New to chickens! Can chickens be vegan?

[lazy gardener]

One consideration is that a lack of balanced or sufficient protein can lead to feather picking and cannibalism, especially with battery hens, though most of them have already been debeaked to prevent such issues.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I would just like to add to the excellent information already forwarded is that, as omnivores, chickens can't be strictly vegan. I surmise since this has been a burning question for you that you may already be or leaning vegetarian and as such, you understand that vegetative sources of protein are deficient in some essential amino acids for omnivores like humans and galiformes or 'gallinaceous birds'.
I also assume that you understand the importance of essential amino acids. Non-essential amino acids are those that the body can produce from the essential ones. IMO, all amino acids are essential because using some essential amino acids to produce the non-essentials can still lead to a deficiency.
Many of the feed manufacturers tout that their feeds are vegetarian - no animal products. However, to be complete feeds providing the nutrition more than a century of research has proven chickens need, they do their best to get the proper amino balance by mixing grains with legumes. But there are still deficiencies and amino acids like lysine and methionine have to be added in synthetic form. You'll find those ingredients listed as L-Lysine and DL-Methionine.
In conclusion, chickens can be fed a strict vegetarian diet but it must contain synthetic amino acids or they will exhibit retarded growth, reduced egg production and size. Lysine deficiencies can cause loss of feather pigment. If the diet is deficient in certain amino acids, the chickens will first consume more feed in an attempt to make up for the deficiency. After a short time, feeding habits will change to reduced feed intake and poor feed efficiency. They will become fatter as a result of overconsumption of energy.
Amino acid deficiencies will also manifest themselves in feather picking and eventually in cannibalism.
I actually witnessed this with birds one year. I had been using an organic 16% grower in all my flocks. For growing birds I supplemented with fishmeal at a ratio of 10:1 to achieve 20% protein. When I moved the birds to their growout housing, I cut them back to just the 16% at about 10 weeks. After a few days, I discovered a bird with a large part of its back eaten. I was convinced it was rats. In the next few days, there were more. I quarantined some and a couple were saved. None of the birds were roosting yet and slept in a pile on the floor. Still suspecting rats, I went into the coop just after dusk to find the birds lying on the floor and two birds picking at the meat on another chicken's back. It was almost like a couple people watching a movie and eating popcorn.
I immediately resumed adding the fishmeal and the habit ceased. I now keep the protein up in birds till at least 14 weeks.

 

[Hensforbrains]

But there are still deficiencies and amino acids like lysine and methionine have to be added in synthetic form.

Spirulina and soy are both good sources of lysine and sesame seeds and a good source of methionine. One of the reason a feed producer might use synthetic forms instead is it is more cost effective. It is possible to meet the nutritional needs of chickens without using animal products, its just harder, and you may over do the total calorie requirement before you meet the protein requirement (fat chookies). Overall, trying to make chickens entirely vegan is not something I would recommend. In this situation these chickens won't really be vegan or vegetarian as they will be eating all the bugs they can find in a free range setting. If they are like my chickens, they will also eat any mouse that they cross paths with.

 

[lazy gardener]

CC, that post was totally disgusting, but I thank you for it. It was a very graphic word picture of what can happen in a flock when their nutritional needs are not met. I am rarely grossed out, having spent all of my adult life poking around in the medical field. I can eat a bowl full of spaghetti while having a detailed discussion about wound debridement. But, you got me with that one!!

 

[poshpolish]

You're all so helpful and welcoming, thank you!

To answer some questions as to why I'd like to have "vegan" chickens, well, I'm vegan myself and while I realize it's not at all ideal to 'push' that on animals, I don't agree with animal use as a whole as controversial as that may be on a forum like this, and I'd prefer not to support it IF possible by having "vegan" chickens who get their animal protein by foraging as opposed to it being provided by me.

I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to at least -try- having "vegan" chickens, but I'm going to do more research (anybody have any good resources?) and when the time comes, if any complications arise, I will add animal protein/commercial feed to their diets.

I do not want eggs or meat. These chickens would just be pets pretty much and all eggs would be fed back to the chickens themselves. I do understand, though, that some animals simply need animal protein and that's why I'm willing to feed it if the need arises even if it goes against my personal morals (that is, I'm fine with animals hunting their own food, but not so much with supporting modern agricultural practices). I have cats. They eat meat. I have hamsters who are naturally omnivorous but eat a vegan diet similar to my own (grains, cooked beans, sprouts, vegetables, tofu, almond milk, occasional piece of fruit .etc.) and have grown to be old/middle aged so far without any problems (lifespan is two years, they're both a year old now) even though people on hamster forums have told me "no, don't do it, feed commercial food only, it's very hard to do homemade successfully, they need mealworms, you'll kill them" and so on.

I pretty much approached them with the same attitude I'm approaching chickens with - try it, see how they do, they're omnivores. Of course dwarf hamsters don't lay eggs so their needs are probably a tad different.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

It helps us to know one's goals so we can give the best advice possible. I want to thank you for sharing your purposes.
Since you really don't want eggs, I had a couple of thoughts.
You could go for older and rescue hens that aren't laying much any more or not at all. Or go for some of the more exotic birds for pretty pets and many of those breeds don't lay often.
The humane society here always has chickens available.
Keep in mind that feathers are 93% protein (animal protein) so to be as beautiful as possible, they'll need the complete array of essential amino acids, at least when young and growing or molting.
http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Feeding+from+Home+Resources.html
http://extension.missouri.edu/p/G8352
http://articles.extension.org/pages/68863/alternative-feed-ingredients-for-poultry-diets

Here are some breed selection charts that may be of help.
I don't know where you live but first select birds for your climate.
Breeds known as good foragers should be on your short list.
If you don't have a warm climate, at least most of the year, there will be a dearth of animal protein available for foraging in non growing seasons.
Birds with obscured vision like silkies, polish, sultans and houdans, while pretty, usually get taken by predators at an inordinate rate.

http://www.albc-usa.org/documents/chickenbreedcomparison.pdf
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Phoen/BRKYoko.html

Scroll down on the following pages to see some beautiful birds.

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Phoen/BRKYoko.html
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Phoen/BRKPhoenix.html
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGD/Houdan/BRKHoudan.html
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGK/Kraien/BRKKraien.html
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGK/Orloffs/BRKOrloff.html

 

[Wolfgang B.]

...all eggs would be fed back to the chickens themselves.

Wouldn't that make them "vegetarian" and not "vegan" chickens?
Personally I think that would be too much protein for them. 95% of their daily food should be the balanced chicken feed. Treats/vegetables/fruit and so on 5%.

I have to say it again: I find it very noble of you to rescue battery hens.