Good Nutrition for Backyard Chickensfeatured

Some say that we spoil our chickens. You will not find many flocks where the owners will buy fresh broccoli as a regular chicken treat. Certainly our ladies get their fair share of table scraps, but we like to mix in some fresh fruits and vegetables as well. It’s all part of making sure our barnyard foul are getting enough nutrients in their diet to keep the egg machine going. Are we doing so at a business loss? Probably.

Backyard chickens are growing in popularity as a fun and rewarding way to produce your own food. A key part of caring for backyard chickens is providing them with proper nutrition.

The Food Triangle for Chickens

Chickens require a nutritious diet to stay healthy and productive. Their diet should include a variety of grains, fresh vegetables, and occasional treats. Commercial chicken feed is a balanced and complete food source, but fresh fruits and vegetables should also be added to the diet. Feeding chickens a variety of greens, such as lettuce, cabbage, and spinach, will provide them with essential vitamins and minerals. Chickens also love treats such as meal worms, apples, and cooked rice.

Our ladies receive about 4 cups of scratch grains every morning. You will need to adjust the amount of scratch grains you spread based on the amount of chickens you have. We mix the scratch grains with a handful of meal worms in the winter. The meal worms augment their protein intake since there are less bugs available in the cold winter months. At Grace and Hope Farm, we use Country Road Scratch Grains. We purchase a 50 bag pound at Rural King and it normally lasts a few months. The product offers 8% protein and 3.7% fat by weight so it’s nutritious in addition to encouraging their natural foraging behavior. The pieces that the chickens will not eat are normally taken by the local squirrels.

We also have a feeder inside the chicken run that they have free access to. We use an organic 16% protein layer feed that is soy and corn free. Our hens love it!

Oyster Shell

Oyster shell is an important mineral supplement for chickens so we normally keep a dish of it in our chicken run. Oyster shell provides essential minerals, such as calcium, to the birds. Chickens need calcium to produce strong eggshells. Calcium is also important for the birds’ overall health, as it helps to maintain healthy bones and feathers. Without sufficient calcium, chickens can experience reduced egg production and poor feather condition.

Grit

Chickens need a supply of grit. Grit is small rocks that they eat and it collects in their gizzards. This is how they grind up the food they eat so that their bodies can absorb it. After some time, it will pass through them and they will need more. Grit is cheap and we keep a bowl of it in their run for them to take when they need a little.

Table Scraps

Instead of scooping food into the trash or into the garbage disposal, you can help augment the nutrition of your hens by taking it to the chicken yard. We have found that our hens will eat just about everything, but they do have a few favorites. Bacon is a favorite, but when is it not? They also enjoy green beans and cooked carrots. The chicken yard is also a perfect place to clean out your refrigerator. If you have vegetables or fruits that are going to spoil, throw them to the hens.

Clean Water

It is important to provide chickens with access to clean water at all times. At Grace and Hope Farms, we use a combination of hanging waterers, 5 gallon buckets with automatic chicken water cups, and plastic water founts to keep the hens hydrated. In the winter, we use a heated plastic water to ensure the hens have access to water even during freezing conditions. All watering systems should be cleaned and refilled every few days to prevent bacteria and algae growth. It is also important to check the water regularly for signs of contamination, such as a foul odor or discoloration.

Thoughts on the Reported Chicken Feed Problem

During the winter, hens normally lay less eggs. As summer turned into fall in 2022, our hens laid fewer and fewer eggs. In our case, the number of eggs dropped from 6 a day on average in summer to merely 2 a day on average in the late fall. We also noticed that one of our birds was molting after only being alive for six months! The normal cycle for molting is about eighteen months.

We were using Purina Layer Pellets from Tractor Supply Company. In January 2023, we heard that many chicken farmers were having problems with Purina feeds from Tractor Supply Company. Signs of poor nutrition include reduced egg production and poor feather condition. To support their diet, we added more meal worms and premium wet cat food. This helped some, but they were still struggling.

We suspected that the feed might be contributing to both the molting and the lowered egg production. Out of curiosity, we changed feeds to an organic crumble from New Country Organic. Within two days of changing feeds, we got 5 eggs in one day out of our seven hens! Within 2 weeks, our molting chicken’s plumage was improving and our hens were consistently providing 5 or 6 eggs per day in February!

We are not scientists and we are not certain that the Purina feed was a problem. At the same time that we changed the feed, the weather was becoming warmer in Tennessee so we can’t establish a clear relationship between the Purina food from TSC and bad chicken health. Our only point is that it’s important to monitor the health of your chickens, as any deficiencies in their diet can lead to serious health problems!

Take care of your backyard hens, and they will take care of you.