have new chicken tractor...do I still need to give them feed

[kprhok]

I just completed construction of my chicken tractor and have been pulling my 7 chickens around the yard.

Until now, I've been giving them chicken feed daily.

Now that they'll be grazing on my lawn and pasture, do I still need to give them a bowl of feed?

How can I tell if they are getting enough from the earth? Do they eat grass, clover, weeds? I have a wide variety of grasses in different areas.

Any advice on how to use a chicken tractor and possibly supplement with feed will be appreciated. I would like their diet to be as much "off the land" as possible.

 

[lorieMN]

yes they still need feed,,they should eat less but it should still be offered..in a tractor they cannot catch anough bugs to live off of

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Quote:
What she said. If they have a good bit of room in the tractor, they will be supplementing the feed with grass and bugs. Unless your tractor is HUGE they won't get enough to eat buy just eating what is in the area.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Yes, of course you still need to provide feed. Whatever they can forage for themselves will supplement their diet and lessen the amount of feed you need to provide, but it cannot replace it entirely.

 

[3chimama]

Yes, they still need feed.....