What all is in you chicken feed ?!?

[JacksHomestead]

I am so glad i found this site everyone is so nice and informative! You all answer any questions us newbies have!
You can find so much info about different breeds and reviews on products! We can learn things from incubating chicks to coop plans to treating sick hens!
Im so glad that i can be apart of this wonderful sight with wonderful people!!!

I LOVE BACKYARD CHICKENS

 

[jacquegreen]

No I use a 55 gallon drum, it last 5 days... it also has a float valve in it so I can leave a hose attached and it will self fill if I choose...
My birds get a lot of extra foods, fresh fruits and vegetables every day as well as other misc treats...
I find mixing it in the food causes a lot a waste, the birds will dig through the food for the treats and toss the good food on the ground...
Nope
Technically a bird eating commercial feeds with no solid grains does not need grit as the food it already processed, so a chick a commercial chick starter feed does not necessary need grit, but many add it just because, they can have it from day one...

Nothing wrong with offering grit, it's natural to them so even if they don't technically need it it won't hurt...
Steel garbage cans out of the weather... Steel cans can be used in a shed or other shelter without worries of rodents getting in...
Loaded question, I don't really stick to one brand, I get what I can where I can when it's convenient and the price is right... Lately that has been a lot of the ManaPro from Walmart, a mix of their HOG14 and layer feed as to dilute the calcium in the layer feed since I have a mixed flock... If I get to the local feed store with their early closing hours I will get an 'All Flock' feed....
I have a hookup at a local grocery store, I get to pick over all the damaged or day old fresh produce, as well as other day old items they are tossing out for the day before they toss it in the garbage... So my birds get a constant variety of stuff, always fresh fruits and vegetables, sometimes breads other times dairy products like yogurt or cottage cheese, cereals, grains or whatever...
I have a mixed flock, so they all get fed the same, and there is always an offering of oyster shells for the hens to self supplement their calcium...
Dark leafy greens like spinach, kale, collard greens, brussel sprouts, and broccoli to name a few will turn the yolk a deeper orange...

 

[jacquegreen]

We always said all are chickens table scraps and vegetables breads and let them graze in an open field as well. The more variety they get in their diet the better the eggs will be! !!

 

[jacquegreen]

-If it's very hot where you live, changing the water daily is helpful because chickens often like cool water so it encourages them to drink. Mine always visit the waterer right after I change it on hot days.
-I give them a few black oil sunflower seeds (BOSS) with a little scratch at treat time, since the oils are good for them.
-I don't mix scratch and feed because I want to make sure I can monitor that they are getting only a very small percentage of scratch relative to their feed. I scatter a little scratch in the run when I want to call them back from free ranging. I stop the treats fairly early in the day so they will fill up on their healthy feed before bedtime.
-I store feed and scratch in the 25-lb airtight plastic dog food bins that Target sells. But I keep those bins indoors; use something different (thicker plastic or metal) if you are storing outdoors so rodents don't chew through.
-I feed them an organic brand called Modesto Milling; I know someone who has a seven-year-old Polish who still lays and has been eating that brand her whole life. It's the same feed all year, but I have very mild winters so others might do something different.
-I got my pullets at 10 weeks and made grit available right away. I then changed from chick grit to layer grit as they got bigger. There is always grit available (I order it from a company called Scratch and Peck), but they don't use it anymore because they have free range time every day.
-For treats, they like scrambled eggs, yogurt, dried mealworms, kale, chard, and apples (I have an apple tree and they enjoy rolling the fallen apples around and pecking at them). Chickens vary in what they like -- some people say theirs won't go near yogurt, and others say their chickens love stuff that mine won't touch (like watermelon).
-I have only laying hens, who get layer feed and also free choice oyster shells as a calcium supplement. The yogurt is good for that, too.
-Mine don't produce those super orange yolks, and I asked about that a while back on this site, and someone posted that she thinks it's actually a breed thing -- all her hens eat the same stuff, but her Buffs lay orange yolks while her other chickens don't. I think some feeds have marigold in them to color the yolks.

 

[jacquegreen]

I didn't have expensive water so I used a small children swimming pool with rocks in it that were at the water height and I buried it down into the ground and let the water hose dripping it all around they kept the water clean and their chickens never ran out of water even when it froze in the winter