Looking for the best diet for my indoor chicken!

[chickennl0ver]

So I have a 3 year old indoor splash cochin and she is my absolute baby. I always try my best to make sure she is staying as healthy as possible but theres no limits to improvement. So I was wondering if anyone had any tips or suggestions for better food than the one I’m using for her now (Pictures attached) So her basic feed is the Purina omega-3 layer pellets (she does lay eggs daily) and this is the food she has 24/7 access to. Then each morning I give her usually 3-6 mealworms from the brand “The Honest Worm!” (Picture attached). then finally sometimes if she wants to scratch around outside/inside we sprinkle some of the ManaPro treats (either garden delight, or harvest delight depending on what we have at the time). She has occasionally has boiled egg or chicken safe fresh vegetables/fruit as a treat (although she is picky). Overall I know this may seem more than enough to most people but I just want what’s best for her, and if anyone knows of a feed thats healthier id love to hear your recommendations! (I will also attach some pictures of her, her name is pearls ) Thank you so much for any help!

 

[Sally PB]

I would suggest an All Flock or Flock Raiser feed. It has higher protein, to compensate for the "snacks" you're feeding. You will need to supply additional calcium on the side, like a small dish of oyster shells.

 

[Sally PB]

Everything that is NOT her regular chicken feed should be considered a snack. The feed is designed to meet all nutritional needs, and nothing else is necessary.

Which is not to say, don't give her snacks. But they should comprise no more than 10% of what she eats in a day.

My chickens' favorite snack is their regular food, wetted into a mash. It's a great way to use up the small dusty bits in the bottom of the bowl that they would otherwise never eat. I do dress it up with greens or other kitchen scraps.

I feed a Flock Maker by Kalmbach. It's 20% protein. Most layer feeds are only 16% protein.

Oh, and Hi Pearls! You are a very pretty lady.

 

[nuthatched]

Too many treats, My friend, cut those back to only twice a week.

 

[JedJackson]

If she is laying well and is healthy, then I see no reason to go to a new feed. But definitely cut down on treats. Eggs and meal worms are both fattening, especially so for an indoor chicken.

 

[chickennl0ver]

I would suggest an All Flock or Flock Raiser feed. It has higher protein, to compensate for the "snacks" you're feeding. You will need to supply additional calcium on the side, like a small dish of oyster shells.

Thank u for ur suggestion! although I didn’t mention this in the post, I do already have oyster shells that I have attempted to offer to her but she refuses to eat them (i’ve tried for over two years) That’s why I opted for the pellets that have included oyster shells so that she is still getting the nutritional value, she’s unfortunately just really picky. Except for the mealworms (which I was only giving her what it said was the right amount on the back of the bag) the other treats/snacks are NOT given everyday, 95% of what she eats is just her pellets. I’m definitely open to more input though!

 

[chickennl0ver]

Everything that is NOT her regular chicken feed should be considered a snack. The feed is designed to meet all nutritional needs, and nothing else is necessary.

Which is not to say, don't give her snacks. But they should comprise no more than 10% of what she eats in a day.

My chickens' favorite snack is their regular food, wetted into a mash. It's a great way to use up the small dusty bits in the bottom of the bowl that they would otherwise never eat. I do dress it up with greens or other kitchen scraps.

I feed a Flock Maker by Kalmbach. It's 20% protein. Most layer feeds are only 16% protein.

Oh, and Hi Pearls! You are a very pretty lady.

I 100% agree! (Also I just replied to your original post but I just saw you wrote this one as well) I think overall there’s mostly a misunderstanding on how many treats/snacks she actually gets. Like I said before, 95% of what she has is just the pellets. Funny enough wet food is actually her FAVORITE “treat”! we give her wet food everyday and she adores it. I will definitely check out that pellet by Kalmbach though! I of course just want to do what’s best for her As a side note, do you think I should cut the mealworms out? because like I said that is the only consistent “snack/treat” she gets and I was just going by the information on the bag. Thank you so much!

 

[chickennl0ver]

Too many treats, My friend, cut those back to only twice a week.

Hello! In specific, which treats are you referring to? because except for the mealworms (which she does get everyday, But I can absolutely change that, I was simply going off of the information that was on the bag) the other “treats” are only on occasion as I said in the post. She is by no means getting all of this everyday, 95% of what she eats is just her normal pellets. Her most common “treat” is just her pellets with some water mixed in. And when she is having the other things, it’s a very small amount (for example, if she was having a boiled egg she usually just has 1-2 small bites). Overall I think it’s mostly just a miscommunication although if i’m wrong i’d love to hear your perspective on it. Thank you for your help!

The main purpose of my post was mostly to potentially find some maybe “luxury” brands as I have no budget when it comes to her health. So that’s why I included all the things I use for her just incase maybe one of the brands wasn’t considered “good”. I didnt mean to imply she was getting all of this everyday!

 

[chickennl0ver]

If she is laying well and is healthy, then I see no reason to go to a new feed. But definitely cut down on treats. Eggs and meal worms are both fattening, especially so for an indoor chicken.

Ok thank you! I wasn’t in any rush necessarily to change her feed, It’s just for example if there happened to be one that was better and just a little pricier I would be more than willing to make the change. In your opinion should I stop giving her mealworms everyday? As I said in my other replies, I was simply going by what it said on the back of the bag as far as frequency/amount and so I have no argument if that information was incorrect. As for the other treats I’m not giving them often at all, and even then they are in very small quantities! She does go outside everyday as well for 1-2 hours (Less in the winter just because she doesn’t like the cold) but she gets plenty of exercise I have never observed her gaining or losing weight throughout the years. (except for when she was brooding last summer, but she was back to normal fairly quickly). Regardless, thank you so much for your reply! And if you have any other tips or information I am completely open to it!

 

[Sally PB]

If organic matters to you, there are organic feeds. They definitely are more expensive. Also some non-GMO feeds are out there.

I'm glad you posted that 95% of what she eats is her feed. Treats should be, well, just treats.

One thing about mealworms... they contain a lot of fat. So do black oil sunflower seeds (often referred to as "BOSS"). I would go easy on either of those for that reason, as it's hard to tell if a chicken is overweight. But the fat can accumulate around their inner organs and cause them serious health issues.