Protein Supplement?

[Mrs MIA]

I understand what you are saying because I am a fitness/nutrition geek, and yes, the scratch/corn and fats are increased as well in the winter. And they may not get as much energy from the protein, but it all balances out with the added fats/starches. I don't want fat chickens, because fat chickens do not lay. Judging by your reply, I assume that you know that everything that goes into an egg comes from the chicken's body... and eggs contain protein. New girls do not take a break from laying in the winter, even here, but are subjected to long stretches of sub-zero temperatures at the same time, and most of our older girls are coming out of a molt so their protein requirements are elevated. So EVERYTHING gets increased in the winter.
Nutrition is nutrition, true, but you have to realize that you have to take into account the fact that our chickens' requirements are going to be different from yours. Especially for those of us who do not heat their coops.

Edited for dang typos...

 

[Mrs MIA]

I just noticed that your response to my post was probably directed at Lilchickcoop, who freeranges in Florida. YES... lord no, chickens in Florida do NOT need to increase their protein. My post was directed at Celticravenz, who is here in AK with me.

 

[Pet Duck Boy]

Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain :

I just noticed that your response to my post was probably directed at Lilchickcoop, who freeranges in Florida. YES... lord no, chickens in Florida do NOT need to increase their protein. My post was directed at Celticravenz, who is here in AK with me.

Why not?

 

[Mrs MIA]

Quote:
Why not?

Because it does not get cold enough in Florida for long enough periods of time to worry about it.

 

[Ridgerunner]

What I am talking about is that the different foods they eat, whether they contain protein, fats, fiber, whatever, get broken down and processed by the body. They will take out of those processed components what they need to repair their body, creater new blood cells, produce eggs, grow feathers, use as fuel to keep warm, whatever. Excess calories get stored as fat so it is there for future use. The internal organs, liver and kidneys mainly, filter excess things out of their blood stream to remove it from the body. If you feed them something that is less efficient in calories, they have to eat more to stay warm. That means their bodies have an excess of other stuff to filter out and get rid of. Their bodies can handle a wide range so it is not a huge deal.

I don't live in Alaska. I live in Arkansas. It seldom gets below 0 degrees Fahrenheit here. I do not feed them extra potent foods, whether rich in protein or fat, and they seem to do fine. The first-year pullets lay and the older ones molt. When I butcher them, they have plenty of fat, especially around the vent area and wrapped around their liver, heart, and gizzard. I do not see any evidence that they are undernourished or suffering. Since I often have younger chickens in the flock, they are usually on 15% Developer or 16% Grower but they also free range all day. With that fat, I'd actually like to decrease their calory intake but I'll feed them a balanced diet and consider that good enough.

I'm not a nutritionist. In my opinion, if you overfeed a chicken, overfeed a dog, or overfeed a child, you are not improving their health. Too much of a good thing is not necessarily a good thing. Purely my uninformed opinion, not based on years of schooling.

 

[Suburban Sprouts]

Supplement your feed with Calf-Manna. It has lots of good stuff in it including protein. It really make my birds look beautiful and healthy.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:
I didn't know you could feed nyjer thistle how much can i feed to about 30?

If it were me, I would just put some in a little container and let them snack on it. I don't know how much- it's pretty expensive to use a lot. I include it in my feed mix, but it goes a LONG way, since I don't use much of it.

 

[little brown hen]

I put a little out there today and they wouldn't eat it. It is seed from last year and the bird's wouldn't eat it either so instead of wasting it I thought the chicken's would eat it, but I guess it's just too old.

 

[celticravenz]

I would like to thank all for their help..... I'm sorry if the tention got to high.. We do feed most of our outside animals different in the winter time because of the cold.

 

[abhaya]

Mine supplement themselves by sneaking into the barn and finishing off the cat food form the morning feeding. I guess it is only fair as the cats sneak in and eat the chicken food.