Organic Feed Protein Content Too Low??

[desertchix]

i buy embudo valley organic feed. it is made right down the road from me. the only problem is that it is only 14% protein. i have only used this feed for the last 2 months and have noticed that the albumen is a bit watery now. are my ladies protein deficient now? i looked at supplements at the store but the food is already so expensive and i'm scared that it's not organic anyway. i prefer organic and all of the table scraps they get are organic but i don't really have any qualms with going back to the non-organic food. i just want them to be healthy. i wonder if there is an inexpensive way to add organic protein to their diet. i have 12 hens and one roo.
any advice appreciated.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

The feed is actually layer hen feed? How is your egg production?

14% might be appropriate for hens that are a few years old and not laying too much anyway, but 14% would be too low to expect good production from younger hens. I wouldn't necessarily call it "unhealthy" for them, as they will stop laying to conserve resources for themselves, but I assume you keep them for egg production...

Most retail layer feeds are usually a minimum of 16% protein. That's about right on target for medium-sized birds consuming an average amount of feed (around .25 lbs per bird per day) and laying above 80%. The requirement could be a little lower for birds consuming large amounts of feed in cold weather or for birds that have fallen off in production over the years. On the flip side, that requirement could be a bit higher for birds whose consumption is down due to hot weather and for birds that are capable of laying at very high production rates, (e.g., brown commercial layers laying at 95%).

That fact that the feed is certified organic throws another twist in there. Since mammalian and avian by-products are not allowed in certified feed, the feed is all plant based and is usually deficient in an essential amino acid, methionine. Synthetic methionine is usually added to balance the ration. The USDA National Organic Program has been lowering the amount of synthetic methionine that is allowed in the feed to force the industry to find other alternatives. The result is an unbalanced ration that may require additional crude protein to make up for the shortage of methionine.

Since the feed mill is right down the road from you, why don't you go talk to them about what they are offering and see what their reasoning for marketing a 14% layer ration is? If you have an average backyard flock with decent production numbers I'd suggest 16-17% protein, perhaps 17-18% in the heat of a southwest summer.

 

[desertchix]

thank you. i should go talk to them. it is their layer feed that i am buying. my small flock is a mix of wyandotte, astralorp, new hampshire reds. they are young. born later in the season last year. started laying in the beginning of the winter. now i get one a day from every single one of them so egg production hasn't gone down. the only problem is the thin albumen. i guess i'll just ask embudo valley and see if they have any suggestions for adding protein to their diets. thanks for all of the info.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

I'm not so sure crude protein levels are the source of the problem. Feed protein levels usually don't affect the albumen. Mostly it is the age of the bird or egg handling.

Do you pick eggs promptly and refrigerate them? They can go from AA to A rather rapidly in warm temperatures.

I am surprised you get an egg a day at that protein level. Are they eating a lot due to cooler temperatures? I feed 5000 organic brown layers and production would absolutely shut down if I only fed them 14% protein. Last month I dropped the protein level in a batch of feed from 16% to 15.5% to see what effect it would have and production dropped 5%. It sounds like your birds are doing fine with what they are eating though.

 

[desertchix]

i usually collect them every day. but come to think of it, i have skipped a day here and there, when in a hurry, because a couple of them are getting kind of broody and it takes some effort to shoo them away when collecting.. (little aha moment) i guess them keeping the eggs warm could be what's doing it! the temps here have been 70 at the highest and its cooler in the coop. they seem to be eating less now than in winter. so i'll collect earlier in the day, and that should take care of that. and maybe just feed them some ground flax seed for extra protein.

 

[ChickensRDinos]

If you are wanting a higher protein diet see if they offer a grower, starter, or flock raiser with a higher protein. Generally that is the case. You can just supple a calcium source on the side to make up for the lower calcium in these non-layer feeds. I personally prefer this.