What should i feed pullets

Very informative thank you! Great article, well written and easy to understand. Thank you so much for the article. I find out that I have been giving my flock more scratch grain than I should!!!! Thanks for the information! Another note about scratch as a main diet Modern chickens do NOT lay like our grandparents chickens. A hen producing eggs a year will need much more feed than the less specialized landrace chickens of our forefathers that were lucky to produce eggs a year.

Hi, I thought your article was great, sumi , five stars. I was wondering if I could get your permission to tag this article in an article of my own, to demonstrate a healthy chicken's diet.

Please reply. SoftSilkie said:. Click to expand I let my babies free range half a dayb along with their mother and the rest of the flock including Clarence, the rooster at a fairly early age and they all have access to layer feed during that time. Do you think this is a bad arrangement where new mama and babies have access to layer feed for part of the day? Post comment. Insert quotes…. Depending on where you buy your feed, you might get accurate information about what you should be feeding your chickens at various points in their life - or you might not.

It's very important to match the type of feed - i. I remember being horrified early on, after having been told that a "flock raiser " feed was perfect for our growing mixed flock of chickens and ducks and bringing home a bag, only to find that it would have been perfect had we been planning on EATING our flock!

The feed store correctly recommended it for our mixed flock of chickens and ducks, but incorrectly recommended it to a mixed future LAYING flock. I always recommend staying away from any feed that is supposedly perfect for any number of species because it's usually not great for any single one.

Most of the "all flock" or "flock raiser" feeds have way too much protein and not nearly enough calcium for your chickens and ducks, so be sure to read the labels to be sure you know exactly what you're buying. The extra calcium in the layer feed can cause kidney problems in non-laying chicks and pullets, as well as weak legs or even death. Confused and not trusting what I was being told by our local feed stores, I did my own research, called a few hatcheries and feed companies and now feed our chicks, pullets and laying hens, as well as our ducklings and ducks, what they specifically need for each stage of life.

Remember that this is an imprecise science, so I generally switch to new feed at or about the ages listed - or when I run out of my last bag of the current feed you can even mix the tail-end of a bag into the new feed so as not to waste it.

So based on my own reading and research, plus more than a decade of raising any number of chicks, chickens, roosters, etc. Hi from Portugal!

I tend my neighbours chickens when they are away often. Their that is the chickens enclosed garden is very large and 7 hens , a cockrel and 2 turkeys share the space. There is also a separate enclosed space for a hen and her 2 adventurous chicks. All the fences seem secure but obviously not to the chicks! The chicks get into the main space frequently and also into the attached organic garden.

When I appear they scamper home. All the birds seem to get on well. Currently I am cooking an excess of haricot vert from the organic garden as a treat.

What a life!! What can I do? We enjoy cutting up a quarter cup of cucumber, about a blueberry each and a banana to split once a day. The chickens go crazy! We then do the same at night minus the banana so we may do squash or more cuke. Your thoughts?

Make sure your not over feeding something they cant contain themselves with. But we typically leave feed out and they feed on demand.

Its a different story on treats, do not over feed treats. I feed our RIR just about all kitchen scraps, veggies n fruit only.

They get a good diet but they have completely stopped laying. For a yr now. We were getting so many eggs, close to a dozen n a half. But, a yr ago they completely stopped laying. Nothing we feed them has changed. The RIR killed them. We got a RIR rooster, by chance , in the 12 chicks 8 yrs ago. He is HUGE n mean. Strange that they stopped all of a sudden though. I suggested this option because my three white Leghorn provide me two eggs almost every day.

My home offers chicken a better life than my friend can offer. They are still settling in, only six days, no eggs yet! The Brahma are one year plus old by the way. Unfortunately whilst my friend was catching the five Brahmas he inured the leg of one and it now hops around with obvious pain when she puts weight on her left leg. She cannot scratch for food only peck. She has to sit down a lot. My question is, can someone advise me if chicken have the power to make repairs like a human.

Every one seems to love them. This is a great article. I read that seeds in apple cores contain cyanide. I just fed them cored red delicious apples and they went crazy for them. Not sure if you left that part out or not. Also, I stay away from table scraps. Only the layered pellets and grains plus all the free produce I know they like I can take from one of my courier stops.

While there may be no harm in giving them table scraps, I fear I may forget something sometime which may be harmful so I stay away from table scraps all together.

As for their stable feed, I feed them layer pellets with a few grains added. My watering system is PVC and poultry nipples. I saw this on youtube and have to concur nothing makes more sense than this system.

They have access to 10 gallons of fresh clean water at all times. Keep up the info. We all need it and it helps us all make more educated decisions. We have an automatic feeder for our girls and they are healthy and happy, I think.

However, so is the growing population of magpies and bush turkeys that also graze happily. Do you have a solution for this? Since then, they have become more like pets and because I am so scared of them being killed, I started letting them into the laundry room each night and they sleep in a huge crate, then in the morning, they go back out to their coop.

However, after the attack, it took them some time to start laying again but then one by one they did and stopped again and have never, in about a year, laid again. They have very healthy diets, clean coops, no illness, no bullying, etc. Is this due to age or???

TY for your feed back! Love your site and info! I give my chickens apples, but I core them first and take out the seeds.

I read that the seeds were toxic. Is that not true? However, I am a bit concerned that they are going to be effected by all the smoke from the extensive bushfires this summer. Can anyone suggest ways to protect them or make sure they stay healthy? Apple seeds will NOT harm your chickens. On the farm, chickens eat tons of apples with seeds. You will also find that they prefer to drink out of mud puddles rather than clean water troughs.

My 3 Silki Brahma cross girls have just started laying, today we had our first shell-less egg. We feed layer pellets, fruit veg scraps, mealworms and mixed corn as treats. They have access to a bowl of crushed oyster shells and grit.

Is this likely to be the cause of shell-less egg? If we have salmon I cut the skin up into tiny pieces and they get that. In the summer they live watermelon rind.

In the winter here in VT I sometimes cook rice or oatmeal as a warm treat. They sure can be entertaining!! In the summer they love watermelon rind. When you feed your hens this omega-3 rich chicken feed, it may increase the amount of healthy fats and vitamin D in the eggs your chickens lay. However, it is not organic. I throw a half watermelon out at night and by morning the only thing left is the extreme outer skin. Is it ok to give them plain wheat for one day.

I have about chickens. My chickens will only eat laying mash or scratch. And table scraps. We have a dozen hens and one fantastic rooster named Woodwick. We just shoo them out and make it a point to share a bit of the bounty. Their all time favorite treat hands down is a dallop of unsweetened plain yogurt in the bottom of their treat pan as well as crayfish from our creek!

They all LOVE it! Makes us feel good to treat them to something special for all they do for us! Chickens kept in the type of cages advertised live short miserable panful tortured lives.

Yours sadly, Louise. I feel that a lot of the time, it is not the site that controls what ads are on their webpage. Often times, the ads you see are affected by your browsing history unless you have that setting turned off. On a separate note — please everyone use proper punctuation and grammar! If you and your family are concerned about the pesticide and GMO status of the food you personally eat, you may want to consider what you re feeding your chickens.

Feeding your chickens GMO products, then eating their eggs, may not align with your own values and health concerns. You are all supposed to be happy chicks! No need to be snarky on one side and passive-aggressive on the other. Treat everyone with dignity, respect and when possible…. Now lets go lay some eggs girls and leave the pecking order to the birds.

Hen admirer. What did I do wrong? Why was my content blocked? What can I do to modify my post to meet your standards? Please explain further on how I can pursue that message through your style?. Sincerely, Robert A. You are what you eat and whether you are raising them for eggs or meat, they need to be given whole foods, none of that processed garbage. Absolutely no bread, or pizza or pasta. Garbage in, garbage out. The brand of the apple cider vinegar pills that you choose should also be known for its effectiveness.

To make it even more off-putting, one of the major benefits to free ranging is specifically so they can eat bugs. That said, the ratio of chitinous shell to yummy innerds of meal worms is higher than BSFL. Super worms are a better chothice an meal worms. But mealworms, freshly grown are better than no bugs at all.

Your email address will not be published. Skip to content Search. Table of Contents. Chicken Feed Crumbles. Best Black Soldier Fly Larvae. Share this: Twitter Facebook. Related Posts. Not mentioned…Ginger can kill chickens, I accidentally offed two of mine years ago. What difference does it make? You can still give your girls apples, just dont give them the apple cores. It is higher then average levels of cyanide in apricot pits not arsenic.

Why is it so important to keep them on chick feed? I have 4 hens- raised from chicks. Do I feed them laying pellets only or as a supplement? Hi, should I boil all veg before giving it to my chickens? Hi Loren, A handful as a treat will be plenty! My hens are 18 weeks old, when will the hens start laying eggs? Can they eat a bit of raw spinach or silverbeet. I feed my girls, a lot of different things, but never spaghetti ha ha!

Is it ok to feed your chickens vegetable leaves, carrot tops, beetroot leaves, broccoli leaves? This site has given me so much information. Do you give the chickens uncooked or cooked rice? Also, Old fashioned oatmeal is ok? So long as they seem happy and healthy, is probably their age. I have 25 laying hens just 2 weeks old should they have constant food available. No problems with watermelon Tony!

What is the best way of eliminating mites from the chickens, coop, and nesting boxes. Can I feed my chickens Japanese beetles that I catch in my beetle bags? My cockerel are 7 weeks but not gaining weight. What should I feed them with? Since chickens like fruits and vegetables, will they eat my garden if allowed to be in it? Do you need to feed chickens some scraps daily or is it considered as a treat?

Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Subscribe to our Newsletter. See Price. Manna Pro Layer Pellets for Chickens. RentACoop Chicken Waterer. Layer hens are omnivores so can eat a wide variety of different foods. These feeds can come in pellet, mash or crumbed forms and are made up of a mix of grains corn, oats, soybeans , grit ground oyster shell or limestone and vitamins calcium.

Feed can be provided in a feed dispenser or container, and other seeds and grains such as wheat and corn could also be scattered in the environment to supplement their diet and encourage natural foraging behaviour.

In addition to a good quality poultry feed, a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables can also be given daily. Examples of raw fruits and vegetables that can be fed include: vegetable peels, bananas, apple, berries, carrot, bok choy, silver beet, spinach, cabbage or broccoli. As a treat your hens can also have some cooked food such as rice, pasta, beans, or bread in small amounts [ 1 ].