What to feed chickens on the backyard homestead
You may have heard once or twice before that chickens will eat just about anything. Although there is a lot of truth
to that statement, chickens do require a feeding routine to provide them with the nutrition they need to be strong healthy birds.
To preface, I’ve been keeping chickens for many years and I’ve found that feeding chickens is not an exact science. Instead it’s rolling with the seasons and providing your chickens the food they need for the conldition they are in….. I’ll explain
Depending on whether you are keeping chickens for meat or for egg laying will determine what their bodies need to sustain themselves. Meat birds require a high protein diet for growth, a chick or non laying hen requires less protein, and an egg laying hen requires higher protein and a steady supply of minerals and nutrients.
Chickens are also natural foragers. You may have seen on egg cartons at the grocery store…. “free range” or “pasture raised”. These terms are attractive because a chicken raised on pasture land is going to produce much healthier, more flavorful, nutrient dense eggs.
Omnivores are animals that eat both meat and plants and chickens are just that. When wondering what to feed chickens on a backyard homestead, my recommendation is let them free range around your yard. They are going to be more than happy to go around digging for bugs and worms and any unwanted garden pests.
I’ve even watched one of my hens hunt down a mouse!
Allowing your chickens to hunt for their food not only keeps them entertained, it’s extremely healthy and cuts down on your feed bill.
Now that you get the idea of what a chickens’ core diet it lets get into those “seasons” I was talking about
What to feed your chickens and when?
When it comes to raising chicks, feed is definitely a top priority. Like children, chicks need food small enough that they are able to swallow easily without choking. That being said you’ll want to find a well balanced chick starter crumble. You’ll be met with the option for medicated or unmedicated, 100% a personal choice. Basically medicated is to protect your chicks from common chick viruses and diseases.
Learn more about raising chicks here …..
Many people choose to ferment their chicks food by soaking it in water and making it into a mash. Personally I’ve always had great luck with standard chick crumble.
Because chicks are so young and fragile it’s important to not overwhelm their tiny digestive system. For the first few weeks don’t through any kitchen scraps or extra anything. Whatever you start to give them make sure it’s done slowly and that the pieces are small enough. Good options to start treats off with would be sprigs of grass or little meal work treats.
Non-laying hens versus laying hens
You’ll be in a season where your hens are not laying, either they are an adolescent or they are taking the winter off. Regardless we as chicken owners want to respect that their bodies are resting and to feed them accordingly. Non laying hens should be fed a lower protein pellet feed as a supplement to free ranging. Bumping up the protein and the calcium signal the body to be in egg production.
While the chicken is in a season of laying it’s a good idea to aid her body in giving her those requirements. Along with the feed, supplementing your hens with a bowl of crushed egg shells or oyster shells can help with the production of hard egg shells.
If you ever notice your chicken laying an egg without a shell…. yup, it’s a thing…… supplement with calcium.
What is ok to feed chickens from the kitchen?
So many things! There’s really only a handful of no no’s when it comes to feeding your chickens leftovers.
Awesome things to throw out to your birds are leafy greens, most fruits, vegetables, bread, pasta (limited) and even meat.
My philosophy is everything in moderation. Try to keep your birds on a healthy diet as you would yourself. Avoid feeding your chickens sugar, salt and too many carbohydrates.
Like I mentioned before there are a few things you’ll want to be cautious of when learning what to feed chickens on the homestead. Please do not feed your chickens any part of an avocado, I ripened tomatoes or eggplants, citrus fruits, and again no salt or surgery junk food.
Other great supplemental feed to keep on hand is cracked corn or scratch and a high protein treat such as grasshoppers or dried mealworms.
Your chicken flock will love you for it.
How much to feed?
Honestly I do not measure my chickens feed because like I mentioned early I don’t believe it’s an exact science.
During the summer, my chickens have more natural vegetation to feed off of, more bugs are out, and my personal garden is in full production they benefit from all the fresh produce. Because of that my chickens will rely less on a pre packaged pellet feed and more so on foraging.
The winter is another story. The chickens have stopped laying eggs, they have completely to their molt and are putting on weight for winter. My flock will crave more carbs for putting on fat and will be hunkered down inside their coop more often. I will definitely at that point be providing them with more feed during this time.
I always check my feeder to know if I’m feeding them too much or too little for their current needs. Your chickens should always have food available to them, however you don’t want feed to just sit there getting stale or being an attractant to pests. I pour out enough food to feed my chickens so that they have enough for the day until I need to provide them with more the following day,
At the end of the day…..
At the end of the day, chickens are really the easiest livestock animal to own. They are such great natural foragers and they do remarkably well at self regulating their bodies.
My best advice to novice chicken owners is watch your birds behaviors, chieck their weight and health conditions, pay attention to their season of life, aim for a well balanced diet.
Not only will you benefit by having nutrient dense eggs or healthy meat, but you’ll have healthy happy chickens!
