When choosing feed for your hens, you will have to account for their age and your goals for them. You will need to use different feed for hens which will be egg producers than you will for those meant for meat production.
How to Feed Chicks
Start out your chicks on twenty to twenty-two percent protein for egg producers and up that to twenty-four percent for meat chickens. Use chick starter until the age of six to nine weeks (depending somewhat on the breed of hen and how quickly it matures). After maturity, the feed should be switched to "broiler finish" grains until they are ready for slaughter (if meat hens) - otherwise, continue with the egg feed.
Often, antibiotics are added to the feed of meat hens to prevent Coccidiosis. Even egg layers are often given these antibiotics unless they are being raised as free range or organic.
Often, those who raise their own meat chickens do so in order to avoid the large number of hormones given to commercially-raised chickens.
Adult Chickens
Adult chickens should be put on a 14% protein feed. Calcium is also very important for egg layers and for large breed chickens such as Jersey Giants.
Adult chicken feed comes in mash and scratch, pellets, and crumbles. The best way to get the most balanced diet for your hens 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 is available.
Veggies and Peelings
Leftover veggies like spinach, Romain, apple peelings, and whole grains like oatmeal, barley, and small amounts of fruit make your chickens healthier and happier. These are supplements, however, not replacements for chicken feed. Your chickens must have the protein and other nutrients that is provided by a good chicken feed unless they are totally free range in a very nutritious environment.
Just about anything that is not a meat product and that is fresh, it can be given to the chickens.
Chicken Tractors
A hen tractor has the advantage of allowing you 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 hens from daytime predators.
This movement will keep your yard from getting brown areas where the chickens have been.
Hazards
Beware of using fertilizers or pesticides in areas where the hens will be scratching. Chickens will eat just about anything, so they will peck at fertilizer granules.
They can also become poisoned from grass and plants where you have used weed killers or spray fertilizers. Whatever your chickens eat ends up in them and their eggs. Pesticides and chemicals can be in your eggs before the chicken shows any sign of illness.
When raised properly, hens can be great family fun and a source of excellent nutrition. When you feed chickens well they will provide you with years of fresh eggs every day.
Author Resource:
Visit Chicken Coop Plans for information about how to build your own chicken coop.
Take a look at Chicken Coop Kits for an easier project.
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