Afraid hens will teach babies how to eat eggs

[JackE]

I read where the feed we buy, does not have the animal/meat proteins in it, that the birds require. They can fill that somewhat if they are allowed to freerange. I put out some tins of catfood, for my birds, and they love it. That fills that missing animal protein section missing in the bag feed.

 

[hellokittyfive]

I plan on putting an external nest box on the coop. I have a hard time killing a perfectly good animal . . . .

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

There are lots of easy ways to incorporate animal protein in your birds' diets -
meat kitchen scraps/leftovers (if you are a meat eating household) - for our flock this is sufficient enough as we are a rather carnivorous bunch so there are plenty of meaty bits available each week to go into the "chicken bucket"
cat food - tinned or kibble
commercial fish pellet
game bird feeds - read the label, but they are more likely to contain animal protein than other poultry feeds - also more common to see animal protein in formulas labeled as "show bird" feed
tinned meat (ie tinned fish) - though you do want to be mindful of the amount of sodium, etc. used in the packaging of such stuff

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I plan on putting an external nest box on the coop. I have a hard time killing a perfectly good animal . . . .

That is something each person must decide for themselves and their flock - to me, an egg eating bird that I cannot rehome would be a perfectly good dinner.

 

[hellokittyfive]

Thanks for all of your suggestions Ol Grey Mare! I'll keep trying . . . .

 

[aart]

Quote: Ditto......A 'perfectly good' hen doesn't eat it's own eggs.

It is a personal choice or sometimes a necessity, I've already stewed a couple old hens this year that were 3yo and only laying 1-2 a week, one wasn't laying at all anymore...and there's a few more on deck along with the extra young cockerels, they will produce lovely and delicious meat and broth.
I don't have space or money to house and feed non productive birds.