Pros & cons of high protein feed for chicks

[KSH1]

Haha no problem! I'm learning so much via the search function here lol. My birds are essentially layers and pets, so I'm looking for long-term health. I know lots of protein myths for horses and dogs but I'm less educated about birds.

 

[Onslow's Hens]

I just read this entire thread and found it had terrific information on protein. In my experience raising all different breeds of laying hens, I feel higher protein makes a huge positive effect on overall health, feathers, laying, breeding and brooding. I don't feed the super high protein game bird that is 30% because my girls (and roos) free range and they are supplementing any feed that I provide, with tons of high protein bugs, worms, mice, etc... I feed a meatbird that is 20% and mix in a turkey chick starter that is a 24%. So I am guessing the mix would then be approx. a 22%. Oyster shell and crushed egg shell in a separate dish at all times. I used to feed a very good layer feed that had 16% protein and my girls where very healthy but looked ragged sometimes and egg production was ok to good. Honestly, with the 22% protein diet - tremendous difference. Egg production way way better and they look very glossy and their feathers recover and grow back in super fast. They have tons of energy and the slight feather picking I would sometimes get completely stopped. And, not sure if it has anything to do with increased protein or not but they all get along better - less grumpiness. I will never go back to a 16% layer feed. 16% is the very minimum manufactures have found is still ok....anything less and egg productions simply falls off dramatically. Its a cost thing.

 

[Cyprus]

Just got through reading the whole thread, too.

I find the points very interesting, but I guess I must be the devil's advocate for a few things.

I feed 30% Purina Gamebird Chow to every single bird I have from hatch to adulthood. I have a production, hatchery, free range layer flock; 2 pens of breeding exhibition bantams and 2 pens of chicks from 2-6 weeks.

I've fed as low as 16% protein for years before.
On 16-20% protein I noticed decreased activity, egg binding, poor feather quality and deaths across the board. Chicks failed to thrive and I was lucky if I got 10% of the hatch to 8 weeks, no joke. My dual purpose breeds were thin and looked sickly.

I switched to the 30% PGBC and those issues disappeared very quickly. My free range birds had improved feather quality and egg production. My bantams looked better and produced more, hatch rates increased. And best of all, I didn't lose any chicks before 6 weeks. The chicks on the higher protein feed grew fast, ate less, feathered in quicker and matured much faster. By 10 days I could tell who was a cockerel.
My bantams and chicks are 100% indoor (too many predators for banties outside). Therefore, they can only eat what I give them. They do just as well as the free range birds. And I do have 1 free-range bantam cockerel in that pen as well. He does very well.

In conclusion, with my experience I have found no adverse effects with birds on 30% protein regardless of purpose or access to grass.

 

[KSH1]

@Cyprus , do you keep your birds into "old age," or do you cull when younger? My birds got into sorting and wasting a lot of the NCO so I'm now looking through my options in crumbles.

 

[Cyprus]

@Cyprus , do you keep your birds into "old age," or do you cull when younger? My birds got into sorting and wasting a lot of the NCO so I'm now looking through my options in crumbles.

I keep birds their entire lifespan, with few exceptions (rehomed when I had too many).
My oldest is 5yrs.

 

[KSH1]

Oh, and my other general question: other than protein content, are the various feeds balanced similarly? I'm guessing since so may people have success with game bird and all-flock feeds, the vitamin and mineral requirements of all of these birds must be similar...?

 

[Cyprus]

Oh, and my other general question: other than protein content, are the various feeds balanced similarly? I'm guessing since so may people have success with game bird and all-flock feeds, the vitamin and mineral requirements of all of these birds must be similar...?

It depends on the nutrient. Some feeds have higher levels of calcium.

 

[KSH1]

Good point, I was forgetting that. With the exception of added Ca in layer feeds, are they pretty similar?

 

[Cyprus]

Good point, I was forgetting that. With the exception of added Ca in layer feeds, are they pretty similar?

Yes and no. Fat and Lysine are pretty much the same across the board. The biggest variences seem to be in Fiber, Phosphorus and Salt

Check this out
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/poultry-feed-comparison-chart.73919/

 

[KSH1]

Ok, so are people actually reading the (old) NRC guidelines and choosing which feeds have the nutrients their birds need, are they crossing their fingers, or is there a source somewhere that says whether all of these various types of feeds, marketed for different species and.purposes, are appropriate for X species at Y life stage?