Some protein levels in feeds are up to 28 or 30%. Those are required for ducks and game birds. The flock raiser is at 20%. The really high protein feeds could also cause gout and kidney problems. But like I stated before 16% in layer is the minimum to keep a layer thriving. And I totally understand a couple of $ a week being a lot for a budget! For me the layer feed is the exact same price per pound as the raiser. If you wanna know which gives you more bang for your buck, you can look at the caloric content. Chickens eat to meet their nutritional needs so higher calorie feeds require less feed to meet that need. Incidentally, chickens are meat eaters... so they do get some meat scraps as well as eggs and they love milk. Mine haven't gotten milk so I can't speak to it, but many farmers do. I do not feed fat scraps ever.
Yes, I can't believe some of the things people say they know about chickens and dogs. I have gotten wrong information many times, at the feed store especially. So it's ALWAYS important to do your own research to confirm or refute what's been said!
