Feeding Chickens Vegetables

[cleeoc]

I'm new to raising chickens. I currently have only 4 young hens approx 3 months old. My friend who also raises chickens told me not to feed them anything other than chicken feed or whatever they eat free range in the yard because they won't produce any eggs. I've been giving them romaine hearts and other lettuce that I don't use and they love it :-/ is this actually true? It seems odd to me.

 

[sourland]

They will lay eggs when they are mature whether you feed 'treats' or not. A general rule of thumb is that 'treats' should not make up more than 10% of their diet, but I have provided far more than that with no deleterious effects.