Molting - supplemental protein - soy bean mash?

[curiositykt]

Hi all,

One out of 5 of my chickens have started molting, I'm hoping the rest start soon so they can get it over with before it gets much colder. At the same time we also started making our own soy milk, which results in leftover cooked soy mash, which the chickens seem to love. It makes about a cup of mash each time we make soy milk (so like 2-3 times a week) and I'm curious if this is good enough of a protein supplement for encouraging new feather growth. They also get a little bit of BOSS nearly every day as an incentive to go back to their coop when we need them to. (They are only allowed supervised free ranging as we have a lot of dogs in the neighborhood who have discovered that there are tasty chickens in our backyard)

Last winter when they were about 9 months old, we provided them with a small bowl of oatmeal with greek yogurt and a little BOSS nearly every day when it was below freezing, which I intend to do this winter too, though I may substitute the oatmeal for the soy mash if there are no reasons why I shouldn't give them this source of protein.

The white stuff on top of their treat bucket is the soy mash. They seem to love it. The chicken at 10 o'clock is the one who is molting.

 

[yinzerchick]

I'm just looking for good protein treats to give my flock as they go through their molt. I'm sorry, I have no idea why the soy mash wouldn't be good, but I'm nobody to be saying anything either way. I don't even know why people feed their chickens "soy free" feed.

You have beautiful girls! Hope someone helpful comes along and gives you some insight either way.

 

[TheSitcomGirls]

Mine seem to like fresh sunflower seeds. This time of year the ones in my garden are just getting ripe. I get the flowers down before the wild birds eat them all and my chicken love them.

 

[Percheron chick]

Soy bean mash is a poor protein source. Most of the protein has been removed with the milk. What is left is mostly water (about 75%) and non digestable CHO (12%). The protein is only about 3.5%. The oatmeal is actually higher in protein than the mash. If you want a higher protein feed to help with feather production, try whole roasted soybeans, cat kibble or any seeds.

 

[Silseb]

Cat kibble, mealworms, safflower seeds. And free choice whole oats.

 

[CAjerseychick]

We also have a bag of 22% protein gamebird starter that I feed when ever I think my chickens need a little extra....I just make it into mash (add warm water and scraps) and they Love it!
Its nice to have on hand...