Mixing feeds and protien guidelines

[dirtbagchickens]

So I am looking for clarity on the grower vs layer feeding mixes. There seems to be lots of amibiguity within the range of protien. I know there is a lot posted on this, I've read through many threads, but looking to expose some distinctions once again.

Such as by "ChickesnAreSweet" in 2010: "You can feed the same feed to everyone, but the recommendations change based on age. Chicks should have 20% protein, grower feed is 17%, and layer feed is 16%. However, a lot of people give the flock raiser feed which I think is about 20%."

That kind of info is confusing due to the 1% difference in grower vs layer and I have heard that chickes should not have so much protien due to risk to their kidneys. I have also thought (recently) that the protien should go up while laying, not down.

I am currently feeding ONATE (Albuquerque, NM) Pullet start-n-grow; 16% crude protien. Their directions says to feed this for 18wks (age is always consistent in guides I found) then switch to 22% "OR" 15% (***!!) why such a spread which goes above and below the grower amount??

I also have on hand some ONATE Scratch; 8.5% protien

and recently got some Bob White Crumble Feed (mfd by Gerber &Sons, Baltic, OH) 27% protien. this also has 2x the Lysine and phosphorus. Their directions for chickens is as follows:
14%grower 16%Lay
Corn 70% 55%
27% crum 30% 45%

So this formula only differentiates by 2% for grwr vs layers, increases protien and comes nowhere near 20% as suggested by ONATE.

I would like to mix the 27% crumble and the 8.5% scratch for a Layer feed. Wondering how to calculate proportions to get an appropriate protien content, and what that should be.

My flock gets to graze as well. this frequency though has been inconssitant. Usually all day on the weekends and a couple hours in the evening when I get home I'll turn'em out. We have plenty of clover, bugs and other grasses.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

http://www.lionsgrip.com/protein.html
Here's one way to mix your proteins (see above). I prefer to use lbs instead of parts based on some BYC advice.

*blushing* you quoted me from a couple of years ago LOL.

Now the thing is, the 20% Flock Raiser is fine to feed everyone, and many do. There are just a few things that I've heard though: teenage chickens can benefit from the 17% ration due to people not desiring them to go through rapid development, in order to hopefully reduce reproductive problems in their lifetimes. I don't know if this has been definitively proven, or not.

Also, yes the extra protein is just "expensive urine." So they might not need all that protein. It depends. I feed a LOT of grains and they range for clover/grass, and receive kitchen treats.

So what I currently do is feed organic chick starter as a feed base, and mix in all my extras (grains, seeds, etc.) to make the total protein much lower. So I wouldn't want to start with a 16% layer feed.

The more protein you give them, the larger the eggs get, says one professional eggseller on BYC. (I am sure this is only true to a certain point but you see what I mean hopefully.)

I hope this helps.

 

[Chris09]

What type of birds are you feeding, Layers, Cornish Crosses, Exhibition etc? The type of fowl your are feeding makes a big difference on what feed you should feed.
This should get you started,
http://gov.mb.ca/agriculture/livestock/poultry/bba01s12.html
http://www.ag.auburn.edu/~chibale/an12poultryfeeding.pdf


Chris