Okay, so at night, sometimes I focus my thoughts on how I can better my animals' lives, diets, activity, etc. Last night, I asked myself about the diet of my chickens. Are they getting enough to eat? Am I feeding them the right kind of feed? And ultimately came to the question that I would like feedback on.. Is layer's mash the right kind of feed to give to the entire flock? If it is, then great! If not, then, what should I give them in addition? Because that is what I have been giving them the past 3 years. They all seem to be doing well on just on layer's mash, but sometimes I wonder if they get bored of the same ol' meal every day. This flock does free range during the day, so they are able to find little goodies in their travels. They also get dinner scraps and their own egg shells back for calcium benefits. Do any of you mix the layer's mash with anything else? Also, as far as layer's mash, what form do you give it in? I have been experimenting with the different varieties: pellets, crumbles, etc. This last bag of feed I purchased from a local ag. center and it's more like a coarse powder (finer than crumbles). I personally, don't like it, but I'm not the one that has to eat it. The chickens seem to approve, as it has a nice sweet aroma to it and has bits of corn and other "stuff" to make it a balanced diet. I went and threw away the ingredient list, so I can't tell you exactly what other "stuff" is in it. But when I read the label, it appeared legit to me at the time. I guess the main reason I have these questions is because I want to be sure that my girls, and boys are the right weight. I worry sometimes that they might be too skinny- and I would rather have chickens that are a little on the chubby side than on the skinny side. Thanks for listening to me ramble on!
since this winter has been so hard i have been "cooking" for my chickens. they love it. i mix quick oats and corn meal with a lot of eggs, small pack of veggi,( i have been using spinach) tablespoon of honey and enough milk to make it soupy. then i pop it in the microwave to cook. it will dry on the edges so i may stir and repeat. until it is just mushy not soupy. you can add their own food to this as well.
my LF cochins eat Nutrena Naturewise All Flock pellets that are 18%...been eating them awhile and when they begin to lay i'm think of just a a dish/small feeder of oyster shell so they can have free choice of it and i wont need to switch to layer ...nothing against layer but i like the all flock my serama and d'uccle's get nutrena naturewise non medicated starter/grower with free choice oyster shell for the girls that are laying. and they get a small dish of nutrena's laying crumble as well...feed them the chick crumbles as the serama dont like the all flock and with the feeder i use the dont waste any so crumbles is ok for them both LF and bantams get scratch and alfalfa hay to eat as snacks
I feed Scratch and Peck 18% layer, the corn and soy free kind, fermented. When it froze hard here a week ago, I gave them feed dry because otherwise it would freeze. They definitely prefer it fermented. At this point I can't imagine feeding pellets. They are all hens that I got when they were about 18 months old and in variable states of bad health. They are very healthy and happy now, all six laying 4-5 eggs a week each.
