Need help with giving my Chickens a good diet!!

[Smithschicks]

I am new to raising chickens so I am learning as I go along and I'm finding LOTS of great info on here but thought I would throw this out there. What is a good balanced diet to be feeding chickens? What should they & shouldn't they be eating? What are some things they really like? How often should they have treats? Do I feed them continuously all day? We are nursing one of our girls right now that has been sick for a couple days hoping she gets better soon. Would really love to hear what everyone else is doing, what's working & what's not.

Thanks for the help in advance!

 

[Birdlife99]

Hi
As for the every day feed, we give our flock a mix of shell grit, cracked corn and layer mix. We also keep a plastic tub in our kitchen called the " chook " bucket. Basically we just chuck any scraps and leftovers in there. Also we dig up weeds and give them to the chickens in there pen. Everyday in the afternoon we let them free range the yard to get bugs and spiders. Also when we are in the garden if we find worms or snails we give them to the chickens. As a treat we sometimes buy live crickets and they have a great time eating them Also what we do to keep their digestive system good is add 5mL of apple cider vinegar to 1L of water. We do this with all of our birds and have never had any digestive issues such as diarrhea since we started. This shall work with your sick hen. As for how often you feed them we have a grandpa feeder and fresh water with the vinegar in it available all day. I hope this helps

 

[JNB]

Hi.. Isnt it fun learning here and getting to read what others are doing or have done that works or not!! Great Place!!
So heres what I am currently doing.. its working very well for me.. But as I learn new info I do change things up a little sometimes.

I have 2 coops one of older hens and a roo and another of younger hens.

Everyone gets a 24/7 supply of a layer mix. Its 70% Layer Pellets, and 30% of cracked corn, some oats and other grains.
Free choice of Oyster shell.
Fresh water everyday with a little apple cider vinegar
Kitchen Scraps... Most all fruits and veggies extras or trimming.
For a treat and a boost they get a handfull of BOSS (Black Oil Sunflower Seed) They get this every couple days. Or when ever I dont have scraps to offer
I always add grass clippings to their runs.

In the winter months I usually put FLOCK BLOCKS in their coops esp during really cold stretches
Sometimes I cook oatmeal up and feed them this on cold days. I get creative and mix scraps and smashed egg shells into it , I recently started feeding extra eggs to my girls.. I scramble them or hard boil them and smoosh them a bit.. If I feed the egg shells I found that microwaving them for about 20 or 30 seconds dries them out and makes them super easy to smash into tiny pieces.

Also in the winter when the grass and fresh veggies fruit are not as available. I do feed my hens a good hay mixture. I know theres alot of different opinions about this. I usually sweep up the loose hay pieces that are left after I feed our other animals. Its smaller pieces.

I ve had my chickens for 2 years and have been very fortunate to have very healthy flocks.. No health issues at all.. I love my Chickies

 

[Smithschicks]

Thank JNB for the Reply!

Great Ideas you gave me, we have only had our girls since Jul 4th we got them from some friends from Church who were moving to Hawaii. I know lucky them LOL they go to Hawaii and we get chickens but personally I think we got the better deal we are having so much fun with them. We have been giving them Layering Mix, fresh fruit & veggies scraps, a critter mix that has sunflower seeds, corn, oats....., just yesterday we started giving them oyster shells I had never heard of that LOL. Also I will start adding apple cider vinegar to the water I hadn't heard of that either but have heard several on here that do that. I've given them oatmeal, yogurt & cottage cheese. I guess I should look into getting some BOSS, I've heard several people that give them that.


Yes it is fun learning! I homeschool my friends 2 boys and they are enjoying learning about chickens, helping to take care of them and especially when they get to pet them LOL.

 

[Birdlife99]

That sounds like a great diet you will have a healthy egg laying flock!