Hi! I know that this has been talked about in another thread, but it was more of an argument then talking and it never came to a conclusion. I am currently feed my chickens 20% flock raiser ( with some 18% if they do not have the other stuff) I am just wondering if there is any way to give chickens to much protein. I know that less than 16% is not good, but I have never heard about a max. Also, I feed scrapes, so would that affect it? Thanks!
To much protein
- Thread starter PandaGirl
- Start date
I've heard up to 60% I think.
@Kiki
@Kiki
I think 28 percent is the very top of what they should have. But it might be 26%
I feed my bird 16% protein.
My chickens are 6 years old and they still lay eggs.
I read a lot of threads and the emergency section. I used to read a lot of threads there...I have to take long breaks because I get a little bit annoyed reading the same problem after problem after problem that people have all related to what they're feeding.
I cannot remember the lady's name but If I'm not mistaken she was feeding 22% protein which was just too much protein for her birds.
Give me a few minutes to try and remember her name and I'll tag her here.
I've stopped eating scraps immediately if I were you. Every time you feed anything other than the complete balanced poultry feed you're taking away from the bird getting a balanced diet which in itself will cause problems.
My boys were on 24% for a while, now them and most of my girls get 28% most days and 17% 1-3 days a week so that lessens the total and they seem to be doing really nice, especially my broodies
Don't think of it as a percentage. Think of it as an amount. A hen needs approximately 20 g of protein a day. If she only consumes 100 g of a 20% feed, she hits her target. No extras, no free range. But that's not how most of us feed. We repurpose kitchen waste, we clean out the freezer and give them mystery frozen hunks of who knows what, they free range and indulge in the special of the day... All things that change the overall composition of the diet. Typically lowering the overall protein intake. Consuming more protein than she needs will make her drink more, excrete more ammonia rich urates but it's not going to kill her. She will use the excess protein as energy. Protein feed ingredients, animal or soybean meal, are the most costly components of chicken feed. You end up paying higher prices for the higher protein feed and are not getting more bang for the buck at a point.
So what are the upper limits? You need to pull out a scale and calculator. You need to do an honest assessment of your hens (feather quality is an easy way to assess protein quantity and balance). Coming out of molt will benefit from higher protein intake but will increase heat stress in August.
Yes, its possible. No, its not likely with commercial feed.
Waterfowl (ducks particularly, and particularly young ducks) are sensative to high protein. Incidence of "angel wing" are reported as more common in both high Carb and High Protein (over 24%) diets. Vitamin support can buffer that somewhat, I've raised abotu two dozen ducks now (anecdote - sample size too small to be data) w/o incidence on 24% for their first 8-12 weeks, then dropping to 20% thereafter.
I feed my chicks with the same regimen - 24% to approx 8 weeks, then 20% thereafter.
There are few studies on the issue, as protein is expensive, and most studies are intended for large scale production, whether by commercial operations working with universities (old US studies, mostly) or by Gov'ts worried about feeding their populations (EU, India, China, etc).
The benefits of increased protein in the diet decrease much faster than the cost rises - I only feed my hatchlings 24% (much as you might do a CX) to aid in sorting the best from the rest, so I can cull dual purpose males early and with weight for the table. There are studies on that - the difference between a 16% protein diet with a good AA profile and a 20% protein diet of similar AA profile is, in general, a 1-3% increase in rate of lay, a 1-3% increase in egg size, a marginal increase in egg nutrition, and a slight decrease in bird mortality rates (again, a couple percent). Even best case, 1.03 * 1.03 * 1.03 is only a 9.27% improvement overall - while the cost difference between a 16% and a 20% protein feed is usually significantly more than 10%. Going from 20% to 24% provides even less benefit in egg size and frequency, with (typically) even greater increase in cost.
Its valauble to me only briefly, and only for rapid table weight/sorting purposes - NOT as a long term feeding management solution.
Many dietary issues associated with "high protein" diets are more properly attributed to the way those high protein diets are frequently achieved. BOSS, Meal worms, BSFL, etc are all very high high fat. Even low amounts of excess fat are very hard hard on a chicken's body, and have well known pathologies associated with them.
Waterfowl (ducks particularly, and particularly young ducks) are sensative to high protein. Incidence of "angel wing" are reported as more common in both high Carb and High Protein (over 24%) diets. Vitamin support can buffer that somewhat, I've raised abotu two dozen ducks now (anecdote - sample size too small to be data) w/o incidence on 24% for their first 8-12 weeks, then dropping to 20% thereafter.
I feed my chicks with the same regimen - 24% to approx 8 weeks, then 20% thereafter.
There are few studies on the issue, as protein is expensive, and most studies are intended for large scale production, whether by commercial operations working with universities (old US studies, mostly) or by Gov'ts worried about feeding their populations (EU, India, China, etc).
The benefits of increased protein in the diet decrease much faster than the cost rises - I only feed my hatchlings 24% (much as you might do a CX) to aid in sorting the best from the rest, so I can cull dual purpose males early and with weight for the table. There are studies on that - the difference between a 16% protein diet with a good AA profile and a 20% protein diet of similar AA profile is, in general, a 1-3% increase in rate of lay, a 1-3% increase in egg size, a marginal increase in egg nutrition, and a slight decrease in bird mortality rates (again, a couple percent). Even best case, 1.03 * 1.03 * 1.03 is only a 9.27% improvement overall - while the cost difference between a 16% and a 20% protein feed is usually significantly more than 10%. Going from 20% to 24% provides even less benefit in egg size and frequency, with (typically) even greater increase in cost.
Its valauble to me only briefly, and only for rapid table weight/sorting purposes - NOT as a long term feeding management solution.
Many dietary issues associated with "high protein" diets are more properly attributed to the way those high protein diets are frequently achieved. BOSS, Meal worms, BSFL, etc are all very high high fat. Even low amounts of excess fat are very hard hard on a chicken's body, and have well known pathologies associated with them.
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