Keeping chickens at home for eggs

It’s becoming more and more popular to keep pet chickens in the back garden and reaping the benefits such as fresh eggs. It’s important to make sure your pet chickens are getting the proper nutrition so that they stay healthy and live long, healthy lives. The type of food needed generally depends on the chicken’s age and whether or not it is being raised for the table. Most people keeping chicken as pets can get by with a commercial compound feed as a mash or pellet. They are affordable and specially formulated to have all the nutrition your chickens need. The pellet form is typically less messy, and therefore many people prefer them. The mash form is less expensive, but it requires careful mixing and can be messy. Usually only commercial chicken owners use mash.

Whats a Chickens favourite food?:

Corn

Spaghetti

worms

Vote

It’s very important to properly store chicken feed so that it stays dry and fresh. Improperly stored feed can be dangerous for a chicken to eat. Always keep chicken feed dry, and adhere to the use-by date that appears on the package. You should also store the feed in a container with a secure lid that will keep out other animals.

 

 

 

Clean and fresh water must ALWAYS be within the reach of your chicken as it is a prime necessity. The water distribution must be checked at least two times a day, and more frequently in unfavorable weather conditions. In hotter months when the chicken’s thirst increases, the water containers will need to be refilled on a regular basis. It is necessary to keep the drinkers in shade, away from sunlight wherever possible. The birds can become stressed and may lay lesser eggs due to the adverse effects of dehydration. The body of the drinkers must be cleaned and freed from the algae deposits during the hot months. During winter the water will freeze. Hot water from a kettle may prove to be short term answer to the problem, but if you reside in a permanently cold region you may have to look for other means like installing a heater in the chicken house/lagging. You should keep in mind the significance of maintaining the cleanliness of water before you select from the variety of plastic and metal drinkers matching majority of budgets available in the market. Take into consideration that the drinker should not allow the chicken to step into it, perch on it, topple it or facilitate the kicking of chicken litter and droppings into it. A drinker that can be hanged from the ceiling could be the right choice. Alternatively, place the drinker on an elevated platform of bricks. Most importantly, you have to be very careful while choosing the drinker if the chicks are too young and can possibly drown in it.

Using a specialised plastic or galvanised metal chicken feeder is a wiser choice than using a bowl or container. Specialised feeders minimise food wastage, soiling and accesibility to predators. Plastic feeders are particularly easy to clean and minimise spillage that often results from the use of larger metal open feeders. For the small scale chicken keeper, a plastic feeders and drinkers provide a low-cost option, which are easy to install by suspension or raising on bricks. Ensuiring that there are a sufficient quantity of feeders and drinkers will give your chickens ample access to food and water, minimising competition fighting and bullying that can occur.

Watching chickens peck in a farm actually got me thinking about how they break down their food..they have no teeth! So there must be something else nature gave them that replace the missing teeth! Breaking down your food to help digestion is the first step that starts off the digestive process, and chickens have Gizzards to help them do that. Muscular contractions in the gizzard along with the grits they peck helps break up the food. Grits are a very important part of a chickens diet, as it helps grind food to a digestable state. While free range chickens pick these stones and grit on their own,farm bred chickens have grits added to thier feed or placed seperatly in a container called the grit hopper. Grit is easily avaliable commercially and is relatively cheap.

Calcium is important for nutrition in hen. Mainly in the case of a laying hen the nutrition is of utmost importace. Especially the intake of calcium should be in appropriate amount. This is important to produce strong shells. The compounds or the composites which are fed to the hen do provide some source of calcium but this has to be further supplemented for better nutrition. Crushed oyster shells is a good example but you can also prepare the additional supplement by simply heating and crushing the egg shells. This has to be done perfectly in order to disguise the truth that they have been fed with egg shells.

Young chicks have specific diet requirements to meet their fast growth. Feed must be suitable for a young digestive system. During the first day of life, a chick can manage without any food or water because the hatching process provides them with initial nuitrients from the yolk sack. After that for about six weeks, the chick’s diet is crumb formula. This feed contains coccidiostat, which is a medication to reduce risk of a fatal parasitic disease. This feed, produced commercially, is dangerous to ducks and geese, and chicks may need to be fed apart from other fowl. Flock keepers often prefer to use feed that is free of coccidiostat, which is the choice of large commercial flocks that are in the business of poultry production. Those who keep small flocks as a hobby also often use a small chick-specific feeder to keep other birds from having access to the crumbs.

 From around the age of 6 weeks to about 16/17 weeks young chicken or pullets can be fed with poultry growers’ pellets or mash. It is important to follow a gradual step-by-step method while introducing the feed to prevent any untoward heath hazard due to the unexpected and sudden change in the chicken’s diet. Generally, chicken can be fed to finish with this form of feed if you are raising them for the table. Do not forget to select drug free packages and growers’ feed can be provided freely to the chicken without any hassles. Weight management of the birds should not be an issue if you do not pamper them with goodies and treats like pasta, bread etc.

If chickens are being kept by you for their eggs, you should consider gradual introduction of layers mash or pallet feed when they become 16/18 weeks of age i.e. they are ready to lay eggs. The specialty of this type of food is that it contains all the required nutrition your chickens need and is rich in calcium. This help in maximizing the egg laying potential of your hens. You need not worry if your hens have not yet started laying eggs or their laying of eggs are discontinued as happens in winter months or during the time when they shed feathers once in a year. Even then you should continue this feed as it is most desired for your hens. The layer mash or pallets can be given to the hens without any restrictions as is done with other types of feed. However, one thing must be ensured that the feed is not contaminated by predators that mostly come in the night. As such you may either take away the left out food or arrange for cleaning of the containers in the evening or as an easy alternative you may keep the hen coop locked during the night in which the food remains.

If your flock contains a cockerel (or rooster) you do not need to be concerned with feeding it a separate diet from the hens. Vegetarian and GM-free organic feed is recommended. Chickens are omnivores, and will tend to scratch the ground looking for insects upon which to feed. However, please be aware that in the UK, feeding chickens animal proteins is not permissible. These include: processed animal protein, gelatine of ruminant origin, blood products, hydrolysed protein, dicalcium phosphate, and tricalcium phosphate of animal origin.

This may seem to be a comprehensive list, but be aware that animal proteins are very common and it behoves you to check the composition label on the feed you are purchasing. Many owners prefer to stick to a guaranteed vegetarian or GM-free food. Some feeds include Omega-3 supplements to aid in egg quality. Shop around, there are many choices available.

Part of the satisfaction of keeping chickens is varying their diet. “Decorating “ their living area with broccoli or spring greens will make the chicken’s home more stimulating. This will combat the monotony of living in the confined area and reduce feather plucking, bullying or egg pecking. DEFRA rules suggest a diet of fresh, natural foodstuffs are more beneficial than artificial animal proteins. A diet based around pasta, rice and bread may be better for them than the artificial additives, but it may lead to excessive fattening of the birds.

Some chicken keepers might like giving their chicken a different kind of food in addition to what they already get. This provides variation in the chicken's food and places very little cost burden on the keepers.

However, shifting over from the normal feed to a new diet containing a variety of grains and leftovers should be a decision made with care. Maintaining the required nutrient levels can be quite difficult.

Your chickens should get all the vitamins and nutrients they need from a compound feed. However, there are supplements available such as cod liver oil, poultry drinks, poultry spice and multivitamins. Typically, you should only need supplements if you plan on showing a bird, or if the bird has a specific health issue you need to treat.