Feeding fruit and veggies daily

[Ginger buckley]

Morning, every morning I make my girls a mixture of kale, blueberries, grapes zucchini banana's, corn.. Enough for every chicken to get 4 or 5 bites of everything lol.. They eat plenty of layer feed also. It's the best start to my every day, they wait for it and are so very excited to see me come into pen.. I have 4 year old girls and three 18 week girls who just started getting small amounts of same thing.. My family think I'm crazy for feeding them that daily but I enjoy it and so do I .. So my question is am I doing them harm? I googled everything that I feed them but this is one of the many reasons I joined BYC for all your wounderful feed back..

 

[JacinLarkwell]

As long as the feed is 90%+ of their diet, I think you're safe

 

[Weeg]

It’s actually beneficial to them!
Chickens eat a diet mostly of grains. They're built for that, but it also means its low in antioxidants, and omega 3's are always helpful since grains are very very high in omega 6's, which create inflammation. Another touch on this, big brand chicken feeds can contain waste kitchen products. So basically whatever is leftover from grain based people food. This can be bread, baked goods, etc. That is going to be very high in omega 6's. There are lots of plants, such as hemp seeds, that have omega 3's. Antioxidants are very important since we all have free radicals, which creates oxidative stress, premature aging, cancer, and lots of other diseases. If you don't get antioxidants, you will succumb to those side affects. Thats why chickens should get lots of forage, fruits, and plants, especially laying hens who age so quickly.
Because of this greenery, forage, leafy greens, and non starchy vegetables and berries are incredibly important for chickens. I’m so glad your able to give it to them daily! What a treat for them and you.

 

[Ginger buckley]

It’s actually beneficial to them!
Chickens eat a diet mostly of grains. They're built for that, but it also means its low in antioxidants, and omega 3's are always helpful since grains are very very high in omega 6's, which create inflammation. Another touch on this, big brand chicken feeds can contain waste kitchen products. So basically whatever is leftover from grain based people food. This can be bread, baked goods, etc. That is going to be very high in omega 6's. There are lots of plants, such as hemp seeds, that have omega 3's. Antioxidants are very important since we all have free radicals, which creates oxidative stress, premature aging, cancer, and lots of other diseases. If you don't get antioxidants, you will succumb to those side affects. Thats why chickens should get lots of forage, fruits, and plants, especially laying hens who age so quickly.
Because of this greenery, forage, leafy greens, and non starchy vegetables and berries are incredibly important for chickens. I’m so glad your able to give it to them daily! What a treat for them and you.

Thanks for the education, that was great information.. It's a stretch for me to afford daily but I would never stop, they love it way to much!

 

[saysfaa]

Morning, every morning I make my girls a mixture of kale, blueberries, grapes zucchini banana's, corn.. Enough for every chicken to get 4 or 5 bites of everything lol.. They eat plenty of layer feed also. It's the best start to my every day, they wait for it and are so very excited to see me come into pen.. I have 4 year old girls and three 18 week girls who just started getting small amounts of same thing.. My family think I'm crazy for feeding them that daily but I enjoy it and so do I .. So my question is am I doing them harm? I googled everything that I feed them but this is one of the many reasons I joined BYC for all your wounderful feed back..

Each gets 4 or 5 bites of each thing or each gets 4 or 5 bites of the mix?

 

[Ginger buckley]

Each gets 4 or 5 bites of each thing or each gets 4 or 5 bites of the mix?

4 or 5 bites of each thing I give them 16 blueberries but I cut in half for them so it's more bites lol like 10 grapes cut in 4ths.. Pretty sure that's main reason family thinks I'm over top, I spend half hour preparing their meal..

 

[Hermits Garden]

Thanks for the education, that was great information.. It's a stretch for me to afford daily but I would never stop, they love it way to much!

I feed mine wet mash--the same food as they have in their feeders--and they go crazy over it and wait impatiently every morning for me to bring it. I also cut weeds for them (we can't let ours free range) and give them the occasional cut up roma tomato or some grated zuchini (one tomato or 1/4 a zuchini for 19 chickens). They will get just as excited over some romain or kale without so much of the cost... but try the wet mash too. You're already buying it, and for some reason, they think it's a treat.

 

[saysfaa]

4 or 5 bites of each thing I give them 16 blueberries but I cut in half for them so it's more bites lol like 10 grapes cut in 4ths.. Pretty sure that's main reason family thinks I'm over top, I spend half hour preparing their meal..

I get the half hour a day prepping their meal. I've invested a lot of time to their food too, including cutting up grapes and tomatoes into tiny pieces so they can each get some. Otherwise, Spice gets most of it.

I also think some fresh food most days is good for them. It has factors the either don't show up in nutritional analysis or interact with other parts in the food to the benefit of the chickens.

Ten percent of their diet is about a tablespoon each, though. Keeping treats to ten percent or less is a little arbitrary, maybe, but chickens are pretty small so there isn't much volume to work with to get all the other nutrients they need into them. Something to think about. Oh, and you can't really go by how much they like something. They won't pig out overall but they certainly will pick out favorite parts out of a mix.

 

[30featheredfriends]

i also make "salads" for my girls about every other day. they consist of any combination of the following: cucumbers, lettuce, cabbage, celery, tomatoes, apples, cooked/crushed eggshells. If i have leftover "human" dinner elements (cooked rice, mashed potatoes, fresh corn, etc) I toss it in there as well.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

The more you add to the diet the greater the percentage of protein needs to be in the chicken feed.

Layer feed is typically at a minimum as it is. I've seen 15% protein in some brands.