What foods can i give molting chickens?

[Annalyse]

Best and healthy foods/table scraps or anything to give to molting chickens.

 

[Fluffy Lambs]

Best and healthy foods/table scraps or anything to give to molting chickens.

@U_Stormcrow

 

[Fluffy Lambs]

Best and healthy foods/table scraps or anything to give to molting chickens.

Flock raiser is what I feed mine.

 

[Annalyse]

Flock raiser is what I feed mine.

That's what I feed mine

 

[Fluffy Lambs]

That's what I feed mine

Table scraps shouldn't exceed 10% of your chicken's diet by weight, is what I've always read.

 

[NatJ]

Best and healthy foods/table scraps or anything to give to molting chickens.

If you are worried about protein, you could give them some chick starter. It has more protein than most other chicken foods.

And if you add water to the chick starter (or to any other chicken food), the chickens seem to really love it!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Best and healthy foods/table scraps or anything to give to molting chickens.

1) The best feed you can give chickens, at any stage of life, is a nutritionally complete diet.

2) The "thumb rule" is that treats (anything which is not a nutritionally complete diet, no matter how "healthy" it might be said to be in isolation) should not exceed 10% of a chicken's diet, by weight, daily. The 10% figure is arbitrary, yes, and imperfect - but its a good guide for the point beyond which potential nutritional imbalances are assumed to risk the long term health of your birds, particularly if you already feed a diet at or near nutritional minimums.

3) Molting involves feather production at accelerated rates. Most birds benefit from increased protein at this stage in their life to assist in ensuring they have all the building blocks their bodies need to rapidly produce those feathers. Seeking out additional sources of Methionine (an essential amino acid critical to feather production), or a complete feed high in Methionine as their daily ration is also beneficial. See also. and also.

4) if you obey rule 2, chickens are reasonably intelligent (in their own way) and will frequently disregard scraps they don't want/need. Still, if you make a habit of it, best to not always offer the same scraps. In moderation, watermelon (even the rind!) is very popular, cooked peas, cooked meat scraps (careful of the fat! - think more of the leavings when you make a big pot of broth/soup), green leafies, numerous herbs, carrot, radish, etc.

The majority of posters active on BYC in the feed forums recommend, for the typical backyard owner, of the typical backyard flock, following typical backyard management practices the use of an All Flock/Flock Raiser type feed, together with sulpplimental oyster shell in a separate dish, for all of your chickens, all of their lives.

 

[Sally PB]

@U_Stormcrow, what about Calf Manna as an added source of protein?

 

[U_Stormcrow]

@U_Stormcrow, what about Calf Manna as an added source of protein?

Low Methionine (though no lower than many complete poultry rations), but otherwise acceptable. At 25% protein, 3% fat, 3% fiber, 1% Calcium +/-, it looks a lot like some gamebird feeds. None of the trace minerals appeared in levels which might be concerning to me (the "blurb" describing it first listed horses and goats, so of course I looked at copper...)

 

[Rldad1]

I use Feather Fixer.