⠀ Will it be enough on its own?

[chickenmad129]

I worry that my chickens don't get enough nutrients out of their layer pellets so i give them bread, porridge and mealworms! I want to stop this habit as its expensive but how?.....

 

[DrMikelleRoeder]

When you get the urge, just step away from the bread, porridge and mealworms. None of these items are fortified with vitamin and minerals (and let me remind you that laying hens have a very high calcium requirement), so every time you provide those feeds you DILUTE the complete nutrition of the layer feed. You are actually making sure that they receive less nutrition than they would if they just ate their complete feed! Since we all know it is fun to feed treats, feel free to view these items as special goodies that they get in small amounts a few times a week. Scraps, scratch grains and other extraneous feeds should not comprise more than 10% of the total diet, but they can be lots of fun as occasional special goodies for the girls.