The protein % of Layer sold around here is 15-16%. Most of the feed stores carry FRM and Purina. I prefer the FRM because it contains animal based protein. The GBB is 20%, and the Professor indicated that even that extra 5% would make the birds liver work harder than necessary. We are in Florida also though, and he had extra concern for this with the many hot months we have.
My thought is that if higher protein was better for laying/breeding chickens, would the feed companies not offer a \"Chicken Show Formula\" or \"Chicken Breeder Feed\" and just charge more for it? FRM offers several game bird feeds; Grower, Breeder and Maintenance...surely there would be a larger market for different chicken formulas. I know some higher protein layer feeds are found in other areas of the country, perhaps these are formulated with other ingredients to help them better utilize the extra protein. Now I\'m a recent convert to this way of thinking....I also kept my chicks on 21% Starter, until laying age, bypassing grower in favor of the higher protein. But the better feed companies put a lot of research and knowledge in their formulations, so I\'m personally going to go with recommended/appropriate feeds from now on.
I will say my first group of chickens, my Buff Orp \"pets\", that were on layer and allowed to free range a few hours a day had as good or better condition than my breeders on GBB. Now that I have so many more birds and need to keep them penned for breeding I try to give them healthy treats a few days a week in lieu of foraging. Scrambled eggs with chopped veggies, fruit, and sunflower seeds mainly. No bread or salty table scraps. Just as we can\'t get all our nutrients from vitamin pills, I don\'t believe any feed blend can contain every trace element needed for optimal health. Some nutrients like resveratrol\'s and lycopene have only been identified in the last decade, I\'m sure there are many others that have yet to be discovered. Also, since I\'m the \"treat lady\", my birds come running to me and are easy to handle.
I\'ll copy this thread and email to the Professor and share any further insights he may offer.