I've seen a lot of comments regarding the worry of not getting the "right" combination of vitamins & minerals, in fact I used to be one of those people. But to put it in perspective, as a human being in charge of creating my own feed rations, I do pretty well to get a balance of food stuffs, pay some attention to my protein & fat intake and take a multi-vitamin for wherever I may be lacking. I do not buy complete rations, nor would I be happy eating them all the time.
Our laying chickens are not A LOT different, they need around 4000 calories a day nearly half of which goes into egg laying... a little more in the winter months a little less in the heat of the summer. Now of those 4000 calories they need a good balance of protein & fat (good & bad), vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates & fiber for the most part. When moulting more protein less fat, when breeding more vitamins/miners & ANIMAL proteins, when laying a good balance, when showing feed like breeding but adding healthy oils as well (makes for lovely shiny feathers).
This is part of the reason to offer a variety of foods, based on your know how and based on what the purpose of the chicken is as well as how they are currently doing. It' doesn't HAVE to be as scientific as I thought actually. Of course formulated rations come about after lots of testing, but usually meet the needs of only one group of subjects, and also assume that same group of subjects does not have access to any other feeds, thereby formulating a feed that contains everything in "perfect" balance. If my chickens eat from the yard, I have disturbed the balance, if I throw in scraps from the kitchen, I have disturbed the balance. Not to mention as previously stated, the commercial bagged feed does NOT know if my chickens need more protein today or more greens today therefore in my mind, by allowing my chickens to CHOOSE, for which many studies believe they are capable of doing in proper proportions, then I know they are getting what THEY, the individual chicken in question, is needing or desiring.
THAT makes me feel better, even though there is nothing scientific about making me feel better.
about sprouts
Sprouting is a great way to add green protein, enzymes & amino acids to your chickens diets... the crude protein content increases every day the sprout is alive and after a week or two is at its maximum potential. And LOW calorie too!
Sprouts ARE NOT a valuable supply of vitamins & minerals, as they need time in the sun to produce those things.
Our laying chickens are not A LOT different, they need around 4000 calories a day nearly half of which goes into egg laying... a little more in the winter months a little less in the heat of the summer. Now of those 4000 calories they need a good balance of protein & fat (good & bad), vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates & fiber for the most part. When moulting more protein less fat, when breeding more vitamins/miners & ANIMAL proteins, when laying a good balance, when showing feed like breeding but adding healthy oils as well (makes for lovely shiny feathers).
This is part of the reason to offer a variety of foods, based on your know how and based on what the purpose of the chicken is as well as how they are currently doing. It' doesn't HAVE to be as scientific as I thought actually. Of course formulated rations come about after lots of testing, but usually meet the needs of only one group of subjects, and also assume that same group of subjects does not have access to any other feeds, thereby formulating a feed that contains everything in "perfect" balance. If my chickens eat from the yard, I have disturbed the balance, if I throw in scraps from the kitchen, I have disturbed the balance. Not to mention as previously stated, the commercial bagged feed does NOT know if my chickens need more protein today or more greens today therefore in my mind, by allowing my chickens to CHOOSE, for which many studies believe they are capable of doing in proper proportions, then I know they are getting what THEY, the individual chicken in question, is needing or desiring.
THAT makes me feel better, even though there is nothing scientific about making me feel better.
about sprouts
Sprouting is a great way to add green protein, enzymes & amino acids to your chickens diets... the crude protein content increases every day the sprout is alive and after a week or two is at its maximum potential. And LOW calorie too!
Sprouts ARE NOT a valuable supply of vitamins & minerals, as they need time in the sun to produce those things.
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