Protein for your Chicken and Calculating your Feed Requirement

Protein is important for all animals. But for poultry, in producing eggs and growing to produce meat, the protein part of their feed regimen is crucial. It is also expensive! Finding good quality, cheap protein is one of the challenges of raising and keeping chickens. This is where the small farmer can increase family health through ingenuity.

A List of the Protein Levels of Different Feeds

FOOD SOURCE %PROTEIN, BY WT


Dried fish flakes 76
Dried liver  76
Dried earthworms 76
Duckweed  50
Torula yeast  50
Brewers yeast  39
Soybeans (dry roasted) 37
Flaxseed  37
Alfalfa seed  35
Beef, lean  28
Earthworms  28
Fish   28
Sunflower seeds  26.3
Wheat germ  25
Peas & Beans, dried 24.5
Sesame seed  19.3
Soybeans (boiled) 17
Wheat bran  16.6
Oats, whole  14
Rice polish  12.8
Rye   12.5
Wheat   12.5
Barley    12.3
Oats   12
Corn   9
Millet   9
Milo   9
Rice, brown  7.5

Calculating how much you need:

Of course, you will want to use a mixture of grains, we hope! To calculate the protein content of a mix of grains, do three things:

1. Multiply each grain's protein content by the number of parts of that grain in the mix. 

2. Add those figures. 

3. Divide that total by the total number of parts. 
Example:
Say you make a mix that is three parts wheat, 
one part corn and one part oats.  You want to
know how much protein is in the mix. 

       GRAIN   PARTS  PROTEIN % (see list below) 
 
 Wheat 3   X  12.5 = 37.5
 Corn 1   X  9 =  9
 Oats 1   X 12 = 12
    
 TOTALS 5   58.5

 58.5 divided by 5 = 11.7% Protein
           in mix


After getting the protein percentage for your mix of grains, next use PEARSON'S SQUARE  to calculate how much protein concentrate to add to this mix. Where it says "Grain" in the Pearson's Square, just put in your amounts for the total mix. 

PEARSON'S SQUARE 
From Colorado State University 

For mixing a GRAIN and a PROTEIN CONCENTRATE
to get a desired protein percentage
(see diagram below) 



Draw a square and put the desired protein percentage in the center. Example: "finished feed 16%". 

Put the grain in the upper left corner as a protein percentage . See the "Protein in Chicken Feeds" chart (below) to get amounts. 
Example: "wheat 12.5%". 


Put the grain in the upper right corner as parts to mix . 
Example: "wheat_________ parts". 

Put the protein concentrate in the lower left corner, as a protein percentage. 
Example: "soybeans 37%".

Put the protein concentrate in the lower right corner as parts to mix. 
Example, "soybeans ________ parts".

Grain:===========================================Grain:
wheat 12.5%     ________ parts
|       *     *     |
|     *        *       |
|   *  *       |
|   Desired     *        |
|   protein amount:        |
|      16% *        |
|   *      *        |
|      *    *       |
|  *        *       |
|      *            *     |
| *        *  |
Protein concentrate:===============Protein concentrate:
soybeans roasted 37%   _________ parts
 



Now subtract diagonally through the center, from corner to corner. Ignore changes of sign. 

Going from top left to bottom right, 12.5 minus 16 equals 3.5. This number goes in the lower right corner. 

Going from bottom left to top right, 37 minus 16 equals 21. This goes in the upper right corner. 

The result is 21 parts of wheat to 3.5 parts of soybeans.