What all is in you chicken feed ?!?

[JacksHomestead]

I have a few questions about feeding chickens!!

I'm new to BYC and have a lot of questions please help!!
1. Do you change the water daily or wait till it needs to be filled?
2. I want to know if you put in certain seeds, grains, supplements, grit, and treats etc.
3. Do you mix scratch in with their feed or just simply toss it in the run for them to find?
4. Do you change up the feed for different times of the year like summer vs winter?
5. When should i provide the chicks with grit??
6. How do you store your feed?
7. What brand do you use?
8. What treats do you give them?
9. Do you feed laying hens differently?
10. Have you noticed what changes the yolk color?
THANKS -JacksHomestead

 

[redsix]

If the water looks clean, I leave it. This time of year we feed the chickens treats from the garden: yellow squash, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc. We have been feeding fermented feed in a miniature wooden trough in the run area. We give them some cracked corn in the outdoor trough as well. When winter gets here we will like buy some scratch feed. We built a shelf up off the floor in the chicken coop and store the feed in a sealed plastic container. Chickens should have starter and grower until they are old enough to lay eggs and then switch them to layer feed and crushed oyster shells as a calcium supplement. Green grass will make the yolks darker yellow. Chickens will eat a lot of grass and clover in the summer, if they can get it.

 

[JacksHomestead]

Thanks

If the water looks clean, I leave it. This time of year we feed the chickens treats from the garden: yellow squash, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc. We have been feeding fermented feed in a miniature wooden trough in the run area. We give them some cracked corn in the outdoor trough as well. When winter gets here we will like buy some scratch feed. We built a shelf up off the floor in the chicken coop and store the feed in a sealed plastic container. Chickens should have starter and grower until they are old enough to lay eggs and then switch them to layer feed and crushed oyster shells as a calcium supplement. Green grass will make the yolks darker yellow. Chickens will eat a lot of grass and clover in the summer, if they can get it.

Thanks, yes i have a garden and will be giving them some things from there and must the chicks have starter and grower because of the high protein levels im thinking?

 

[Ballerina Bird]

-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.

 

[JacksHomestead]

-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.

Thanks i love how everyone knows a lot and shares their experience so thanks!

 

[Ballerina Bird]

Thanks i love how everyone knows a lot and shares their experience so thanks! 

You are welcome! Good luck with your chickens.

 

[JacksHomestead]

Thanks im looking forward to this chicken adventure!!

 

[lindalouly]

Hi!!!! And welcome to the greatest hobbie in the world. I change the girls water everyday and have multiple buckets around because it is so hot. Grower feed is good... I made a mistake and bought all purpose and now I have to doll it up for them to eat... Black oil sunflower seeds are a great treat... And meal worms. I let the girls scratch in my compost.... Mainly yard waste and vegetables from the kitchen. They love my compost pile. I need to buy oyster shell cause my girls are now just laying and one of them popped out a soft shelled egg. They eat clovers and grass... When available. I don't feed them grass clippings when they are young cause they can get crop bound... Better for them to pick it fresh(smaller pieces) our yolks are orange in color and very good tasting!!! Good luck!!!!!!!! Don't forget grit at any age especially if you are going to let them eat anything besides chicken feed!!!!

 

[JacksHomestead]

Hi!!!! And welcome to the greatest hobbie in the world. I change the girls water everyday and have multiple buckets around because it is so hot. Grower feed is good... I made a mistake and bought all purpose and now I have to doll it up for them to eat... Black oil sunflower seeds are a great treat... And meal worms. I let the girls scratch in my compost.... Mainly yard waste and vegetables from the kitchen. They love my compost pile. I need to buy oyster shell cause my girls are now just laying and one of them popped out a soft shelled egg. They eat clovers and grass... When available. I don't feed them grass clippings when they are young cause they can get crop bound... Better for them to pick it fresh(smaller pieces) our yolks are orange in color and very good tasting!!! Good luck!!!!!!!! Don't forget grit at any age especially if you are going to let them eat anything besides chicken feed!!!!

Thanks for the tips really helpful !

 

[Ballerina Bird]

Thanks
Thanks, yes i have a garden and will be giving them some things from there and must the chicks have starter and grower because of the high protein levels im thinking?

Yes, to answer your question, starter and grower are higher in protein, which they need.

@redsix That is interesting about the grass tinting the egg yolks! Thanks for the info. That would make sense because I don't have any grass. I live in a drought state and have only drought-tolerant plantings, which they nibble on, but that's not the same thing as chowing down on lots of grass, so that might be why their yolks are deep yellow but not that amazing orange color I see in pictures.