WHAT DO CHICKENS EAT TO GROW BIG?
What Do Chickens Eat to Grow Big?
You’ve reached the end of the line if you can’t decide which feed is best for your flock. The feeds a chicken can eat, the things to avoid, and the optimal number of times to feed your flock each day are all covered in this article.
You will therefore learn whether or not hens consume spinach, popcorn, or tomatoes.
Are chicken selective eaters
In terms of diet, hens are omnivores. As long as something catches their attention, they will attempt to eat or swallow it.
Australorps, Isa Browns, and Rhode Island Reds are excellent free range chickens. They will discover a plenty of food high in protein and vitamins when foraging around the yards.
This will comprise things like grubs, seeds, flora, and insects. They occasionally have the ability to subdue skinks, toads, and tiny snakes. They consume nearly anything. It would therefore be accurate to state that chickens do not have a discriminating palate. But a backyard brood needs more than just free-range food to have a healthy, well-balanced diet.
Why is it crucial to give the the proper feed?
Food is vital to chicken survival, just like it is for people. In light of it, taking into account is crucial to choose the right kind of feed for your flock.
Feeding chickens “any feed” won’t work if your goal is higher productivity, robust birds, and more eggs, even though they are not picky eaters.
Farmers that want the best for their flock should know what kind of grain to feed them. If you get it right, your hens will be vibrant and healthy. Conversely, though, might result in decreased egg production, malformed eggs, feather picking, and other undesirable behavior.
Furthermore, you need be aware of this in order to affect how many eggs a hen will lay in a given week. (If more eggs are required.)
Furthermore, hens that lay bigLarge eggs will not eat just about anything, so now that you know, what do you feed your chickens?
What should I feed chickens?
Anything will do, but to get the most out of our flock, here are some of the best foods to feed them:
1. Formulated chicken pellets:
One of the most nourishing foods chickens eat is a high-quality poultry pellet, which is the foundation of any good chicken diet. Typically, pellets contain wheat, salt, maize, sunflower seed, and oats. A feed rich in pellets is a good source of essential vitamins, nutrients, and minerals that keep the birds healthy.
Layer pellets are highly recommended for hens because they give chickens the proper amount of protein and minerals to lay eggs.
2. Grains:
Do hens consume grains? Indeed, they do. They actually adore it. Grain makes good feed in addition to their main diet of pellets.
Which kind of grains? You enquire: Grain options for feeding the flock include wheat, beans, and corn. It will be a good idea to provide them diversity, as they say, variety makes life interesting.
Just keep in mind that chicken require meals that are low in sugar, salt, and whole grains.
3. Vegetables and fruits:
Remember that fruits and vegetables are healthy for hens the next time you wonder what they eat. For the record, hens also consume vegetable peels, bananas, apple cores, carrots, spinach, and broccoli.
Well, steer clear of any raw greenpeels. This includes the peel from green potatoes and citrus fruits like lemons and oranges.
Does this imply that you cannot give your leftover food to the hens? Discover more below!
4. Kitchen scraps:
Additives from the kitchen work well with chicken dishes. Table scraps are simple, inexpensive, and accessible.
It’s a fantastic method to reduce food waste and supplement your flock’s diet. But once you start setting aside table scraps for the “girls,” stay away from sweets with a lot of sugar, foods with a lot of fat, salty snacks, and expired food.
5. commercial feeds:
You now assumed that we wouldn’t bring it up. Commercial feed is consumed by hens. It might not be so simple to obtain the grubs, kitchen trash, fruits, and veggies.
That’s why a lot of farmers choose feed that has already been treated. Additionally, commercial feeds give a chicken a variety of vitamins and minerals that are necessary for good health.
Read also:HOW TO CUT YOUR CHICKEN FEED COSTS IN HALF – 7 EASY WAYS!
6. Other foods that hens consume are:
-
Scratch feed
- Mealworms
- Cooked Oatmeal
- Bread
- Berries
- Yogurt
- Apples
- Pumpkin
- Leafy Greens
- Cold watermelon
- Cottage cheese
- Tomatoes
- Grapes
- Cooked spaghetti
- Herbs
Well-fed flocks will encourage the hens to begin laying eggs on a regular basis.
How to provide food for your hens
How do you feed chickens now that you know what they eat?
Is it best to combine every option and feed the flock?
Do chickens need to have a food ration?
While a chicken meal schedule might seem a touch excessive, it wouldn’t be entirely awful.
1. Give the chicks premium protein feeds:
When it’s warm outside, layer feed should be the main diet for chickens, regardless of the weather. Either in the shape of pellets or crumbles, the hens will consume them.
As previously said, the pellets have to include all the nutrients needed to maintain the health of the hens and their regular production of well-formed eggs.
How do you calculate that?
Calcium and protein are important components to watch out for.
2. Add extra food to their diet:
The hens don’t get enough food, commercial feed or leftovers from the kitchen. It is therefore ideal to add supplements to their feed.
How are you able to accomplish that?
Add particular fruits, vegetables, and grains to the birds’ diet. Leafy greens, cooked beans, corn, low-sugar cereals, berries, apples, etc. are other options.
This will assist in guaranteeing that they receive aa diet well-balanced in nutrients.
3. Steer clear of these foods:
You don’t have to feed the hens anything because they can eat almost anything.
Steer clear of these foods if you want your hens to grow healthily and produce more;
- Onions
- Garlic
- rhubarb
- Avocado
- foods heavy in fat
- salty snacks
- High-sugar treat
- Raw beans
- Green potato peels
- Chicken leftovers (cannibalism can transmit disease)
- Chocolate (may cause them to become agitated)
- Ground coffee or coffee?
- prepared meals
- (Pure) salt
- soft beverages
In addition to being unhealthy, these meals occasionally poison the hens.
Moreover, garlic’s potent flavors can alter the taste of eggs.You wouldn’t want to taste that, I promise!
Conversely, though, birds avoid eating feed that is overly pelleted.
What may occur if you don’t follow a proper diet for chicken?
Knowing the type of feed that hens consume, feeding them the exact opposite will cause serious issues on the farm.
Here are some possible consequences if the chicken diet is not correct:
1. Decreased egg production
The egg will not hatch outright if the chicken feed is not proper. Keep in mind: trash in, trash out.
2. Feather plucking and general unrest:
If you find evidence of the hens’ cannibalism, this may indicate their Diet isn’t right.
Additionally, persistent feather plucking on the farm can result in mortality. This is the time when aggressive hens, like the Rhode Island Red, will prick non-aggressive birds, like the Cochins and Australorp.
3. Unusual release of chicken eggs:
If you notice that the eggs are consistently larger in yolk than they should be or that they are too small (Serrama hens naturally lay small eggs), it is likely that their food isn’t correct.
Read also:FIGHTING FOWL POX? THE EXPERT ADVICE YOU NEED TO PROTECT YOUR POULTRY
In summary, what do hens eat?
For chickens to get the essential nutrition they require, a consistent diet of commercial layer feed is about sufficient.
Small portions of “a la carte” goodies, however, can maintain a happy and active bird population.
