When deciding what you will feed hens, you should take into account their age and your goals for your chickens. Feeding hens that are primarily to be egg layers will require a different feed than chickens that are for meat production.
Feeding Baby Chicks
Baby chicks should always start out on a chick starter that is 20-22% protein for egg producers, and up to twenty-four percent protein for meat hens. Starter should be used until the age of 6-9 weeks, depending on the chicken’s breed and its maturity level. Meat hens should be fed a “broiler finish” after maturity until they are ready for slaughter.
Many who raise meat hens should use feed that has antibiotics to prevent Coccidiosis. This is often also given to other chickens unless they are being billed as “free range” or “organic.”
Commercially grown meat hens are often loaded with hormones, so raising meat hens at home is a popular way to avoid ingesting those.
Caring for Adult Chickens
Once hens reach adulthood, they are often moved to a fourteen percent protein feed. Calcium is extremely important for laying hens and in the extra-large breeds like Jersey Giants that need strong bones to hold their weight.
Adult chicken feed comes in pellets, crumbles, mash and scratch. The best way to get the most balanced diet for your chickens is to mix some scratch in with pellets or crumbles, and supplement with vegetables and calcium.
Adding clean, crushed egg shells into their feed can supplement the calcium for the chickens. Chickens know what they need, so they’ll eat what they require if it’s available.
Peelings and Vegetables
Leftover veggies like spinach, Romain, carrot peels, apple peelings, and whole grains like oatmeal, barley, and small amounts of fruit make your hens healthier and happier. Just remember this is a supplement to hen feed, not a replacement. Chickens need a nutritious environment and hen feed is a very important part of that.
So long as it’s fresh and not a meat product, it can be thrown to the hens instead of the garbage.
Chicken Tractors
Chicken tractors give you the ability to move your flock from place to place in your yard. This allows the available bugs, vegetation, and grit fresh and the hens exercised. This is a good way to do it if you don’t have the room for free range, or need to protect your chickens from daytime predators.
This means the chickens won’t have a chance to scratch an area down to nothing.
Hazards
Do not use fertilizers or pesticides where hens might feed. They are not picky when pecking at granules on the ground and can poison themselves and your eggs.
Chickens can be poisoned by grass and plants where weed killers or sprays have been used. Remember that whatever goes into your hens will go into your eggs. Pesticides and chemicals can be in your eggs before the chicken shows any sign of illness.
If done properly, your home-grown chickens and eggs will provide wonderful nutrition for your family. Well fed chickens can greatly enhance your breakfast and dinner tables.
For information about building a chicken coop, read Chicken Coop Plans.
For an even easier project, take a look at Chicken Coop Kits.