RavalliSurfer
Chirping
I start my chicks on 30-32% Game Bird Mix. I would never use 20% protein since I like my birds to form strong bones and feathers.
I used to raise 35lb turkeys on the same feed...no splays, no broken bones, very healthy and 4 of them would bend my barnyard fence rail when they all sat on it together.
I continue feeding my chickens with at LEAST a 28% protein crumble after they free run in the yard where they can find extra protein in bugs and insects, etc.
During colder months (above 46.100° North Latitude we have cold winters and short summers) I add some 4-Way horse feed with molasses and millet and a very high protein level over 30%. This extra sugar keeps them warm.
So.... no.... you can (and should) feed with much higher protein for stronger bones and superior eggs with almost orange colored yolks that stand up like a ping pong ball in a frying pan.
In case you wonder.... I have been raising chickens since 1960. I very rarely have any chick mortality problems, be it from predators, disease, freezing or bad genetics. I only buy heavy breeds - Austrolorps, Jersey Giants, Auracanas (not Americanas) and Sex Links.
I love the Polish, but they aren't hardy enough for Montana Winters, what with freezing their combs and feet.... so I hear.
I always buy 2 day old chicks, in the Fall. That way they start their laying schedule in early Spring and their first molt usually isn't until somewhere in late August or early September... and it's self induced. I don't withhold food nor water to start it.
Strangely, my last batch of chicks all had their first egg on the same day! I've never heard of that happening before or since.
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