really don't know what's okay for them beyond their organic feed, cooked egg, and veggies, I really limit treats.

But I do feel it's family wise to save tables scraps and feed them to the flock. It can help economize on feed. One homesteader guy on YouTube feeds large quantities of scraps to his flock, but relative to the size of his flock it's fair to say he's probably not overindulging them. If he didn't recycle food scraps through the flock, it would go directly to the compost pile, so no waste.

It just seems like an even more efficient use of scraps to process them through the chickens, not only saving feed but also for the compost they produce. I think he butchers his birds, so he sees the outcome of overindulgence, and I don't think he's seeing excess fat deposits on them.

I'm intrigued, though, when I hear that feeding sunflower seeds has resulted in greasy birds. So, clearly they're very reactive and susceptible to what we give them. I just wish I had a better understanding of this.

 

[BantyChooks]

One blog post I read said no more than a tablespoon a day of food that isn't their regular feed. But no source was sited.

Now that sounds like pure nonsense to me.

 

[rachelsflock]

As long as you're not feeding meat on a daily basis, I would worry more about the oats and birdseed throwing their balanced feed ration off balance than the meat. Birdseed and boss has a pretty good dose of fat in it, and oats are used to reduce the protein and calcium content in feed when you need to for things like geese, so they're not as good as good as just their feed. That being said, I have had at least two very, very obese hens that's gotten fat on layer ration alone, so go figure.

You can always check their body condition to evaluate if they are fat or not. Bulging bums that aren't just feathers, cushy fat pads on breast, neck, and back have been my signs of chicken obesity, and unfortunately for them, I'd rather cull the piggy birds that can't self regulate on good balanced feed than have my underlings in the pecking order starve because I started rationing. Fat birds don't lay well if at all, so I guess they'll take themselves out of the gene pool eventually (or they'll get eaten if they're still not laying eggs around late spring which usually causes feed consumption to fall a disproportionate amount).

Just good luck, and don't be afraid to not let people push you around too much or next thing you know you'll be coring and seeding apples for them or picking every suspicious spot off bread you give out and stopping by dunkin' for a dozen doughnuts for your ladies on your way home from work. As a general bet, a good quality layer pellet or crumble, fresh-ish, moderately clean water, a dry, safe shelter with nests for laying and a secure door for nighttime lock up, and a little extra space to go out and scratch is good enough for these low-maintenance livestock birds.

And they do really love scraps. Turning kitchen waste into eggs and meat is one of their greatest virtues.

 

[rjohns39]

This time of year, I believe this conversation gets way more complicated. We've all heard and I've typed the 10% rule a number of times—but where did it come from? Nutritionists know we're going to provide treats, table scraps, etc so somewhere along the line they developed the rule to give them a better chance of providing a balanced feed. Based upon my goals, I've had to learn way more about feed than I ever wanted to know and I'm still just an amateur.

So the whole idea of limiting treats to less than 10% of total diet is all about maintaining the right balance so the birds can use the nutrients it gathers. There is such a thing as too much of anything, but finding those limits is really challenging and depends on the birds total diet. So when my birds go into winter housing where they no longer have access to grass and legumes, I'll blow off the 10% rule and add hay and alfalfa to their pens and any greens I can get my hands on. They eat what they want/need and turn the rest into their deep litter. I can't wait until I'm setup to give them sprouts as well, just not there yet.

Meat and fat, again too much is bad, but the best judge of what's too much is you. Pay attention to your birds, their appearance, activity, poop and health in general. If they're gaining too much weight, getting lethargic, etc back off the treats. If you process excess birds, then you'll get really good feedback on how you're doing. The liver, heart and carcass will tell you the story.

I'm working on adjusting my birds going to the freezer to a finisher blend designed to maintain muscle mass (aka protein) while adding fat to the carcass as both my heritage chickens and ducks are leaner than I like. I have friends who put them on 100% corn for the last 30-90 days.

In the 18th and early 19th centuries, grain was way too precious to feed to the birds, so they were expected to forage for most of their diet and get any left over scraps and that was the entire diet. Today grain is cheap and we know a lot more about how to sustain and keep birds productive for longer. In the end you have to pick what works for you and your flock and adjust based upon success or failure to meet your goals.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I will assume that the steak in question weighs 1 pound or 16 ounces. Divide it into about 9 equal pieces and chop or cube up 3 of these portions every other day until you have fed the whole 16 ounces. Remember to let all 3 get their fair share. I honestly believe that a Murder could conceal his or her human victims by feeding the corpus delicti to a flock of chicken accomplices.

 

[Boonie Stomper]

rodents
I chuck stuff to my rangers. But only what they can consume at that moment. We are fighting the good fight with rats right now.

Rodents are inclined to be opportunists when it comes to extra scraps about ...but so are the predators when it comes to extra squirrels, rabbits and rats. My hens are dear to me, so I figure, regarding the foxes hawks and others, if you can't beat em feed em.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

If we listened to everything said here on the forums we'd build a large shack to move into so the birds can have range of our houses that we are allowed into to cook them up hot oatmeal three times a day and replenish water dishes with organic cider. Seriously, I've heard some whoppers on this forum from added calcium causes cancer to chickens need cotton sweaters to keep warm in winter....cotton! Nice get wet and cold cotton to wrap around dry down birds. It boggles the mind what some say and do.

Don't forget brushing their teeth twice a day and daily pedicures...

 

[Boonie Stomper]

Don't forget brushing their teeth twice a day and daily pedicures...

Right... And 3 quarts of water per day per bird !?!