What's the difference between chick starter/pullet feed/broiler grower feed?

[LaurelC]

We have a flock of pastured layers that get moved around our farm. Since we have roosters in residence, and my options for organic feed have been relatively limited to what our local farm store (in Kentucky) has available, I generally feed chick starter and offer oyster shells on the side. My understanding is that there is value in a higher protein feed (most layer pellets sit at around 16%, but I keep seeing posts recommending higher protein feeds, usually in the 20% range). I sometimes get all flock, which is higher protein but only one of the local stores sells it and it's a few bucks more per bag.

I recently found an organic feed company that has good prices but doesn't publish a ton of information online (they're amish owned). They have a pretty wide variety of feed options, with broiler grower(20%) and broiler starter(23%), pullet starter (19%) and standard layer (16)%) plus soy free and corn and soy free options for all of the above. They also have turkey grower(22%) and starter (28%) and without more information, trying to navigate my options has been a little challenging.

We're also about to go into winter for the first time with this free range flock and I'm wondering if we should increase the protein levels to make up for the reduced bug availability?

 

[DemeterAD9]

I am not a feed expert so this is just my thinking.

Protein is certainly something to consider in the winter months for a free ranging flock. Having too much protein is probably going to be hard to achieve with any poultry feed so I would get whichever feed you want, all quality feeds should have the appropriate range of nutrients for chickens. I would do a little researching to see what the appropriate ranges are and compare all the feeds you have available. If you hunt you could even cut costs a bit by getting cheaper, lower protein feeds and supplementing with animal proteins. That is something I do, just have to make sure they don' t get too much fat.

To help give them more calories to keep warm in winter it wouldn't be a bad idea to up their carbs, corn is probably what I will use this winter for an extra boost of easyily digestable energy. May just make the wild birds share their seed.

I flip flop around with my feeds while on the search for something more affordable but high quality. So far my best option is fetching 15$ for a 50lb bag, it happens to be 20% protein chick starter mash which the birds love when mixed into mashed potatoes consistency. I would prefer pellets or crumbles but I don't think the birds care either way? It may be worth having a look around the area to find a feed mill which may offer cheaper but quality options.

 

[LaurelC]

I am not a feed expert so this is just my thinking.

Protein is certainly something to consider in the winter months for a free ranging flock. Having too much protein is probably going to be hard to achieve with any poultry feed so I would get whichever feed you want, all quality feeds should have the appropriate range of nutrients for chickens. I would do a little researching to see what the appropriate ranges are and compare all the feeds you have available. If you hunt you could even cut costs a bit by getting cheaper, lower protein feeds and supplementing with animal proteins. That is something I do, just have to make sure they don' t get too much fat.

To help give them more calories to keep warm in winter it wouldn't be a bad idea to up their carbs, corn is probably what I will use this winter for an extra boost of easyily digestable energy. May just make the wild birds share their seed.

I flip flop around with my feeds while on the search for something more affordable but high quality. So far my best option is fetching 15$ for a 50lb bag, it happens to be 20% protein chick starter mash which the birds love when mixed into mashed potatoes consistency. I would prefer pellets or crumbles but I don't think the birds care either way? It may be worth having a look around the area to find a feed mill which may offer cheaper but quality options.

Thanks for your input. I've done a ton of searching, and while sticking with organics, our least expensive option is still the $25/50lb bag range, which is fine, it is what it is, and I try to vary the diet of the gals, so I may end up getting a few options and just dumping them all into the feeder. My husband does hunt, however most of what he takes goes to our dogs who eat more expensive food than the chickens do anyway.

The area where our chickens will be overwintering is where our sheep also overwinter, so they'll likely be getting some of the concentrated sheep feed if they can get to it. This year it will include corn as I finally have a source for organic corn. We tend to mostly feed hay, and supplement with concentrated feeds when the weather is very cold.

That said, what would be the difference between a broiler grower or starter feed versus a pullet starter feed, outside of the obvious formulation differences to achieve the different protein percentages. Is there a reason not to feed laying hens broiler grower with free choise oyster shells?

 

[DemeterAD9]

That said, what would be the difference between a broiler grower or starter feed versus a pullet starter feed, outside of the obvious formulation differences to achieve the different protein percentages. Is there a reason not to feed laying hens broiler grower with free choise oyster shells?

Broiler feed is meant to grow birds fast with lots of meat and a good amount of fat. They only need to be healthy for a couple months tops till they are butchered, but I would expect their to be proper nutrients for any breed of chick to grow well on it. Normal chick or pullet starter/grower should emphasize healthy bones, feathers, and organ growth. In my mind slower, steady growth should lead to a healthier bird. But growth rate is mostly in the genetics. I'm sure there are some threads on here comparing broiler feed to normal chick starter in separate batches of chicks.

I think the fat, lysine, methionine and of course protein percentages would be higher in broiler feeds. Not sure if the higher methionine and lysine would cause any problems but the fat may cause issues. That being said I'm not sure what the appropriate percent range is for laying birds. Fat, like any other nutrient, will cause problems when there is too little or too much. You don't want a fatty bird unless you want to eat it.

All in all there probably wouldn't be any issues feeding broiler/grower feed with free choice oyster shells. I'd wait to hear from other who are more knowledgeable though.

 

[chickachicka12345]

it makes them really fat and makes them grow fast