Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Labsandchickens8]

I won’t be able to find it but i read something that yes, there can be too much protein, but that looks like 28 or maybe 30% not 18 or 20% (I feed 20%).

Thank you! That's what Stormcrow said.

 

[Shadrach]

I am not sure that ‘not needing extra protein for molt’ is the right message when so many people are feeding commercial feed at a % of protein regarded as the minimum for commercial egg production.
Seems to me that most confined hens would benefit from more protein all the time!
Maybe biologically molting is not specifically when they need it - but let those poor birds enjoy it when they can get it even if the excuse is ill-founded.
I am pretty confident my ladies are not protein-deprived. They spend much of their day out and about choosing to eat whatever they want and their commercial feed that is available all the time is 20% protein. And still they - without fail - pick through whatever kitchen scraps I have to get at the protein first, and if for whatever reason there are two different commercial feeds available they always choose the one with more protein.
Admittedly they also love junk carbs like bread and pasta but I have always been intrigued by their ability to ferret out protein.
Tax: one of the Littles that Tassels has taught to grab the small black flies that hang out on the Mugwort.
View attachment 4207873

Putting aside the general how much protein does a chicken need debate, my point is, a moulting hen who isn't laying eggs gets approximately a third extra protein that would otherwise go to the egg.
So, it's not so much that they may not need extra protein, it's the fact that they already get extra protein by not producing eggs.
Further, what seems to be the case for many laying hens who go off their usual feed is they actively seek something I assume they don't find in their usual feed, no matter what the protein level of their usual feed.

 

[HiEverybirdy]

Is this likely to cause problems should a chicken male be introduced to the group? I'm not sure but I can see potential problems. Any new male introduced now has to compete with me and on one particular issue no new male stands a chance when it comes to providing food, which is possibly the main method a chicken male tries to attract females.

It'll be fine. They know the difference. You're just a stand-in.

I've been an accidental rooster for hens and an accidental hen for bachelor Andre. The second the real thing appeared, I was like a teenager's mom at the mall: invisible

Also, for a long time after reading your threads, I valiantly tried handing treats to the roosters first because it makes sense and I like offering that respect. But our roosters could care less if we hand feed hens directly. Sometimes I think they prefer it because it lets them get out of the way. So that might not cause the static you think.

 

[HiEverybirdy]

Putting aside the general how much protein does a chicken need debate, my point is, a moulting hen who isn't laying eggs gets approximately a third extra protein that would otherwise go to the egg.
So, it's not so much that they may not need extra protein, it's the fact that they already get extra protein by not producing eggs.
Further, what seems to be the case for many laying hens who go off their usual feed is they actively seek something I assume they don't find in their usual feed, no matter what the protein level of their usual feed.

Exactly. Molting seems to be one of the times when they need to forage more than ever. Their tastes in the first weeks of molt shift every few days. Sometimes they go bonkers for grass, then for something microscopic in the dirt, then for this or that plant.

They can't order off a menu, so it's important they can walk around and choose for themselves.

 

[Shadrach]

Exactly. Molting seems to be one of the times when they need to forage more than ever. Their tastes in the first weeks of molt shift every few days. Sometimes they go bonkers for grass, then for something microscopic in the dirt, then for this or that plant.

They can't order off a menu, so it's important they can walk around and choose for themselves.

It's interesting that one doesn't read a moulting hen may need extra vitamins and minerals during moult; it's always protein which is the one thing they probably don't need.

 

[RoyalChick]

Putting aside the general how much protein does a chicken need debate, my point is, a moulting hen who isn't laying eggs gets approximately a third extra protein that would otherwise go to the egg.
So, it's not so much that they may not need extra protein, it's the fact that they already get extra protein by not producing eggs.
Further, what seems to be the case for many laying hens who go off their usual feed is they actively seek something I assume they don't find in their usual feed, no matter what the protein level of their usual feed.

Yes. I understood what you were saying.
And yes, I think I have posted in the past about Maggie who wouldn’t eat commercial feed at all during a severe molt and lived off earthworms. And yes, of course I was out there with a shovel helping her find them!

 

[RoyalChick]

Thank you! That's what Stormcrow said.

Found it. Not sure if this was what I had read before. The study itself is about fish meal and peanuts but the introductory paragraphs and the conclusions all support Stormcrow’s guidance that going into the 30% range on protein is unnecessary!
https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com...55a5058535052015607&rr=977473a8eb371dcc&cc=us

 

[Shadrach]

Royal Chick - the answer is penny pinching.

Not in my case. I estimate I spend double what the average BYC member spends feeding the field chickens.

What I'm after is as wider range of foodstuffs as I can manage to supply.

In the UK and in much of the rest of the world the standard layer feed falls between 16% protein and 12% protein. I haven't read anything that suggest the chickens in the above regions are starving to death due to the lack of protein.

The high protein thing is as far as I can see based and disseminated from the USA.

 

[Shadrach]

You're just a stand-in.

I know. I'm just Bucket Boy who makes for a poor substitute.
In actual fact, I've had this problem before. It's not how the hens see me, it's how a new rooster on the block sees me.

 

[Perris]

I won’t be able to find it but i read something that yes, there can be too much protein, but that looks like 28 or maybe 30% not 18 or 20% (I feed 20%).

One upshot of Raubenheimer and Simpson's work on nutritional geometry is that excess protein, in particular methionine, shortens lifespans.