protien in feed

[clemson11]

I was just considering going to a 18 or 20% feed. I have been using the purina 16% protien in my layer feed. Does that really make a big difference in egg production? Or is it the other stuff in the feed that is important

 

[Fred's Hens]

Try it. A 50 lb bag lasts you X number of weeks. Within a week, whatever result the increased protein is going to have, you'll know. Then, you can evaluate it's worth to you. I have not seen enough result to justify the significant cost increase. YMMV.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I have read one BYC poster's post about how when he raises the protein in the feed, the eggs actually become LARGER.

This causes a problem for him, as he produces a smaller egg for more money. If the eggs get too large, he cannot sell them for as high of a price.

So he keeps the protein lower (I think he said 16%).

Now I LIKE extra large eggs.

 

[Laigaie]

Why would you ever want _smaller_ eggs?

 

[NYREDS]

Quote:
Good question. Where I come from the larger the egg the higher the price.
As to the OP's ????. I feed a 22% game bird grower finisher. I've used it for years & the results are, to me, worth the extra cost. My birds feather faster, lay better & just generally do better on the higher protein feed.

 

[Liamm_1]

after 8-10 weeks on medicated chick starter, I switch mine to Purina flock raiser, which is 20% protein. Egg shells free choice for calcium. Never had a single soft egg, in fact, their shells seem too hard lol
At my local feed stores, chick starter, flock raiser, layena...are all the same price.

 

[Arielle]

This is an educated guess.

If a hen has the ability to lay , say, 7 eggs a week, she needs sufficient protein, etc., to make that egg. So if she's only receiving enough protein etc to make 5 eggs per week, she may try to steal from her own body stores and eventually reduce production to match her feed intake.

I'm betting a hen that makes a large or Xlarge egg every day needs more protein than a hen that produces, for comparison, 3 medium eggs per week.

This could explain why some hens start to produce more eggs on a higher protein diet; Please understand, if she cannot genetically make more eggs, then the higher protein grain is not worth the extra money.

Hope this makes sense.

 

[TajMahalChickens]

I heard from a friend that she was having all sorts of problems with egg laying, including egg binding. She switched to a higher protein feed, and the problem cleared up. She had no more egg bound chickens, and egg production and size went up. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
I produce eggs for the retail market. The greatest demand is for Large eggs, thus our cooperative pays a higher price as an incentive to keep the average egg size within that range. While Extra-Large and Jumbo eggs are sold in stores, they are a smaller part of sales. It's easy to sell a truckload of Large eggs to the retail market, not so easy to sell a truckload of Jumbos.

I control egg size by limiting the protein to an amount that allows the hens, and thus the egg size, to grow ever so slowly throughout the production cycle. Right now our flock average egg size is hovering right below Extra-Large. If I upped their protein a few points they would all be laying Jumbo eggs within a month's time.

 

[rebel-rousing-at-night]

Quote:
I produce eggs for the retail market. The greatest demand is for Large eggs, thus our cooperative pays a higher price as an incentive to keep the average egg size within that range. While Extra-Large and Jumbo eggs are sold in stores, they are a smaller part of sales. It's easy to sell a truckload of Large eggs to the retail market, not so easy to sell a truckload of Jumbos.

I control egg size by limiting the protein to an amount that allows the hens, and thus the egg size, to grow ever so slowly throughout the production cycle. Right now our flock average egg size is hovering right below Extra-Large. If I upped their protein a few points they would all be laying Jumbo eggs within a month's time.

Mac I know BOSS has good protein but what else is good to up protein?