Hi, I am getting some 1 yr old female chickens. I have never raised chickens before and I want good feed for them, or maybe even make it myself. I really don't wanto spend a fortune but I also want to feed them good organic feed. Any pointers would be great. I also have no idea what kind of table scraps to give them. What is good and what is bad, I want my chickens healthy and happy so they can produce lots of eggs for us. Any help would be appreciated and thanks.
Hello, and welcome to the world of chickens. The bulk of their food supply should be layer food, found at any farm or feed store. They will need some oyster shell for added calcium- it helps keep the eggs strong. As for "treats", they like just about anything ( even fish and *gulp*... chicken). Usually we will toss our leftovers to the chickens - BUT... no sugary or salty foods, or processed foods. I also keep bread out of their diets- it doesnt have any nutrients. On cold days, I make them warm oatmeal with yogurt and fruit ( yes, they are spoiled). Or they get a veggie omelet. You can do a search on here for foods that are bad for chickens, but I think the list is quite small.
They do not *need* 'oyster shell'. If you feed a halfway decent quality feed for layers, they'll get everything they possibly need from that. If you are able to let them free-range, the bugs, grasses, seeds, small critters, and everything else they know to eat will help also, since one cannot get more natural than that. I've raised chickens for 25+ years and have never bought any 'supplement' stuff (oyster shell, grit, ad nausea) and my hens are always strong and healthy and lay fantastic tasting eggs with fantastically strong shells (*easily* twice the strength of store-bought eggs...I've stacked them 6 high/deep in a gallon bowl and never had a crack happen and more than likely could have stacked another layer or two). IMO, unless you're feeding poor quality feed, all those 'supplements' are nothing but a waste of money. The companies that make that stuff know though that there's plenty of ignorant folk out there who figure 'more is better' all the time and will waste their money *before* actually trying without that stuff first. (by the way, 'ignorant' does *NOT* mean 'stupid', just in case anyone decides to try and rag on me without reading a dictionary first)
