diet defencies?

[yyz0yyz0]

I've been feeding my girls lots and lots of prep cook scraps from the kitchen at work and my feed usage has gone way down. How will i know if they are not getting the correct levels of nutrition from all the scraps?

the scraps consist of lots of seed cores, soft fruits, veg peelings plus once a week I get left over pizza which gives a good protein boost.

They still have access to unlimited layer feed, will they switch to the layer feed if they are missing out on some nutrients?

 

[chicmom]

Just like little kids.....feathered little kids.....The hens will eat the good stuff. If there's no good stuff left, then they'll eat the layer feed. They really don't know about the proper nutritional balance.

I don't think I would feed my chickens pizza......Certain seeds, like apple seeds, contain arsenic, which is poisonous. They would have to eat alot of those apple seeds, but still, they are poisonous.

You know, everybody is different. Alot of farmers throw their scraps out to the hens or hogs or goats......I feed mine layer feed, and I allow them to free range about two hours each evening before dark. I'll throw them some leftover veggies and fruits too.

If they look healthy and are active, I wouldn't worry too much. Now, if they're laying hens, and they start laying soft shelled eggs, or weak shelled eggs, then that might indicate they need more calcium. The layer feed has just the right amout of calcium for them. You could provide a dish of crushed oyster shells in the coop that they can peck at, for additional calcium.

Take care and I'm sure you're doing fine. I would really not give them pizza, but that's just me. Dairy (cheese) isn't good for chickens, and neither is pepperoni.....Pizza is a bit over the top I think....Also, if a hen is too fat, it can affect egg laying.....