⠀ Treats

[bthompson]

How often do yall give treats. Our chickens are 21 weeks old. I have them on a layering feed now. Do I need to give oyster shells, grit or scratch? Ive read alot of post and just decided to post myself. I wld like to keep their diet organic. They havent started laying yet. But combs are very red and we feel they will soon.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

You can provide oyster shell in a separate container. It will supplement the 4% calcium in the layer feed. Birds that lay one egg a week may not need layer feed at all. Birds that lay an egg a day can use more calcium than that in layer feed.
Grit is important for the gizzard. I put it in a separate container next to the oyster shell container.
Appropriately sized grit is imperative if you are going to give treats or scratch. They should be on adult grit(#3) by now.
They don't NEED scratch but a handful in the morning or afternoon gives them an opportunity to do their natural behavior of 'scratching' for foodstuffs.
Keep treats/scratch to under 10% of total intake for nutrition's sake.

 

[redsoxs]

Technically, you shouldn't start them on layer feed until the eggs start - but yours should be close at 21 weeks, depending upon breed.
If they have access to the outdoors and are able to scratch and pick around they will likely acquire the grit they need. Most folks give oyster shell free choice. Hens just seem to know that they need to eat a little of that now and again to keep the egg shells hard.
In terms of treat, while their grower or layer ration should be the main thing they eat, treats are fine - even daily - as long as they don't compose the balance of their diet. Here's a link to the treats chart if you're interested: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chicken-treat-chart-the-best-treats-for-backyard-chickens

 

[bthompson]

Ok thanks for both comments. We hear do this now and do that and its little confusing and we want them to be healthly.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

It's hard to screw this up. Not too confusing if you break it down into simple terms. Forget what the feeds are called. It is all about the ingredients and more importantly, the guaranteed analysis. Always read that label and take note the calcium and protein percentages.

Growing birds need more protein, the younger the bird the more they need. About 18-22% when chicks. As they reach full size they don't need as much. About 16-17% is good for laying age birds.

Calcium should be about 1% for all non laying birds (growing birds, roosters and molting/nonlaying hens)
They can go to layer feed (4% calcium) if they're all laying. Otherwise continue a grower or finisher feed while providing oyster shell in a separate container for birds building egg shells.

All birds should have grit. It aids in digestion and helps develop the gizzard. While it is true that foraging birds may find appropriately sized grit, it is cheap so I provide it to all birds whether they are out foraging or confined to pens.
I offer grit from the time chicks hatch. An interesting anecdotal story on grit. I hatched a bunch of chicks and sold some to a friend. After some time it turned out she got several cockerels and I offered to trade her a pullet for a cockerel. I was about to butcher some cockerels from the same hatch so I brought it home and butchered it too.
The gizzard from the bird she raised was half the size of the gizzards of the birds I raised. Same breed, same line, same flock, same age.

 

[bthompson]

So I got our chickens some grit today. Gave them some in separate container from their food. They loved it. How much do I need to give them and how often?

 

[SueT]

So I got our chickens some grit today. Gave them some in separate container from their food. They loved it. How much do I need to give them and how often?

I would leave it out free choice all the time. I just sprinkle it on the ground in a corner of their run, but a container is fine too.

 

[bthompson]

Ok. Thanks. I thought of that. They knocked the container over lol.