If you have had chickens for awhile , you likely have intercourse chickens will eat just about everything ! But if you ’re wondering what to feed them to keep them goodly and lay testicle , then you have fall to the proper spot !
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I have had poulet my intact life and they are the nifty plus to my little farm . They are easygoing custodian , provide me with delicious eggs , and surprisingly have big personalities !
Therefore , they are really neat to have around !
But if you are just starting out with your poulet you ’re probably a little overwhelmed with all that you should and should n’t do .
You may even be a short lost after twelvemonth of having them . I can tell you from my own experience of trial and error of give care for my chickens that I am always get wind .
Just once I think I have it figured out , I determine a good way , and really , that ’s just a part of life . We go along learning and we continue getting better .
So I go for my experience will serve you answer all of your questions about how to well flow your backyard chicken .
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Most Common Types of Chicken Feed
When it comes to picking out the case of chicken provender you are kick the bucket to give to your skirt there are many things to keep in mind .
Such as , are they dame , lay hen , nub bird , devoid kitchen stove , etc . As well as what metre of year it is which will determine thing such as the weather condition and if your chicken are in molt . Both of which take a few different pauperization .
I will get into each of these specifics throughout the clause , but for now these are the most mutual types of commercial-grade feed .
Medicated Chick Starter:
Medicated skirt startershould be fertilize to chicks that have not been immunise . Common diseases that chicks are susceptible to are coccidiosis and Merricks disease . If you are n’t certain if your chick have been inoculate then I recommend a medicated chick starter for the first 3 - 4 weeks .
Non Medicated Chick Starter:
Non medicated chick startershould be fed to all chicks after about 4 week old . If your chicks have been vaccinate then you’re able to choose to prey a non medicated provender from day 1 . If you prefer that your chicken have no exposure to music then you should also pick out a non medicated chick provender .
Layer Pellets, Crumble and Mash:
level pellets , crumble and mash all have the all important nutrients for overall health and eggs output and should hold a minimum of 16 % protein .
Whichever layer feed you decide to give to your hens is up to you , and you may decide by seeing which one your hen like most .
Layer pelletsare compressed into humble shot that tend to be less messy . They are a little bit larger for some chickens to eat such as bantams , but I have never had any issue with any of my chickens eat it .
Layer crumbleis pellets that have been cracked into a smaller size , making it a bit easier for chickens to eat , but likely will make more of a mess .
stratum mash is just as is sounds and is squeeze up stratum feed that is very fine . A problem with mash is that chickens will scratch through it , often get a pickle and only use up speck in the feed which means they may not get all of the nutrient they need .
Scratch:
Chicken scratchis a mixture of grain and clavus and should only be fed to your hen in small amounts .
incision does not contain all of the nutrient that hens need for eggs output and so too much scar can reduce the amount of ballock they are laying .
Scratch should never be fed to chicks under 8 weeks old because it is concentrated for them to condense . Then once you start feeding it to your hens , think of it as a dainty and just feed it a dyad times per hebdomad .
Best Chicken Feeders
Depending on how many chickens you have will help you good settle what feeder to get . I have around 40 hen and so I have a huge turkey affluent that can hold 200 lbs . of feed at once .
I choose feeders that can correspond at least a week worth of food , or consume multiple birdfeeder that can hold that amount of food .
The reason being is so that you’re able to give your chickens enough food for a calendar week if you ’ll be out of town for an extended catamenia of time . Plus , I like to rid feed so that my hens can eat whenever they desire to . possess a big feeder allows me to give them enough intellectual nourishment at once so I am not having to throw feed to them everyday .
So when it comes to picking your tributary there are a lot of skillful choice . I like hang feeders that you could hang a few inches above ground in the chicken footrace or inside the chicken cage . This way your hens ca n’t scrape out all of their intellectual nourishment .
If I did n’t have my huge turkey feeder , I would have multipleFree Range Plastic Hanging Poultry Feeders .
They have a twist on bottom that stays safe , they have a no - scratch base which helps to prevent the chicken from scratching their food out , and it allows you to hang it .
Feeding Baby Chicks
When it comes time to feeding your babe chicks you should either prey them a medicated or non medicated chick starter .
If you are not planning on raising all natural chickens , I ’d suggest prey a medicated chick appetiser , unless you ’re certain that your chicks have been immunize .
I feed my chicks medicated chick freshman for about the first 3 - 4 weeks . Then unmedicated chick dispatcher until around 12 weeks one-time . After that I will take off switch them over to lay mash or break down and start incorporate them into my old flock .
At about 12 weeks you’re able to also choose to give them a grower feed which is made specifically for fryer and then start feeding them layer provender once they begin to lay .
The grower provender has less atomic number 20 than level feed and so it is healthier for vernal hens that are n’t lay yet since too much calcium at a immature age can be prejudicial to their wellness .
Since I have quondam hens that require level feed I let my 12 week and older chicks start eat layer provender and I will also provide another affluent with non medicated chick starter so they have another option for feed as well .
After a few hebdomad I will only have them eating stratum provender . If you ’d like to learn more about raising chicks in profundity check outHow to Care for Baby Chicks .
Feeding Laying Hens
From the time your wimp lay and on , they should only be fed a bed feed . They can have scratch in small amounts but you’re able to think of that as a treat for them .
The scratch does n’t render them with the overall nutrients they demand for a balanced diet or to produce eggs .
In fact , if you ’re feeding too much incision your hens may fill up on that and start laying less since they wo n’t be getting all the nutrient they need from their feed . So you could choose to not eat starting line at all or you could feed it in small amounts a couple times a week .
As your hen commence to go through ecdysis they should be fed a high-pitched protein feed to help them recuperate faster . A feed with 18 - 20 % protein such asFeather Fixeris a dandy option for a couple months during molting .
Feeding Meat Birds
Meat birds grow so tight they require a dieting extra gamy in protein . If you ’re raising chicken for gist you may buy a feed specifically made for broilers with all the right nutrient .
Feeding Free Range Chickens
Having free range of a function chickens is great for so many understanding . They can avail keep down on bugs and skunk around your yard and they will cost less in feed .
But if you ’re desire your free chain of mountains hens to still lay ballock consistently you will want to be sure they are still eating level feed . This will ensure they are have the required nutrients needed on top of all the extra feed they will be getting from outside .
If you put away up your chickens at night you could provide layer provender for them in the coop before they go to rest and before you let them out in the sunrise .
Additional Products Needed for Balanced Diets
On top of a good layer feed , poulet will often need a few special thing here and there for undecomposed health . A duad merchandise they should always have access to is oyster casing and sand .
Oyster shell provides them with the extra atomic number 20 they need for difficult eggs shells and they will eat it as their body call for it . If you ’d like to find out all of the data on why chickens necessitate oyster shell ascertain out3 Reasons for Feeding Chickens Oyster Shells .
Grit is also important , and it will assist with your chickens digestive wellness .
The last matter I care to incessantly provide for my hens in aflock blockage . This gives them lend vitamins and minerals necessitate for overall wellness and they enjoy pecking at it for sport .
Pros and Cons of Table Scraps and Chickens Treats
Chickens are fairly much little food waste disposals which is another intellect why I bonk having them around . With chicken I never experience like I am wasting any food because they will eat just about everything .
So the pro of tabular array scraps is that chickens lie with them and it will cut down a flake on the amount of food for thought they are eating .
The con of scraps and goody is that if the chickens fill up too much on them they wo n’t get enough of the literal nutrient that they need for laying testicle .
So as a prescript of thumb , treats and scraps should be 10 % or less of their overall dieting .
A few things you should never fertilise your chicken are :
To learn more about what crybaby should and should not corrode check out this great article fromPurina Mills .
Changing the Chickens Diet for Hot Weather and Cold Weather
As the weather gets lovesome and chickens are trying to stay on cool they should be fed a low protein diet . But never less than 16 % protein if you want them to bear on laying .
On the other hand , added protein help their bodies hold more warmth , so as weather is colder you could feed them a feed eminent in protein .
Summary of What to Feed Your Chickens
Overall , feeding your chickens should be passably easy !
