Written by: Dr. Jacquie Jacob, University of Kentucky
The easiest way to feed a small flock of chickens is to purchase complete feed at a feed store. Complete feed provides a nutritionally balanced diet for chickens.
Today's chickens are descendants of jungle fowl in Southeast Asia. Adult jungle chickens lay about 12 eggs per year, and only during the breeding season, but genetic selection has resulted in the development of a chicken that can lay nearly 300 eggs per year and can lay all year round. As a result of genetic selection and improved nutrition, chickens start laying at a younger age and lay more, larger eggs, all with increased feed efficiency.
Commercial feed from a reliable feed store contains all the nutrients in the right proportion that the chickens need. A balanced diet is necessary for optimal growth and production. If you are using a good diet that meets the nutritional needs of your herd, you can supplement it with other products to disrupt the balance of the diet. The ingredients used in different types of feed are similar, but the proportions vary depending on the specific chickens being fed. Each feed bag is labeled with its specific use.
Common mistakes made with dietary supplements include:
- Provides vitamin and electrolyte supplementation for more than 10 days
- Supplementary complete food with cracked corn, oats or other grains
- Regular addition of green chops, salad or other nutrient-poor ingredients to the diet
- Administering inappropriate or unnecessary medications
The daily feed intake of a chicken depends on the composition of the diet. Chickens typically adjust their feed intake to meet their energy needs. When the energy content of a diet increases, feed intake decreases and vice versa. Environmental temperatures also play an important role in determining how much feed a herd will consume. In warm weather, feed intake decreases. Feed intake increases during cold weather as chicks consume more to provide the extra energy needed to maintain body temperature.
APPENDIX
Grate grain
Chickens are forced to scratch the ground. They use their toes to mix waste or scrape the ground looking for different seeds, vegetables, grit or insects to eat. Spreadscratch grains(cracked, rolled or whole grains such as corn, barley, oats or wheat) encourages this behavior. Scraped grains contain relatively little protein and a lot of energy or fiber, depending on which grain is used. When fed whole grains, scraped grains dilute the nutritional levels of the carefully formulated diets. Crab pellets are like French fries: chickens that eat too many crab pellets have less appetite for more nutritious food. If using crab food, feed the chicks in the afternoon after the birds have eaten all of the food, and only feed as much crab food as the chicks can eat in 15 to 20 minutes.
When feeding crab grains to chickens, it is also important to offer gravel so that the chicks can properly grind and digest the grains (chickens do not have teeth). If chickens have access to the ground, they can usually find sufficient gravel in the form of small stones or pebbles, but it may be helpful to provide commercial grit available in chicken or chicken sizes. Fine gravel is an acceptable alternative to commercial gravel. Oyster shells should not be used as grit as they are too soft and do not aid in grinding. In addition, growing chickens have a lower calcium requirement and excess calcium can negatively affect the kidneys.
Grazing hens must also be given grit. Gravel is important for breaking down the locusts. See the article aboutdigestive tract of birdsfor information only.
Table scraps
Chickens are often fed table scraps (peelings, stale bread and leafy vegetables) as a treat, but excessive table scraps and vegetables can negatively affect egg production. The total amount of table scraps and leftovers should not be more than what chickens can eat in 20 minutes. Make sure the leftovers do not rot, otherwise botulism can develop. It is also recommended not to feed strongly flavored leftovers, such as onions, to laying hens, as eggs can take on this taste. Sour milk can also be fed to chickens.
Cut out
The amount of complete feed can be reduced by supplementing with grass or grass clippings. Young, tender plants are a valuable source of nutrients for chickens, but chickens cannot digest old, fibrous plants. Do not feed grass clippings from lawns where pesticides have recently been used.
Medicated nutrition
Medicated poultry feed is available, which usually contains a coccidiostat and/or an antibiotic. Coccidiosis can be difficult to control with sanitation alone. Chickens benefit from receiving low levels of coccidiostat. Adult chickens develop resistance to coccidiosis when they get a mild infection of the disease. Chicks raised for replacement can be fed a diet containing coccidiostats for the first 16 weeks of life. The medicated food must then be replaced with a non-medicated food.
Medicated feed is generally not fed to laying hens. Examples of coccidiostats added to poultry feed are monensin, lasalocid, amprolium and salinomycin. Examples of antibiotics added to the feed are bacitracin, chlortetracycline and oxytetracycline. Be sure to check the feed label for warnings regarding the medications used in the feed. For example, monensin can be toxic to horses.
NUTRITION AND STORAGE
The way the chickens are fed is just as important as the feed itself. Provide enough feeding space so that all chickens can eat at the same time. Due to limited feeding space, some chickens do not get enough to eat. Position the feeders so that the trough is level with the backs of the chicks. This reduces feed waste. If bantams and large pullets are fed from the same feeder, adjust the feeder to the height of the birds.
Feed should not be stored for more than two months. It is also important to store it in a dry, cool place. Old food can lose its nutritional value and is susceptible to mold.
REPLACEMENT KNITTING
The way a chicken is made sexually mature will have a lasting effect on the chicken's productive life. Cubs are bred to reach a certain body weight by a certain age. Many of the problems that occur in a laying flock can be traced back to a lack of body weight during the growth period.
Commercially raised chickens are fed three diets during the growth phase:beginner,fokker, InDeveloper. Most feed stores only sell one or two types of feed for raising replacement chickens.
Feed requirements for commercially raised chickens
| FEED | EIWITNIVEAU % | AGE OF BIRDS | FOOD INTAKE PER 10 BIRDS PR. AGE PERIOD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken appetizer | 20-22 | 0-6 weeks | 20-29 pond. |
| Chicken breeder | 14-16 | 6-20 weeks | 120-130 pond. |
| Delay | 15-18 | 20 weeks later | 18-24 pond/week |
| All purposes* | 16 | All ages |
*Feed only if one food is available and used throughout the growing period
egg-laying tips
When your chickens start laying eggs (about 20 weeks old), they should be replaced with oneteam food. Layer feed is formulated for chickens that lay table eggs (which are used for human consumption).Feed for broilersis formulated for chickens that produce hatching eggs (breeders). The diets are basically the same, but the breeders' diets usually contain slightly more protein and are enriched with extra vitamins for good embryo development.
Laying hens need large amounts of calcium for their eggshells. Egg jelly typically contains 2.5% to 3.5% calcium. Growing chickens only need 1.2% calcium in their feed. Feeding food high in calcium to growing chickens can cause kidney damage. It may also be necessary to supplement the diet of laying hens with ground oyster shells of your own choice. Some high-yielding laying hens may need the extra calcium from the oyster shell. Check the quality of the eggshells to determine whether or not you need additional oyster shells. If chickens produce eggs with thin shells or shells that break easily, supplementing with oyster shells can help.
Layer diets should contain at least 14% protein to ensure continued egg production. Low diets with 16% protein are more common.
ROTTING
Every year the chicks molt (lose older feathers) and grow new ones. Chickens typically stop egg production until molting is complete. There is considerable variation in the timing and duration of a molt. “Late smelters” are 12 to 14 months away from melting, while “early smelters” can start melting after just a few months in production. Early molters shed only a few feathers at a time and it can take up to six months for the molt to complete. Late molters shed feathers more quickly, for two to three months. In late molts, the loss of feathers and their replacement occur simultaneously. This allows chickens to return to full production more quickly.
There are many physiological changes in a chick during the non-productive molting period. There is significant weight loss, 25% of which is due to the regression of the reproductive tract to the chicken's condition. The remainder of the weight loss is attributed to loss of body fat, feathers, liver tissue, muscle and skeletal system. The regression of the reproductive tract plays an important role in improving egg quality in the second production cycle: egg production levels, shell thickness and egg quality improve after a molt.
In the past, a producer caused a molt in a flock by removing the feed. Some call this practice fasting, but due to the perception that taking away feed is tantamount to starving the chickens, many countries now ban fasting as a means of inducing a molt. In the 1960s, researchers studied molting diets low in nutrients. The diets were intended to be complete, but the reduction of dietary protein, calcium or other essential nutrients reduced egg production to less than 5% and caused a molt. After molting, improvements in egg production appeared to be comparable to those seen in chicks induced to molt by fasting.
Possible methods of taking a break without withholding food include feeding wheat flour, a diet that combines wheat flour and corn, corn gluten feed, soybean hulls or alfalfa. The post-moult production levels achieved with these alternative diets are lower than those achieved after inducing a molt by withdrawing the feed, but are nevertheless acceptable. Any molting procedure should quickly take the entire herd out of production, keep the herd out of production until it has had an adequate rest period, and quickly bring the herd back into production after the rest period.
FOR INFORMATION ONLY
How to feed your laying and breeding flock. James Hermes, Oregon State University.
Principles of feeding small flocks of chickens at home. David Frame, Utah State University.
Moulting of laying hens. Mississippi State University.
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