Livestock - Feeding Chickens - Revision Cards in Other Other

Feeding Chickens

Chickens need a balanced diet of protein, carbs, vitamins, and minerals
- protein is particularly important for growing chickens and for producing eggs.
a good layer will stop producing as many eggs if she doesn't have enough protein in her diet.
a free-ranging hen will be good at finding protein by foraging for meaty insects such as worms, slugs, and snails.
- but lots of hens will not have the ability to find those insects daily so need to feed that has all nutrition the hen needs
the type of feed given to chickens are dictated by their age.
- from hatching to 5 weeks old they will be fed chick crumbs
  - roughly 19% protein, and suitable for chicks
- from 6 weeks to 18 weeks, they are known as pullets.
  - they are given growers pellets or growers mash
    - typically has 15-16% protein
    - need more protein as they are growing
- when they start to lay eggs, laying hens need to be fed layers pellets or layers mash
  - has 15-17% protein
    - this helps them lay eggs regularly

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Chickens will need to have a constant supply of food throughout the day.
Chickens will eat when they need it and should go to bed with a full crop as they need lots of food to produce eggs.
Fully grown chickens eat about 120 grams of layers pellets per day
Check feeders every day to make sure they are topped up
It’s a good idea to have two feeders, one inside their coop run and one outside their run.
- To prevent fighting
- Will stop dominant chickens stopping chickens that are less dominant from getting their share of food.

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Need to eat small stones to help digest their food.
Chickens don’t have teeth so swallow whatever they chose to eat whole.
Any grit they eat is used to grind up food in the gizzard.
When keeping chickens, it is important to provide grit as they may not be able to naturally find enough grit.
Grit with oyster shells is better as the oyster shells provide calcium which will help the chickens lay eggs with strong shells.
You can choose to feed a handful of grit within their food, or just provide grit form a separate feeder.

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Chickens love corn and will come running for corn.
Corn is a way of taming chickens.
However, mixed corn is high in fat so should only be given as a treat, as an overweight chicken won’t lay as many eggs.
A handful of corn per hen scattered in plenty.

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Chickens will eat most things that you give them (within reason)
They will enjoy pasta, green veggies, cereals, raisins, bananas.
- Always make sure treats are freshly prepared.
Its nice to give them a treat but do make sure you are not giving them too many treats as they will fill up of treats and won’t eat the layers pellets.
Fat hens will not lay as many eggs.

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Should always have access to fresh water.
Refresh water daily.
In hot weather keep the water in the shade and check it more often as chickens won't drink hot water.
In very cold weather check their water more often as it will freeze over.

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Onions: if fed in large quantities they can cause anaemia or jaundice, and sometimes it can be fatal. This is because it contains thiosulphate which destroys red blood cells.
Avocados: avocados contain the toxin persin. This has been associated with myocardial necrosis, which is where the heart stops working, as the tissues of the heart are killed.
Apple seeds: the seeds contain cyanide which can kill chickens. Any other part of the apple is fine, so when giving them apple ensure they are seed free.
Citrus fruit: can cause a drop in egg production. Moderation is okay.
Dried, raw beans: uncooked beans contain hemagglutinin which can be toxic to chickens, but cooked beans are fine.
Chocolate or sweet things: chocolate contains a toxin called methylxanthines theobromine. Just like too much sugar is bad for humans, too much sugar can cause your chickens to be overweight leading to a drop in egg production.
Salty foods: chickens can suffer from salt poisoning, as they don’t naturally ingest a lot of salt.
Mouldy food: mouldy food should never be fed to chickens as the mould can cause illness and may be fatal. Overripe, wilted vegetables, or stale bread can be fed.

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Treats such as bread, cereals and pasta have little nutritional value and can cause chickens to be overweight.
Dairy products and too much iceberg lettuce can cause diarrhoea.
Chickens must not be fed food that has been prepared in a kitchen with any other animal products.

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