Thoughts on this chicken feed mix?

[Cyprus]

For chickens, I'd say 22. You want them to get about 21 grams of protein a day. More for larger fowl, less for smaller chickens. They will eat more/need more energy in cold weather but the protein requirement stays the same.

Thank you for your input. It is greatly valued.

 

[Fairview01]

I feed nothing less than 30% protein sourced from animal protein - fish meal and floating catfish feed to overcome essential amino acid deficiencies of plant sourced proteins. I add choline chloride to the chick water to prevent fatty liver syndrome and perosis. Cysteine is not an essential amino acid however when levels of methionine are inadequate cysteine will become a limiting growth factor.

The protein levels in available in commercial poultry feed have been determined by research to provide the best overall results at minimum cost with minimum protein levels. Having higher levels of protein in commercial feeds will provide better results but the added cost does not provide maximum profits.

Poultry as well as other livestock will benefit from a reasonable increase in protein content however the returns do not justify the investment commercially.

My stock developed spectacularly with the increased protein sourced from animal protein. If there's a problem with feeding increased protein i dont see it in the pic.

 

[Cyprus]

I feed nothing less than 30% protein sourced from animal protein - fish meal and floating catfish feed to overcome essential amino acid deficiencies of plant sourced proteins. I add choline chloride to the chick water to prevent fatty liver syndrome and perosis. Cysteine is not an essential amino acid however when levels of methionine are inadequate cysteine will become a limiting growth factor.

The protein levels in available in commercial poultry feed have been determined by research to provide the best overall results at minimum cost with minimum protein levels. Having higher levels of protein in commercial feeds will provide better results but the added cost does not provide maximum profits.

Poultry as well as other livestock will benefit from a reasonable increase in protein content however the returns do not justify the investment commercially.

My stock developed spectacularly with the increased protein sourced from animal protein. If there's a problem with feeding increased protein i dont see it in the pic.
View attachment 1959893

Thank you! This is exactly why I was trying for a higher protein content.

I just need to find a way to balance out the amino acid contents.

 

[Fairview01]

Thank you! This is exactly why I was trying for a higher protein content.

I just need to find a way to balance out the amino acid contents.

If the protein is animal sourced the essential AAs are present in sufficient quantities. Simpler than tying to balance plant sourced proteins.

I use floating catfish feed (32% protein) and put it through a Hobart coffee grinder on extra coarse. I then add a large red dixie cup of fish meal (62% protein). To this mix i add some ground corn oats or wheat to bring the protein down to around 35%+/-. It is all very unscientific.

I top dress this with a couple pumps of red cell and 100% wheat germ oil.

Next year ill be running it through a pellet mill.

 

[Fairview01]

Thank you! This is exactly why I was trying for a higher protein content.

I just need to find a way to balance out the amino acid contents.

During breeding season i add some calf milk replacer to the mix.

 

[Cyprus]

If the protein is animal sourced the essential AAs are present in sufficient quantities. Simpler than tying to balance plant sourced proteins.

I use floating catfish feed (32% protein) and put it through a Hobart coffee grinder on extra coarse. I then add a large red dixie cup of fish meal (62% protein). To this mix i add some ground corn oats or wheat to bring the protein down to around 35%+/-. It is all very unscientific.

I top dress this with a couple pumps of red cell and 100% wheat germ oil.

Next year ill be running it through a pellet mill.

During breeding season i add some calf milk replacer to the mix.

That's the way of doing it that I was aiming for. Rough mixing, run it though a pellet mill.
And I am aiming to use readily available ingredients.

 

[Fairview01]

That's the way of doing it that I was aiming for. Rough mixing, run it though a pellet mill.
And I am aiming to use readily available ingredients.

There needs to be a small amount of moisture in the feed to successfully make pellets. It acts as a binder. My thoughts are to purchase a lightweight cement mixer from harbor freight. Chuck all the dry ingredients in the mixer and while it's mixing the dry ingredients use an airless paint sprayer to add the red cell and wheat germ oil. I want to be able to make pellets no more than 2x a month.

I've been toying with using the lowest protein least expensive dry mash as a base and then add my animal protein and vitamin and wheat germ oil supplements.

Ive downloaded a bunch of free USDA publications circa 1910 that provide poultry feed recipes for the family farms of that time. They used soybean meal for the major protein contribution but EVERY recipe included some form of animal protein. They knew soybean meal was the cheapest source of protein available but they also knew they had to add some amount of animal protein to get past the limiting essential amino acids that are deficient in plant protein.

I think our backyard flocks are equivalent to the flocks present during the family farm era. If the goal is to create a balanced ration we should learn from the past.

 

[Cyprus]

There needs to be a small amount of moisture in the feed to successfully make pellets. It acts as a binder. My thoughts are to purchase a lightweight cement mixer from harbor freight. Chuck all the dry ingredients in the mixer and while it's mixing the dry ingredients use an airless paint sprayer to add the red cell and wheat germ oil. I want to be able to make pellets no more than 2x a month.

I've been toying with using the lowest protein least expensive dry mash as a base and then add my animal protein and vitamin and wheat germ oil supplements.

Ive downloaded a bunch of free USDA publications circa 1910 that provide poultry feed recipes for the family farms of that time. They used soybean meal for the major protein contribution but EVERY recipe included some form of animal protein. They knew soybean meal was the cheapest source of protein available but they also knew they had to add some amount of animal protein to get past the limiting essential amino acids that are deficient in plant protein.

I think our backyard flocks are equivalent to the flocks present during the family farm era. If the goal is to create a balanced ration we should learn from the past.

I agree.
I know about the moisture content. I spent some time researching the topic of feed formulation and processing.