What is "animal protein"??

[JudyMcKinn]

What can I feed my chickens--mostly young or mature hens--that has animal protein in it? I am having a problem with them picking pin feathers from each other, where the roo tore/rubbed their feathers off their backs and "shoulders" of their wings, and now they can't grow back, even tho I have removed the roo, because every time a pin feather peeks out, one of them picks it off. It has been suggested to me that they need more "animal protein", that they are low in protein, but that feeds these days have mostly vegetable protein in them, which isn't as good as animal protein. Where can I get animal protein.
A person I know slightly who raises about 300 layers says to feed road kill to them. He said he picks up possums, coons, etc, that have been hit on the road, and boils them up in an old pot, --on an outside fire I assume!!! --and feeds them to the chickens--hair, guts and all. He said he even found a deer once, and tossed it on an old outside BBQ and cooked it some, and the chickens loved it. I can't quite bring myself to collecting road kill--let alone cooking it--so am wondering what other suggestions for animal protein some of you have??
I have put "saddles" on the worst ones, and have also taken out the rooster, hoping that feathers will get a chance to grow back under the saddles, but would like to address the "lack of sufficient protein" issue, also.

 

[Chicken Boo]

"Animal protien" is protien from an animal source. Dairy products (cheese, milk, cottage cheese, yogurt) and eggs qualify.

 

[annmarie]

Yikes! Stay away from the roadkill, that's just plain nasty!

I give my girls scrambled eggs when they seem to need a protein kick. I've read posts from others about giving their chickens dry cat food or a can of tuna for extra protein when their chickens are molting.

 

[JudyMcKinn]

Thanks for your reply. Guess I should have made my question a little clearer.

Was also wanting to know what I could feed that had animal protein in it. I don't have 2 or 3 chickens that I can buy yogurt for, --I have 4 pens of chickens, containing 22 hens, 18 hens, 15 hens, and 8 hens, all of different breeds, so need something fairly easy, and reasonably priced. Any suggestions?

 

[speckledhen]

ADM Alliance and Faithway feeds have animal protein still, Judy. Also, Buckeye layer pellets have it and are 18% protein. Their crumble is only 16%. It's hard to find stuff with that in it. Rockin Rooster Booster pellets from Southern States have animal protein and are 20% protein, but have little calcium in them-you'd have to supplement that.

 

[MayberrySaint]

You can possibly find a local mill that has "meat & bone meal"...this is made from dead animals and offal from slaughterhouses. This is an excellent source of "animal" protein.

 

[d.k]

*animal protein, in the context of chicken feed generally means meat, and meat by-products that are added to feed. If you want to raise the protein in your chicken's feed, I would first look for a higher protein feed. A couple of percentage points more can make a big difference. LONG TERM, I would learn to grow some bugs for my chickens to eat.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

You can also try supplementing with a little fish meal. I think you can get that in 50 lb. bags. It's been used in chicken feed, as a protein source. The only problem with it is that if they eat over a certain percentage of it a day, it can effect the taste of the eggs. If you only feed it as a supplement, that probably won't be a problem. If you sell your eggs, then you may want to Google for the information. I'm sorry I don't remember the exact percentage.

Sunflower seed also comes in 50 lb. bags. I've been feeding extra shelled sunflower seeds to my one chicken that went almost completely bald during her molt and she's been growing new feathers amazingly fast. You could just feed the ones with shells on, though. They have methionine, the amino acid that's low in vegetable protein, higher in animal protein and a large component of feathers.

 

[JudyMcKinn]

Thanks to all. Some good ideas here.
d.k. you have me curious. How do you grow your bugs?? Can't free range here, as we have too many raccoons. during the last 6 months I have (sorry, animal lovers) trapped and disposed of 18 raccoons). And they just keep coming! So just curious on your "bug farming'.

 

[MayberrySaint]

Quote:
Why don't you just feed the raccoons to the chickens...you can just slice open the abdomen and the cheickens will dispose of the rest. That would be a cheap source of animal protein. I do it with the squirrels I shoot around here.