Some Crop Info please!

[ruth]

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Mine also go ape-crazy for live crickets. Really fun to watch. Throw them down one at a time and watch a real, live, game of "Cricket" - or dump the whole box and watch the craziness.

I also toss out hand fulls of dry dog and cat food. Everyone loves it.

As I said, feed them just about anything and everything. They really love all forms of meat. I have one hen that is always on stand-by for when we feed the dogs. We mix dry dog food with a canned wet food that has these huge "meat" hunks. "Blackie" (the chicken) will barely wait till the can has been opened then she starts grabbing huge chunks and swallowing them whole. It's so funny. I swear you can see the chunks go down her throat. The dogs are sitting, waiting patiently for their food and you can see the look on their faces, like "hey, wait, she's eating the best part". We have six dogs including two German Shepherds and two Great Pyrenees and they will all let Blackie take their food right out of their bowl or will share with her.

 

[loujen]

yall feed your chickens better than i feed my kids lol...i didnt hink chickens needed all that stuff cant you just feed them corn and maze?

 

[tulie13]

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If you feed straight corn, they won't get enough protein to lay properly, or enough of a variety of vitamins/minerals. Unless you basically FREE RANGE them, and they mostly feed themselves on plants and bugs, and the corn is just "a treat".

If corn is their main diet, they are likely deficient in some vitamins, and almost certainly deficient in protein, which leads to slower growth and poor egg production. Also, too much corn/starch in the summer can cause them to get too hot, I have heard.

Corn is a treat, not "feed", although it is often used IN feed. I'm assuming when you say "maze" you mean "maize" which is basically corn?