Strictly Crumble

[ebrake180]

Is it okay to feed chickens strictly crumble? I'm looking to get hens soon and live in California... probably won't be able to let them roam around with my psycho neighbors that call the cops because they saw me unload a small fire pit from Lowes lol

 

[DanEP]

Crumbles will give them a balanced diet as long as your feeding them the right crumbles for their age. With 1 day old chicks I feed one bag of starter then that runs out I switch to grower till their laying. At this point you can switch to layer feed or keep them on grower which is higher in its protein content than layer with oyster shell on the side. As long as all your girls are laying either option works. I quite often have a flock of mixed age girls so the grower works best in this case because layer has added calcium which is not good for pullets that aren't laying yet.
Most people that can't free range will also give the girls treats that can be anything from scratch to table scraps. If you do a search on this forum you will find a list of things you can feed and a list of things you shouldn't feed like citrus or onions. I will tell you this if you want the dark orange yolks in your eggs the girls will need greens.

 

[ebrake180]

Thanks! Yeah I want the orange yolks so I'll have to figure something out to get them some greens. Is it true they will squawk really loud demanding treats such as leftovers if they get used to treats and not eat their crumble food?

 

[ChickenMammX4]

Our chickens don't free range due to many predators in our area. In addition to their feed we offer them scratch, black oil sunflower seeds, mealworms, leftover veggies and fruit. We pull fresh grass for them everyday. They also find bugs and worms in their run. They lay eggs with dark yellow-orange yolks.

Chickens can be noisy rather they get treats and leftover or not.

 

[rides2far]

I live in Ca., too. Mine can't free range either. I fed mine Purina starter/grower until they were 20 weeks old, then I switched to a layer mix. I supplement mine with kale, zucchini, leftover rice, flaxseed, tomatoes, corn, etc. I also buy mealworms for them. Once a week they get a small can of cat tuna mixed with their daily salad. I microwave butternut squash every few days. It helps make their yolks more orange. I don't feed scratch, instead I'll give them a small amount of wild birdseed. I'm retired, so I have time to do this every day. It's expensive to feed them, but they're really healthy & their eggs r delicious!