A nutritious diet is the best investment for keeping chickens healthy, as well as the humans who rely upon them for eggs and meat. Here are guidelines for feeding your birds in a manner that is based on sound research, as well as our collective years of experience.
Important Aspects of Your Chicken's Diet
Feed
We recommend using a commercial prepared feed that is appropriate for the life stage of your chickens. This helps ensure that your birds are receiving the correct amount of proteins, carbohydrates and fats as well as all necessary vitamins and minerals. There are a number of regional feed companies that make excellent products, some organic and some using locally sourced grains. We recommend you avoid any feed that lists its first ingredient as "processed grain product".
Types of Feed
Feed comes in three main types of product: mash, pellets and crumbles. Mash is the most unprocessed of the feed types, as it is whole grains/seeds that have been ground and then vitamin/mineral mix added. While it is our preferred type of feed, it does have the shortest shelf life and should be used within a month of being produced to have the highest level of nutrition. Pellets are made by processing mash through cooking, then shaping it into bite sized pellets. This type of food has a longer shelf life, but should still be used within a maximum of six months after production. Crumbles are the most processed of the feed types, as they are pellets that are crushed into smaller sizes, normally for small birds such as chicks or some bantams.
Feed for Different Age Groups
Feeds fall into three basic age groups. We find that in all age groups, heritage and standard-bred birds do better on a higher protein feed than the lower protein feed values developed for the industrial and hatchery breeds.
Chicks and growing birds should have full time access to feed, without rationing. It is important to ensure that room is provided for all birds to access the feeders at the same time. This keeps more aggressive birds from guarding the feeder from meeker birds. To keep feeders free of manure and bedding, place them at back height of the chickens. This will also help keep the birds from wasting feed as they will not be as easily able to scratch it out of the feeder and onto the ground.
While heritage birds are better at not overeating than industrial breeds, we do suggest that once they reach adulthood and begin laying their food be rationed. Each adult bird should have an ounce of feed per pound of body weight per day. By rationing feed, especially if feeding a mash, they are less likely to pick through the feed for favorite morsels and more likely to clean up all the food. This helps make sure they get all the nutrients contained in the feed.
One of the primary reasons to not free-feed adult birds is to keep them from becoming too fat. Overweight birds are not only more likely to show decreased egg laying, they also may develop something called fatty liver hemorrhagic syndrome. This is one of the leading noninfectious causes of death in backyard chickens, especially hens in limited space runs. Birds with this disease have large amounts of fat deposited in their liver and abdomen. This often results in an enlarged liver that is easily damaged and prone to bleeding.
Water
Chickens will consume twice as much water, by weight, as feed. They should have access to clean water at all times. Water is critical to egg production, and intake may increase dramatically once laying begins. To ensure adequate water intake, and with it egg production, it may be worthwhile to monitor water temperatures during extremes of weather. Providing cool water during hot summers and slightly heated water during freezes will help birds consume water needed for good egg production.
A number of water additives can help prevent or alleviate certain issues in poultry. Apple Cider Vinegar can be added at a rate of one tablespoon per gallon of water. During the summer, it is great to help combat heat stress. At all times of year it drops digestive pH slightly to increase food efficiency and help provide a favorable environment for beneficial gut bacteria. However, since it can have an effect on the bird's level of calcium, it should be provided rotationally rather than all the time. Birds undergoing a period of stress may benefit from a boost to their immune system by the addition of garlic to their water. One clove, cut lengthwise, can be soaked overnight in five gallons of water to release the allicin. Probiotics are live beneficial microorganisms that can be purchased as a supplement and added to water to help promote better gut health and exclude harmful organisms such as Salmonella and E-coli.
Grit
Chickens do not have teeth, and rely on the action of small stones they ingest to help them digest the seeds and grains they eat. We highly recommend that all birds, at all times of their life, have free access to appropriately sized granite grit. This is whether they free range or spend their life in a yard. Having access to appropriately sized grit increases feed efficiency by 10%-15% and is a simple way to help your birds utilize the feed you provide them. Grit can be provided in a separate feeder in the coop, or added to the feed. In either case, the birds will take only what they need.
Fiber
About 5% of your poultry's diet should be fiber. Both soft and hard fiber are beneficial. A good soft fiber is corn, which is part of many commercial diets. The best hard fibers are oats, sunflower seeds and alfalfa meal. Higher than 5% fiber levels decrease the caloric content of feed, and are not beneficial. A mix of soft/hard fiber spreads throughout the digestive tract by fiber type. This fiber mix, together with access to granite grit, is a key tool in helping control internal parasites such as worms. If fed throughout the bird's life, and combined with good husbandry practices such as keeping birds on clean substrates, it will result in controlling parasite levels and eliminate the need to ever use commercial wormers with your flock. We believe strongly in the adage that if you need to use wormers with your birds, there is something important missing in your flock keeping practices.
Probiotics
Chickens have a complex mix of beneficial bacteria in their digestive system, but are also susceptible to harmful gut pathogens if their diet or environment are not well managed. One way to help your chickens keep a healthy gut is to provide them with probiotics. These are beneficial bacteria, that not only help with digesting food but also, through competitive exclusion, keep the harmful bacteria at bay. Commercial probiotics can be purchased and added periodically to your bird's water. Another method that your birds may enjoy more is to feed them each a tablespoon of unsweetened, plain yogurt once a week. It can be fed plain, or mixed with rolled oats so that it coats them and makes clumps that are easy to feed. The addition of the rolled (not whole) oats adds a dense fiber that helps with lower gut health and parasite prevention.
Calcium
Once pullets begin to lay eggs, they should be given supplemental calcium. Most layer feeds use crushed limestone, of which only 25% is easily utilized. A better form of calcium is oyster shell, of which 60-70% is used. Crushed egg shells are fine, as long as not recognizable to the hens as eggs. Whatever form of calcium is provided, it should be available free feed for the hens, who will self ration what they need. If supplemental calcium is not provided, hens will extract calcium from their own bones to make their eggs, leading to serious health issues. Young pullets who are not yet laying should not have added calcium in their feed, as it can damage their kidneys.
Treats & Greens
No more than 10% of your birds daily diet should be treats or scraps. This ensures that they get the necessary nutrient levels needed to grow and lay well. A handful of wild greens, consisting of things like dandelion, chick weed, clover and tender grass, will be as appreciated by the birds as less healthful items. Limit mealworms as they contain a fair amount of fat and the dried ones often originate in China and may contain preservatives. Tree-dropped apples in fall are a good source of prebiotic fiber, while a head of cabbage in winter can help a flock relieve the boredom of a rainy day. The seeds from squash and pumpkin are relished and provide good dense fiber for lower gut health, while a handful of sunflower seeds in the shell provide the same.
Feed Storage
Mash feeds, while less processed than pelleted feeds, have a shorter shelf life. Their best performance is within 14 days of processing. Your goal with mash feeds should be to use them within 30 days of milling. Store in as cool and oxygen free of an environment as possible. A metal garbage can works well, and has the added advantage of keeping your feed safe from pests. Pelleted feeds have a longer shelf life of approximately six months. Checking the processing date of whatever feed you buy is critical for getting the best results. Whole grains, such as scratch grains, store very well if kept in a cool, moisture-free environment.
Important Aspects of Your Chicken's Diet
- Feed
- Water
- Grit
- Fiber
- Probiotics
- Calcium (for layers)
- Greens/Wild Foods/Treats
- Food Storage
Feed
We recommend using a commercial prepared feed that is appropriate for the life stage of your chickens. This helps ensure that your birds are receiving the correct amount of proteins, carbohydrates and fats as well as all necessary vitamins and minerals. There are a number of regional feed companies that make excellent products, some organic and some using locally sourced grains. We recommend you avoid any feed that lists its first ingredient as "processed grain product".
Types of Feed
Feed comes in three main types of product: mash, pellets and crumbles. Mash is the most unprocessed of the feed types, as it is whole grains/seeds that have been ground and then vitamin/mineral mix added. While it is our preferred type of feed, it does have the shortest shelf life and should be used within a month of being produced to have the highest level of nutrition. Pellets are made by processing mash through cooking, then shaping it into bite sized pellets. This type of food has a longer shelf life, but should still be used within a maximum of six months after production. Crumbles are the most processed of the feed types, as they are pellets that are crushed into smaller sizes, normally for small birds such as chicks or some bantams.
Feed for Different Age Groups
Feeds fall into three basic age groups. We find that in all age groups, heritage and standard-bred birds do better on a higher protein feed than the lower protein feed values developed for the industrial and hatchery breeds.
- Starter: A 20-24% protein feed for chicks up to 12 weeks of age.
- Grower: An 18-20% protein feed for young birds from ages 12-20 weeks.
- Layer: 16-18% protein feed with added calcium for laying birds. Young pullets can be kept on an 18% Grower until such time as they begin to lay, normally around 24 weeks of age during good light conditions.
Chicks and growing birds should have full time access to feed, without rationing. It is important to ensure that room is provided for all birds to access the feeders at the same time. This keeps more aggressive birds from guarding the feeder from meeker birds. To keep feeders free of manure and bedding, place them at back height of the chickens. This will also help keep the birds from wasting feed as they will not be as easily able to scratch it out of the feeder and onto the ground.
While heritage birds are better at not overeating than industrial breeds, we do suggest that once they reach adulthood and begin laying their food be rationed. Each adult bird should have an ounce of feed per pound of body weight per day. By rationing feed, especially if feeding a mash, they are less likely to pick through the feed for favorite morsels and more likely to clean up all the food. This helps make sure they get all the nutrients contained in the feed.
One of the primary reasons to not free-feed adult birds is to keep them from becoming too fat. Overweight birds are not only more likely to show decreased egg laying, they also may develop something called fatty liver hemorrhagic syndrome. This is one of the leading noninfectious causes of death in backyard chickens, especially hens in limited space runs. Birds with this disease have large amounts of fat deposited in their liver and abdomen. This often results in an enlarged liver that is easily damaged and prone to bleeding.
Water
Chickens will consume twice as much water, by weight, as feed. They should have access to clean water at all times. Water is critical to egg production, and intake may increase dramatically once laying begins. To ensure adequate water intake, and with it egg production, it may be worthwhile to monitor water temperatures during extremes of weather. Providing cool water during hot summers and slightly heated water during freezes will help birds consume water needed for good egg production.
A number of water additives can help prevent or alleviate certain issues in poultry. Apple Cider Vinegar can be added at a rate of one tablespoon per gallon of water. During the summer, it is great to help combat heat stress. At all times of year it drops digestive pH slightly to increase food efficiency and help provide a favorable environment for beneficial gut bacteria. However, since it can have an effect on the bird's level of calcium, it should be provided rotationally rather than all the time. Birds undergoing a period of stress may benefit from a boost to their immune system by the addition of garlic to their water. One clove, cut lengthwise, can be soaked overnight in five gallons of water to release the allicin. Probiotics are live beneficial microorganisms that can be purchased as a supplement and added to water to help promote better gut health and exclude harmful organisms such as Salmonella and E-coli.
Grit
Chickens do not have teeth, and rely on the action of small stones they ingest to help them digest the seeds and grains they eat. We highly recommend that all birds, at all times of their life, have free access to appropriately sized granite grit. This is whether they free range or spend their life in a yard. Having access to appropriately sized grit increases feed efficiency by 10%-15% and is a simple way to help your birds utilize the feed you provide them. Grit can be provided in a separate feeder in the coop, or added to the feed. In either case, the birds will take only what they need.
Fiber
About 5% of your poultry's diet should be fiber. Both soft and hard fiber are beneficial. A good soft fiber is corn, which is part of many commercial diets. The best hard fibers are oats, sunflower seeds and alfalfa meal. Higher than 5% fiber levels decrease the caloric content of feed, and are not beneficial. A mix of soft/hard fiber spreads throughout the digestive tract by fiber type. This fiber mix, together with access to granite grit, is a key tool in helping control internal parasites such as worms. If fed throughout the bird's life, and combined with good husbandry practices such as keeping birds on clean substrates, it will result in controlling parasite levels and eliminate the need to ever use commercial wormers with your flock. We believe strongly in the adage that if you need to use wormers with your birds, there is something important missing in your flock keeping practices.
Probiotics
Chickens have a complex mix of beneficial bacteria in their digestive system, but are also susceptible to harmful gut pathogens if their diet or environment are not well managed. One way to help your chickens keep a healthy gut is to provide them with probiotics. These are beneficial bacteria, that not only help with digesting food but also, through competitive exclusion, keep the harmful bacteria at bay. Commercial probiotics can be purchased and added periodically to your bird's water. Another method that your birds may enjoy more is to feed them each a tablespoon of unsweetened, plain yogurt once a week. It can be fed plain, or mixed with rolled oats so that it coats them and makes clumps that are easy to feed. The addition of the rolled (not whole) oats adds a dense fiber that helps with lower gut health and parasite prevention.
Calcium
Once pullets begin to lay eggs, they should be given supplemental calcium. Most layer feeds use crushed limestone, of which only 25% is easily utilized. A better form of calcium is oyster shell, of which 60-70% is used. Crushed egg shells are fine, as long as not recognizable to the hens as eggs. Whatever form of calcium is provided, it should be available free feed for the hens, who will self ration what they need. If supplemental calcium is not provided, hens will extract calcium from their own bones to make their eggs, leading to serious health issues. Young pullets who are not yet laying should not have added calcium in their feed, as it can damage their kidneys.
Treats & Greens
No more than 10% of your birds daily diet should be treats or scraps. This ensures that they get the necessary nutrient levels needed to grow and lay well. A handful of wild greens, consisting of things like dandelion, chick weed, clover and tender grass, will be as appreciated by the birds as less healthful items. Limit mealworms as they contain a fair amount of fat and the dried ones often originate in China and may contain preservatives. Tree-dropped apples in fall are a good source of prebiotic fiber, while a head of cabbage in winter can help a flock relieve the boredom of a rainy day. The seeds from squash and pumpkin are relished and provide good dense fiber for lower gut health, while a handful of sunflower seeds in the shell provide the same.
Feed Storage
Mash feeds, while less processed than pelleted feeds, have a shorter shelf life. Their best performance is within 14 days of processing. Your goal with mash feeds should be to use them within 30 days of milling. Store in as cool and oxygen free of an environment as possible. A metal garbage can works well, and has the added advantage of keeping your feed safe from pests. Pelleted feeds have a longer shelf life of approximately six months. Checking the processing date of whatever feed you buy is critical for getting the best results. Whole grains, such as scratch grains, store very well if kept in a cool, moisture-free environment.