# Settle something I heard asbout feeding chickens



## FarmboyBill (Aug 19, 2005)

i heard on another forum here that a person could feed cat food, (dry), and that was extremly high in what chickens needed to start laying. Ive got 20 AW hens, and im only getting around 3 or 4 eggs a day. They came from an egg farm, and are over a year old. Ive had them around 3 mos. I feed them laying pellets and shelled corn. There free raingeing


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## nehimama (Jun 18, 2005)

I just tossed some kitty kibbles to my hens a while ago. It isn't their main diet, but a "snack" whenever I remember to do it. The high protein content is good for egg-laying.


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## Dandelion Acres (Sep 27, 2010)

We don't necessarily "feed" our chickens cat food, but if they get into the cats house, it's why they are there. Crazy stuff....LOL


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

The shelled corn is lowering their overall protein level. Most layer feed is adequate, though some is on the low side for protein. I'd stop the corn first and if that doesn't do it, add some more protein. Cheap cat food is ok, but pricey. I use gamebird feed to increase protein. If you have a milk animal or meat scrap you can feed milk, whey or meat the the birds.


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## FarmboyBill (Aug 19, 2005)

Everybody I knew 50yrs ago fed corn to their chickens, and other than possibly wheat or oats, AND milk, Corn was king.


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

It is the AND milk that made it possible for them to raise chickens on corn. Corn alone is too low in protein. Also, the corn and wheat we have available now is lower protein than what was available 50 yrs ago.


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

Protien is expensive, so the people who make up your layer pellets put in just enough protien but no extra.

Corn is a low protien food. The more corn they eat the less protien they are getting because they are too full to eat a lot of pellets. Cat food would fix the imbalance.

So would a lot of bugs: how buggy is your land? When the cicadas are out they would be getting enough protien, but, the odd caterpillar will not do it.

Of course, the problem might also be lack of light: chickens do not lay well unless they get perhaps 14 hours of light.


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## suelandress (May 10, 2002)

Toss them cat food and they will follow you to the ends of the earth 

I fed mine dog food for the longest time....it just got too expensive. There's some puppy-sized kibble out there that has all sorts of non-soy goodies in it. The price, however......


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

I don't like to give mine cat food just because of some of the ingredients in it. I do give them a few dairy scraps from the household, black oil sunflower seeds and the gamebird crumbles that I keep around for my quail to increase the protein.


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## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

I give mine milk everyday, they do very well on it, and my own ground corn. People love our eggs, we sell out very quickly. > Thanks Marc


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

I soak heavy ground oat screenings and add fish waste. I add warm goats milk when it starts to get cold and rainy for the month of November. $4.00 a hundred weight. It is what mine get and they lay well. I start adding the light to give the hens the same as during the summer, then wean them back to 12 hours....James


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## thaiblue12 (Feb 14, 2007)

Mine get a small scoop of cat food and a small scoop of dog food everyday, so that they stop eating the cats and dogs food, lol. I would find them at the cats self feeder eating it. They also would annoy the LGD for his food. Since they now get it themselves they leave them alone.
In addition to their food and the above they also get all kitchen scraps, veg, meat, bread and etc. I am not using a light in the coop and I still get eggs each day. Not as many as the Spring and Summer but I do not need a ton of eggs so I do not use the light.


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## Dead Rabbit (Oct 30, 2010)

i now use cat food in my pellet and corn mix. twice a week i soak dog food till it gets soft and feed to the hens. during the summer i dont do this but once a week, b/c there are alot more natural forms of protein crawling around. but this time a yr. you have to suppliment their diet if you feed corn.

corn 8% protein
pellets 15-18% protein (depending on the brand, SS layer is 15%)
cat food 31% (depending on brand)
dog food 21% (depending on brand)


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## KSALguy (Feb 14, 2006)

if you go fishing at all a fish a week is good too, eather toss them the scraps after your done cleaning or give them their own fish, there should be some good Catfish holes up your way, give them a whole cat fish and let them pick the bones clean, they will love you for ever, just dont lay down and stop moveing for very long where they can reach you lol,


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## Sonshine (Jul 27, 2007)

Mine just get layer pellets and table scraps. Haven't had any problems with them laying. They do slow down a little in the winter, but we get enough eggs for our family. When they are laying more we usually scramble some of the eggs to feed to them too.


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## Shygal (May 26, 2003)

FarmBoyBill said:


> There free raingeing


This might be the problem. They may be laying them in places you havent found yet. One chicken I had in VT never seemed to lay, I followed her one day and she went to a nest she made in the grass, there were about 25 eggs in it.

Take a look at where they go when they first get out in the morning, Im betting there are some laying eggs all over the place.


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## WstTxLady (Mar 14, 2009)

I toss cat food out to them some days, other days they raid the dogs food. Since its deer season, they get to pick the skeletons before I haul them off. Plus they get the organs that didn't get blown up with the shot. They LOVE the extra fat also. I do the same with the pigs we shoot. In the summer when we fish, they get to pick over the fish bodies for a day. Any longer on the deer, pig or fish bodies, it will start to go and then leads to them getting limp neck from the rotting meat. I keep it fresh, they stay full & healthy.

When given as a treat or some extra snacks, it doesn't hurt. Just can't use it as the only source of food for a long period of time.


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## FarmboyBill (Aug 19, 2005)

SG, I dont turn the chickens loose till round noon for that very reason. I spose some yet could be laying in the afternoon, but I dont think so. I loaded up the feeder with just layer pellets, and ill season the corn with it from now on.


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

FarmBoyBill said:


> SG, I dont turn the chickens loose till round noon for that very reason. I spose some yet could be laying in the afternoon, but I dont think so. I loaded up the feeder with just layer pellets, and ill season the corn with it from now on.


A few of my chickens will hold that little egg chute closed until they get to where THEY want to lay their eggs. I've tried leaving them in their house for DAYS at a time. You'd think they'd burst or something...

Lots of folks having unusual problems with hens laying this year.

I wonder if it has anything to do with GMO corn.


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## Rusty'sDog (Oct 14, 2010)

Corn is a low nutrient *filler* that is used in hog/cattle/swine/human foods. If there weren't so many regions of the country that needed it for a profitable crop, it wouldn't be pushed the way it is. It is a low cost filler to make you think you have fed yourself (or your livestock).


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## Guest (Dec 7, 2010)

Corn is a perfectly acceptable food for poultry.

In the proper proportions.

If what you are feeding your birds is already marginal in protein then corn is definitely not going to help. If your birds are getting more protein than they really need then it can be a good thing.

I feed between six and seven thousand pounds of whole corn a year to my birds. But I also feed a 20% protein general purpose poultry ration which balances their diet out to what they need.

I don't like feeding cat or dog food to my birds because in the U.S. cats and dogs are not kept as food animals. This means that some ingredients can be used in their feed that would not otherwise be used in feed for animals meant to be eaten by people.

I do what Cyngbaeld does and use gamebird starter when I need extra protein for my birds. Costs me eighteen dollars for a fifty pound bag (Florida prices) which is cheaper than any dry cat or dog food I can find on a pound for pound basis with equivalent protein levels and everything in it is acceptable as feed for animals meant for human consumption.

At this time of year what the girls really need to get them laying is more daylight. We're heading towards the solstice on the twenty first so the days are about as short as they get. Less light equates to less eggs, especially if your birds have already had one lay cycle or were hatched very early this year. When the days begin to lengthen the egg production will go up.


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## pancho (Oct 23, 2006)

I have tried all kinds of feeds and mixtures. 
What I use now is 50lbs laying crumbles, 50lbs game fird starter, 50lbs mixed bird seed, and in the winter some whole corn and cat food added in. Seems to do alright with everything from quail to turkeys.


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

I feed gamebird to the dogs with some extra fat from butchering. Cheaper than dog food.


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## Dead Rabbit (Oct 30, 2010)

pancho said:


> I have tried all kinds of feeds and mixtures.
> What I use now is 50lbs laying crumbles, 50lbs game fird starter, 50lbs mixed bird seed, and in the winter some whole corn and cat food added in. Seems to do alright with everything from quail to turkeys.


whats your protein level in this mixture?


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## pancho (Oct 23, 2006)

Dead Rabbit said:


> whats your protein level in this mixture?


Don't have any idea. I used to keep up with the protein but finally decided to do what was best for me and my birds and forget the math. As long as the birds do good I am satisfied. If that changes any my mix will change.


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## Dead Rabbit (Oct 30, 2010)

pancho said:


> I have tried all kinds of feeds and mixtures.
> What I use now is 50lbs laying crumbles, 50lbs game fird starter, 50lbs mixed bird seed, and in the winter some whole corn and cat food added in. Seems to do alright with everything from quail to turkeys.


what is in this bird seed? mainly millet im assuming, but what else? 

i used to feed a mixture that included pigeon feed. with popcorn, and numerous types of peas. very expensive. and where i live now, i can find it. i dont think its necessary now adays. but im not against trying different things. and many a man has used the game starter. i ve never tried it though


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## Dead Rabbit (Oct 30, 2010)

Cyngbaeld said:


> I feed gamebird to the dogs with some extra fat from butchering. Cheaper than dog food.


now this is an idea. ive never considered this either....my GP loves to eat layer pellets


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## Shygal (May 26, 2003)

Dead Rabbit said:


> now this is an idea. ive never considered this either....my GP loves to eat layer pellets


Id rather have my dog love to eat layer pellets than what he DOES like to eat from the chickens :umno:


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## suelandress (May 10, 2002)

Lol


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## artificer (Feb 26, 2007)

Rusty'sDog said:


> Corn is a low nutrient *filler* that is used in hog/cattle/swine/human foods. If there weren't so many regions of the country that needed it for a profitable crop, it wouldn't be pushed the way it is. It is a low cost filler to make you think you have fed yourself (or your livestock).


Corn is added to a ration as a source of carbohydrates/energy. The reason it is profitable, is that so many farmers and industry use it, and it is so versatile.

I'll add my vote to the people that say its perfectly fine for chicken feed, if used properly. The feed ration needs to have carbohydrates, protein, and nutrients in the proper amounts. You can get all of them from alfalfa leaf meal, or you can mix and match to get the ration you desire. Local sources will somewhat determine what you use for your ration.

For the OP: as long as the proper nutrients are in the cat food, it doesn't hurt the chickens. The question is what are the actual nutrition levels of the food, and what is the calcium level? We feed free choice oyster shell, so the calcium level become less of a concern.

Michael


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