should I be feeding my chickens diffrantly?

[Fancie]

I read a post on here were someone feeds their chickens more than one type of food. Scratch and a basic feed. I understood scratch was a treat. So should I be feeding my birds something more??

Right now I feed them all chick starter. Next paycheck I will be buying the girls the laying food now that I have gotten my first egg. Sometimes they get corn as a treat, and sometimes a bit of table scraps. Is there some thing else I could/should be giving them.

Also while I am here... how important are oyster shells... should I invest myself in some of those as well?

 

[LynneP]

You're doing great and you need ground oyster for your layer unless it comes in the feed already mixed (ask). Most birds benefit from small amounts of fresh material for the plant enzymes which are not easily replicated in commercial feed and as they get older you can offer some scratch or other suitable treats, but for now stay with a balanced ration.

 

[gritsar]

You can check the label on the bag of feed. It's usually attached to the bottom of the bag. It will list the amount of calcium. The layer pellets I feed have 3% calcium. I offer them a little bit more in the form of oyster shell and am pleased with the strong eggshells.

 

[Brickman House]

My 14 girls have free choice layer pellets, but I also put some oyster shells in a free choice dispenser in the coop as well.

They seem to eat it as they need it, and honestly haven't eaten much in the last year. We get a 5 lb bag of oyster shell from our local TSC, and the girls have gone through maybe two bags in a year.

So having it available for us is pretty cheap and easy, and is good peace of mind. Our girls lay great eggs with HARD shells!