seed/grain protein percentages

[nurturingnaturally]

I am starting my research into mixing our own feed for our chickens and I know you need to balance the protein...I am finding some info about protein percentages (or grams per 100 grams type numbers), but not a lot, and what I am finding is contradicting everything else...some sources are listing percentages that vary by as much as 10% from other sources... So...what do i go by?

Also, in the seeds/grains world, are there any I should definitely stay away from (besides uncooked beans, or using too much flax)?

Thanks!!

 

[Organics North]

Hi,
Here is a source for some of the "odd" grains.
http://corn.agronomy.wisc.edu/Crops/Default.aspx

Off the top of my head:
Corn is 9%
Oats 11%
Peas 24%
Soy 47%
Hard red wheat 14%
BOSS 16%
Flax 34%
Alfalfa meal 17%
Fish Meal 60%

Opinion.
Mixing your own food gives you the opportunity to not feed any ingredients you are opposed to.

Things to avoid... I am not so sure about Buckwheat as being a good feed..

Tip. Diversity and lots of ingredients is a key to sucess..

 

[nurturingnaturally]

Thanks, that helps! The range of values I am finding is so frustrating...like for raw pumpkin seeds, I have found from 16-32%protein...that is a big difference! I think for most of them, I could calculate a basic formula based on averages, make it close enough to know how much of each to purchase, then recalculate with the specific item I get (like the amount of protein should be listed on the bag, right?)...Does that make sense?

So far (no amount calcs have been made) I am thinking to include:

Wheat (hard red)
Oats
Corn
pumpkin seed
sunflower seed
sesame seed (maybe)
millet
fish meal
flax
mineral premix of some sort
probiotic of some sort
salt free choice
and oyster shell free choice, when they are old enough

 

[sydney13]

their is a good chart at the bottom of this page
http://www.lionsgrip.com/protein.html
this shows it for bone meal
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps024

 

[Chris09]

Quote:
Never free choice salt......

Chris

 

[Organics North]

Chris,
Why? Will they overdose? or not eat it?
I feed kelp mixed in for my salt.
ON

 

[nurturingnaturally]

Thanks Chris, good to know. I could have sworn I saw that on several of the feed recipes on here...Anyhow, they do need salt, right? So mix it in instead? Or would that be taken care of by kelp and or the vitamin/mineral premix?

Thanks for the links sydney!

 

[Chris09]

Quote:
To much salt in poultry feed can led to Salt toxicity.. (one of the reasons that you feed such a small amount of Calf Manna to poultry)
Chickens can tolerate up to 0.25% salt in drinking water but are susceptible to sodium ion toxicosis when water intake is restricted. Wet mash containing 2% salt caused poisoning in ducklings. High salt content in wet mash is more likely to cause poisoning than in dry feed, probably because birds eat more wet mash.

In poultry, increased thirst, dyspnea, fluid discharge from the beak, weakness, diarrhea, and leg paralysis are some of the common signs of salt poisoning.

Chris

 

[Chris09]

Quote:
Most vit/min mix I have seen have salt in it so I dont think that I would worry about it..
The feed that I feed only has .25% salt in it. That should be a 1/4 lb in a 100 lbs of feed. (or 1/4 lb of salt per 99.3/4 lbs of feed.)

Chris

 

[nurturingnaturally]

okay, good deal. Between kelp and premix, I won't worry about the salt then.