How important is chicken pellets for chickens?

[aurimilky]

I have a flock of 10 chickens and I normally feed them chicken pellets which helps with their eggs, but over a week right now, my mum is refusing to buy any more chicken pellets, because her friend told my mum, that she does not feed her chickens and just lets them run around the farm eating and because my family also lives on a farm my mum has decided to stop buying chicken pellets.

1) How important is chicken pellets for chickens?
2) Is my mum doing the right thing or the wrong thing?
3) Will not having chicken pellets effect my chickens health?
4) Will my chickens start laying soft eggs? if so will they eat them?

Now my flock normally is free ranging around my mum's farm and near by fields.

Here is a list of what my mum has said to me:

1) They are eating to much. (bag lasts for around 2-3 weeks)
2) They are laying to many eggs. (I get 8 eggs a day from each of my 8 hens)

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

If you are gonna keep an animal, than you should provide feed. My birds range too but I also feed them. Just hoping they find enough to eat isn't humane. I know some people do this, and perhaps it can work in a tropical area, but animals in human care need feed provided.

You will probably have troubles down the road as deficiencies develop. Birds will have shorter lives too, and will be more prone to diseases, and parasites.

It is much cheaper to buy eggs from the store than it is to keep chickens. So your mom can't look at it like that. More than likely your birds are wasting a lot of feed. So switching to a different feeder may help to cut down on feed use.

Hopefully you can convince your mom to buy some feed. It is the responsible thing to do.

 

[danceswithronin]

Just hoping they find enough to eat isn't humane.

This. If you can't afford to feed your chickens and you're getting too many eggs from them, you need less chickens.

There are other things you can do to save money on feed though, like growing sprouting greens for them, raising mealworms, raising earthworms, and stuff like that. You can also feed them kitchen scraps like vegetable/fruit peelings, stale bread, and things to stretch their feed. Chickens can eat lots of different stuff.

You can also feed their own eggs back to them in the form of scrambled eggs, boiled mashed eggs, and crushed eggshells. The eggshells would help take care of their calcium intake.

 

[rjohns39]

What breeds of chickens do you have? Do you know if they are heritage or hybrid ?

 

[DobieLover]

Last October, I bought three pullets from a woman who did just what your mum wants to do with your chickens: let them find their own food. She didn't have a single feeder that I saw and there were chickens all over the farm.
When I got home with two white leghorns and a white rock, the first thing I did was wash up their legs, give them a good external exam and weighed each one. Before even putting them on the scale, two of them had very prominent keel bones. Their body condition scale was about 0.5 - 1.
These pullets were about 10 months old. After providing proper feed, in just 6 weeks, their weights changed as follows:
dominant WLH - went from 3.93 to 4.3 pounds (9.4% gain)
submissive WLH - went from 2.98 to 3.83 pounds (28.5% gain)
WR - went from 3.33 to 4.0 pounds (20.1% gain).

I think the data speaks for itself. Feed them!

 

[The Moonshiner]

Sell the eggs and use money to buy feed?

 

[aurimilky]

This. If you can't afford to feed your chickens and you're getting too many eggs from them, you need less chickens.

No my family has no problem with money. All of the other animals (cats, dogs and horse) on the farm are getting feed as normal.

There are other things you can do to save money on feed though, like growing sprouting greens for them, raising mealworms, raising earthworms, and stuff like that.

Thanks I look in to that.

You can also feed them kitchen scraps like vegetable/fruit peelings, stale bread, and things to stretch their feed. Chickens can eat lots of different stuff

Yes they do get kitchen scraps like vegetable, fruit and bread.

You can also feed their own eggs back to them in the form of scrambled eggs, boiled mashed eggs, and crushed eggshells. The eggshells would help take care of their calcium intake.

No very bad idea, I don't need egg eaters in my flock.

What breeds of chickens do you have? Do you know if they are heritage or hybrid ?

Most of my chicken are X breeds. I have also got 1 cream crest leg horn and 1 white hen.

Last October, I bought three pullets from a woman who did just what your mum wants to do with your chickens: let them find their own food. She didn't have a single feeder that I saw and there were chickens all over the farm.
When I got home with two white leghorns and a white rock, the first thing I did was wash up their legs, give them a good external exam and weighed each one. Before even putting them on the scale, two of them had very prominent keel bones. Their body condition scale was about 0.5 - 1.
These pullets were about 10 months old. After providing proper feed, in just 6 weeks, their weights changed as follows:
dominant WLH - went from 3.93 to 4.3 pounds (9.4% gain)
submissive WLH - went from 2.98 to 3.83 pounds (28.5% gain)
WR - went from 3.33 to 4.0 pounds (20.1% gain).

I think the data speaks for itself. Feed them!

Thanks that helps

 

[danceswithronin]

No very bad idea, I don't need egg eaters in my flock.

I have always fed my chickens scrambled eggs and crushed eggshells and I've never had a problem with egg eaters in my flock. Probably because I feed my chickens enough crumbles and other things that they're full and don't feel tempted to eat their own eggs unless they are served to them as a recognizable treat. Scrambled eggs and crushed eggshells (crushed down to a fine grit) look nothing like their laid eggs.

 

[aurimilky]

I have always fed my chickens scrambled eggs and crushed eggshells and I've never had a problem with egg eaters in my flock. Probably because I feed my chickens enough crumbles and other things that they're full and don't feel tempted to eat their own eggs unless they are served to them as a recognizable treat. Scrambled eggs and crushed eggshells (crushed down to a fine grit) look nothing like their laid eggs.

I tried feeding my chickens scrambled eggs and crushed eggshells before and I got egg eater for many weeks and they stop eating the eggs after I add some golf balls to their nests.

 

[rjohns39]

Heritage breed birds with good foraging skills have been raised for centuries where all they got for feed is table scraps. They were often eaten by the time they were two or three years old.

That said, for optimum health and best yield a good balanced feed is required. @DobieLover 's data is quite telling.

As for the eggs, when I get too many and I boil them, crush them up and feed them back to the birds. No egg eaters here. Just keep in mind that eggs are fairly low in protein (about 12%).

As for quantity of feed, pro's who use grass based systems, feed 4 1/2 ounces per bird per day for max yield and minimum feed. They feed half in the morning and half in the evening. They also use multiple feeding stations.