Turkey feed for chickens of all ages??

[R2elk]

Sorry, other than the mention of UC Davis... I didn't see any actual scientific studies on your link. And ALL the ones I have seen state calcium levels higher than 3% would cause the kidney issues if fed long term. Your source says 1.2% Also, one thing.

As far as I can tell, that author has NO DVM or other correlating experience to make them qualified to write the article. Oh but wait, there's more... The author is selling their OWN feed!
"The UC Davis cockatiel flock (all normal greys) have been fed nothing but Roudybush crumbles and water since 1981. From 1981 to 1986 they were fed nothing but breeder formula."

For me I'm sticking with my original information despite reviewing yours. But thank you tons for sharing! I'm totally open to leaning new things and changing it up when I feel the need.

ETA: I do recognize that it most often occurs in birds that are predisposed. But how do you know before it's too late? (okay, reversal *may* occur). And that paper says..

"Don't feed your birds a deficient diet in order to protect the few birds that might have an underlying kidney malfunction."

Nobody is talking about feeding a deficient diet here.

All I am pointing out is that turkey feed will not harm chickens. Turkey feed at 28% to 30% is starter feed meant for poults and is not for adult turkeys. Turkey grower feed is normally 24% protein and adult maintenance feeds are typically 15% to 16% protein. I do not recommend feeding turkey feed to chickens but it will not harm them.

I suspect that the calcium levels are more important depending on where you live. If you live in an area that has high ground levels of calcium ( lots of limestone), you may want to be more careful about calcium levels than if you live in an area where the soil is not high in calcium.

I have not seen any evidence that using layer feed has had any ill effects on any of my adult male poultry. I do feed all of my adult poultry layer feed and the hens still regularly help themselves to the free choice oyster shell.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Can you feed unrecommended feeds to different forms of poultry?
Can you feed layer to all your birds?
Can you feed ultra high protein to birds that can't utilize that much?

Yes.

It just isn't appropriate however to feed a ration intended for one species, to another species with different nutrient requirements.
The game bird starter we have here is 30% protein and I wouldn't feed that to chickens of any age for more than a couple days.
Research has shown the chickens need 18-20% protein in the first couple months of age while game birds require more like 28-30%. Mature chicken when not in production can use 15-16%. Mature game birds not producing do well on about 13% as do mature roosters.
In the wild, these species eat different things than other species and those different food items contain different nutrients.

People do feed layer to non shell producing birds (roosters, immature pullets and non-producing hens)
They don't know the damage it is doing because the birds exhibit no symptoms. A bird that dies from urolithiasis and visceral gout will appear normal up to 24 hours before death.
Do those chicken keepers send the dead bird off to a poultry lab for necropsy? In 99% of the cases, no. They won't know that some of the 6 kidney segments have been failing. As long as there are 2 functioning segments, the bird will appear normal and if a hen, continue to lay eggs until one of the last 2 functioning segments fails.

Chickens getting too much protein, not only waste it but overload the liver and eventually succumb to articular gout. Do the owners get a necropsy in a lab? No.

 

[tjb]

Can you feed unrecommended feeds to different forms of poultry?
Can you feed layer to all your birds?
Can you feed ultra high protein to birds that can't utilize that much?

Yes.

It just isn't appropriate however to feed a ration intended for one species, to another species with different nutrient requirements.
The game bird starter we have here is 30% protein and I wouldn't feed that to chickens of any age for more than a couple days.
Research has shown the chickens need 18-20% protein in the first couple months of age while game birds require more like 28-30%. Mature chicken when not in production can use 15-16%. Mature game birds not producing do well on about 13% as do mature roosters.
In the wild, these species eat different things than other species and those different food items contain different nutrients.

People do feed layer to non shell producing birds (roosters, immature pullets and non-producing hens)
They don't know the damage it is doing because the birds exhibit no symptoms. A bird that dies from urolithiasis and visceral gout will appear normal up to 24 hours before death.
Do those chicken keepers send the dead bird off to a poultry lab for necropsy? In 99% of the cases, no. They won't know that some of the 6 kidney segments have been failing. As long as there are 2 functioning segments, the bird will appear normal and if a hen, continue to lay eggs until one of the last 2 functioning segments fails.

Chickens getting too much protein, not only waste it but overload the liver and eventually succumb to articular gout. Do the owners get a necropsy in a lab? No.

I completely understand and do not want to do ANYTHING purposely that may be detrimental to my flock, thus, my original question.

So, until I can get All Flock Feed, will it be okay to keep my layer on grower with oyster shell available or is there something else I need to offer her?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I completely understand and do not want to do ANYTHING purposely that may be detrimental to my flock, thus, my original question.

So, until I can get All Flock Feed, will it be okay to keep my layer on grower with oyster shell available or is there something else I need to offer her?

That's exactly what I was going to recommend. In fact, grower may be more appropriate nutritionally for pullets and layers. All Flock is intended to be a general feed for flocks of various species. Grower is more specifically formulated for chickens.
It is possible, in a pinch, to adjust protein by feeding a higher protein feed like 20% all flock and providing some scratch (approx. 10% protein).

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I completely understand and do not want to do ANYTHING purposely that may be detrimental to my flock, thus, my original question.

So, until I can get All Flock Feed, will it be okay to keep my layer on grower with oyster shell available or is there something else I need to offer her?

It shouldn't be a problem.

Layers, starter, grower, all flock.. just confusing terms! They have different protein and calcium levels. Or even the same but different manufacturers call it something different.

You absolutely can feed a "grower" to your layers with OS on the side without it hurting them. And You can do it indefinitely. Most "grower" is about 18% protein and 1% calcium. Many birds will do well at that ratio, with oyster shell available for layers.

 

[kesrchicky16]

I feed high protein simply because I can't stop my "helpers" from over treating. 26% protein plus daily treats equals 18% instead of 16% plus treats making not nearly enough protein to keep them healthy.

 

[Onslow's Hens]

In my opinion, a Complete Layer 16% protein feed is probably perfect for an average laying hen kept in a confined run/coop area that gets nothing else. Nothing, just the 100% balanced Complete Layer feed - perfect. But.......who does that? I give my girls everything that my family does not eat. Meat, veggies, pasta, etc...ALL TABLE SCRAPS. My girls free range everyday and eat all kinds of creepy crawlys and they love it. They flock around my horses when they eat and grab every scrap of grain and alfalfa that hits the floor. And mice...YUM! Their Favs! With all this in their diet - heck! This is more diversified nutrition than I get! I just started feeding a 20% protein high quality Meat Bird feed because I like the ingredients in it and I like that is has 20% protein. My hens spend all day eating bugs - what are bugs? Protein! That is the natural diet of chickens - grass, leafy weeds, seeds and super high protein bugs and worms. I feel that there is 16% protein in layer feeds because manufactures know that anything less will cause egg production to decrease. Its the bare minimum that will still produce eggs on a regular basis. When feeding my family - bare minimum is not what I aim for! Just my 2 cents.