New chickens

[cmcgoun]

Okay heres the thing I am getting chickens soon RIR's and I have read on one website that feeding them fruit will halt egg production. Is there any truth to that? I have been reading the forum and it sounds like everyone feeds there chickens fruit scraps! Please let me know, just so I can be sure I have good eggs all summer long!

 

[digitS']

I'd be curious to know if there's any definitive information out there on how laying hens eating fruit is such a terrible idea. I think that there's a little more to the story than just the "no fruit in diet" idea but I'm prepared to be enlightened.

Will chickens eat ripe apples? You bet! And, they'd enjoy eating a lot of other fruit, as well.

I believe that the problem with fruit in the daily ration is the general low-level of protein that is available in most fruits. A hen egg is 11% protein. If a hen eats 1/4 lb of feed a day and produces 1/4 lb of eggs (2 eggs), she will need a 11+% protein diet to do it. Of course, she has her own body maintenance requirements beyond just kicking out eggs. And, crude protein in her feed isn't the same as the high-quality protein she is producing in those egg whites.

A raw apple has .26% crude protein. That's ~ one-quarter of 1%.

Maybe if you prepare your favorite recipe of "Apple Meatloaf (with maple syrup topping)" for your hen, she will get sufficient protein to continue a steady production of her own high protein eggs. (And invite me over for dinner, too

!)

Steve

 

[TNmomwith3kids]

Never heard that one. Something to think about. My chickies 'snack' on fruit peels, etc. They love it to death...including apples that fall off of the tree - unripened.

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

We have like five apple trees around our house I HOPE they are ok for them to eat! Two of the trees are on either side of their coop! They are going to have a ball!