Chicken Feeds, Keeping Chickens and Poultry

Posted on 25 February 2010

Types of Chicken feeds

Chickens are omnivores which basically means they eat most things found naturally although certain foods should be avoided. They love berries, seeds, green leafed vegetables, insects, worms, meat in general (cooked or raw) fat.

If you keep chickens in apen where they are 99% dependent on you to provide them with food and water you need to treat their diet like you would of a child, what I mean by this is that you should:

1) Avoid giving them too many fatty foods

2) Make sure they have a varied diet – the same thing every day will lead to boredom and then that si when they will start picking on each other

3) Avoid having food plentiful 24 hours a day. This is not a major issue but it is better if you have teh time, to have set hours of teh day when the food is available. A rule of thumb is 2 hours in the morning – one hour in the afternoon then one hour before bed. if you do this you should ensure there is a pecking block available so they have something to keep them entertained without filling them up.

4) In winter – mix some of their Layers Mash with hot water (make sure it is not boiling when you give it them) as this makes a sort of “chicken porridge” and they love it! It also keeps their diet from being too boring of you can serve them food in different forms even if it is the same sort of food.

5) Ensure you give them the correct vitamin and mineral supplements once a month to ward of colds and diseases. They will not be able to get all The nutrients they require if they do not have teh ability to peck at wild foods so you need to help theme in this area. (just as we humans do without own vitamin tablets!)

Layers Mash

This, in my view, is the best mash you can buy. My chickens prefer thsi mash over any other type and I have tried most types. It is full of most fo what they need to keep healthy. I buy mine in 25kg bags and keep them in a dry place. You must not really buy more than you can use within 6 months as the older it is, the more goodness leaches out of it. You can buy Layers Mash from tehse recomemnded sources:

Pelleted Feed

I am not a fan of pellets although some chicken fanciers swear by it. My birds tend to sprinkle it all over the place and only eat a small amount. One good way to serve it is with hot water to create the “porridge” effect mentioned above. See how you get on. Below are some suppliers I can recommend:

Corn

Now every chicken loves a bit of corn! trouble is they get full on it and then have no room for other things. If you give them corn as part fo a varied diet, make sure is has no signs of mould as this can make the birds ill. (it just looks mouldy of it is off and smells a bit fusty). Apart from simply giving to them in a bowl, it is good to sprinkle small amounts in the undergrowth to give them some fun in scratching about for it (don’t do mor ethan a handful or they may not find all of it and it will likely grow or worse, attract rats and mice)

Mash

Pecking Blocks

These are really good as they serve a dual purpose

Household Food Waste

It generally is Ok to give your chickens some of the leftovers from household food, but there are some common sense things to consider – and also a few things you should know that are not obvious:

1) Chickens generally do not eat or like raw potato pealings – but they love them cooked and also left over mashed potatoes.

2) Fatty bits from pork chops and beef steaks cut into small pieces wil have your chickns acting like teh very Tyrannosaurus Rex they are descended from (and yes, they are most like T-rex in their DNA structure if you did not know – thus proving the link between birds and dinosaurs. Which is probably one reason they love animal fat and meats.

3) Any cooked greens and veg are generally OK – always remove food that has not been eaten within a couple of days.

4) Shelfish (mussels, prawns) they love but make sure it is not off. if your would not eat it, nor should they.

5) Fish they are not so keen on and is likely to be left.

6) Spagetti (and all pasta) if you want to see some fun, give your chucks a bowl of plain boiled spagetti! It is hilarious! They absolutely love it and will chase round the garden with bits. I am sure they think they are white worms. They also love pasta and it is Ok for them to eat. But like all things in life, in moderation.

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Category: Chicken Coops, Chicken Feeds, Chickens for Sale, Keeping Chickens, Pet Chickens, Poultry Breeds
Tags: breeds of chickens, Chicken Coops, Chicken Feeds, Chicken House, chicken run, Chickens for Sale, Hatching Eggs, hen house, Keeping Chickens and Poultry, Pet Chickens, poultry, poultry for sale

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