Protein

[Brooke Carson]

A month or so ago, I was searching the internet for information regarding weak egg yolks. Our yolks seem to always break no matter how gently you crack them and pour them out of the shell. The searches I turned up then seemed to indicate a lack of protein and suggested adding more mealworms to the diet. We did that but now our chickens have very pale feet and beaks. We use Cluck and co. Layer feed and feed 6 chickens about 1/2 cup of mealworms a day. As to other treats, there really aren't any. Nothing grows and their yard is sandy so they aren't getting any plants and at the moment there aren't even really bugs out there. It feels like the only thing that grows here is goatheads. :/ What can I do to better balance their diets and fix both these problems?

 

[igorsMistress]

How much protein is in their feed? Adding too much can cause other imbalances. It could also be a sickness, the storage, etc. as there’s really no definitive answer.

 

[rosemarythyme]

1/2 cup of mealworms is also a lot of added fat. You don't mention what your current feed protein % is. You're better off using a feed with higher protein % (18-20) and cutting the mealworms way back.

 

[Brooks_]

Concur with above - need to know current feed regime. Legs may be pale or appropriate - they otherwise look healthy with bright comb/wattle.

 

[Brooke Carson]

I'm not sure what the current feed nutrition information is because we cut open the bags and dump it into plastic containers. But I'll try to find out.

 

[NatJ]

The color of their feet and beaks is probably not something to worry about.

now our chickens have very pale feet and beaks.

For chickens that naturally have yellow feet and beaks, the color does get more pale as they continue to lay eggs. Their bodies are putting yellow color into the egg yolks not into their bodies.

This can happen at a different rate depending on how much color is in their feed. Green plants can be a good source of the yellow color, but so is yellow corn (used as an ingredient in some feeds.) Feeds that use white corn or other grains will cause the chickens to have paler feet and beaks, and lay eggs with paler yolk colors, but that does not seem to hurt the chickens or the eggs in any way.

Eating mealworms, and probably less of their other feed, could have made this happen faster, but then again it might have happened at the same rate anyway.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Protein is the wrong question. At best, its a substitute for the right question.

Two part analysis. What is your crude protein level? (most people stop here, and honestly, a lot of times, you can stop here bcuase the feed is clearly deficient). Second part, what is the amino acid profile of that crude protein? Not all proteins are the same.

Weak yolks is suggestive of weak membranes. Do your fresh, just laid eggs (when they don't break) have tall, very round yolks, or do they look more like a starlight mint/werther's original (rounded on the edge, flat on top)? Are the whites consistently runny, even in ust laid eggs? Threonine is a key amino in membrane formation. Sadly, not listed on many feed labels, but you can make some inferences from the ingredient list.

You should also look at sources of Vitamin E and K. Usually, its much more effective to get a better feed than it is to try to "fix" the feed you are already buying them. Mealworms, as I'm sure you've noticed, aren't cheap - and their high fat content brings other concerns for the long term health of your birds.

So, what ARE you feeding them???

 

[Brooke Carson]

Thank you all for taking the time to answer. We've been doing this for about 9 months so far and still have so much to learn! It feels like there's so much we still don't know. I'm going to take a look at the stuff we've been buying next time we need a bag and see what might be in it and we'll cut back on mealworms in the mean time.

 

[Kiki]

Thank you all for taking the time to answer. We've been doing this for about 9 months so far and still have so much to learn! It feels like there's so much we still don't know. I'm going to take a look at the stuff we've been buying next time we need a bag and see what might be in it and we'll cut back on mealworms in the mean time.

I've never heard of the feed brand you mentioned so I am not sure if it is a whole grain or pelleted/crumble type feed.

I'd stop all mealworms and feed ONLY a layer type crumble or pelleted feed.

 

[Krux5506]

If there's one thing I've learned from the far more experienced people on here than myself, it's how to pick apart a feed's deficiencies - and very typically these are layer feeds. So I would definitely start with the feed rather than trying to add treats to offset a deficient feed.