Chicken Nutrition

By Elena Johnson CVC AC

We get a lot of questions on feeding your laying hens, so I’ve put together a feeding guide that may help get you on the right track. Nutrition is key to keeping your flock healthy.

You should only feed a good quality layer feed, (16% protein), Grit, clean water and oyster shell (33%-38% calcium) in a separate feeder at all times. Giving scraps or treats dilutes the nutrients they need for proper nutrition. Laying hens need 38 nutrients that are supplied by their balanced layer feed which is 16%-18% protein and up to 4.5% calcium, 90% of their diet should be the layer feed. Scratch grains are only 8% protein and 0.05% calcium, cracked corn is only 6.5% protein and no calcium and both are considered junk food. By adding these kinds of junk food, scratch, table scraps, corn, etc. you are taking nutrition away from them. Just because there’s a chicken on the bag doesn’t mean it’s good for them, it’s just clever marketing. Higher than 16% protein is also not healthy long term as it is taxing on their organs, kidneys and liver. Therefore, we only give Feather Fixer during molting and not all year, plus it doesn’t have slow-release calcium like layer feed. Do not feed egg shells back to them as it over taxes the liver and kidneys with too much fast-release calcium.

10% should be what they free range is equivalent to 2 tablespoons per bird. If they don’t free range, especially in winter, I give 1 small bunch of organic kale, nothing else. Think of it as putting apples on a table next to junk food for kids, they will eat the junk and skip dinner. Chickens only have about 200 taste buds compared to our 10,000 they are visual eaters, so if you must give them a treat, throw them a handful of their layer feed and they will gobble it up because it’s not in their feeder. In the winter to keep them from getting bored, I fill up a couple of rabbit treat balls with their layer feed, throw them in the run and they push, peck and kick them around to get the feed out. You can adjust the opening on the ball for crumbles or pellets. If your chickens don’t free range or not more than an hour a day you should not feed all pelleted feed, crumbles are the better option as birds on all pellets who don’t free range are more susceptible to crop impaction.

Giving them extra might make you feel better, but you are doing them harm by diluting what they should actually be eating, they will stay healthier if you skip the junk, just throw it in your compost. During molting season, if they are going through a hard molt, I switch them to Feather Fixer feed which is higher protein (18%) to help produce feathers, other than that, they only get what they free range and layer feed. Cat food for extra protein is not recommended, it’s formulated for cats, not poultry and has many additives and byproducts. You can give a very small amount of shelled sunflower hearts, remember, no more than 2 tablespoons per bird, if you have a sickly bird needing more protein. Obesity is one of the biggest killers of backyard chickens.

Chickens don’t have the enzymes to digest lactose so no yogurt or dairy.

According to Dr. Mike Petrik, DVM MSc, ‘The Chicken Vet’ “The value of vinegar has long been exploited by professional poultry farmers. Acidifying water alters the gut’s bacteria, slowing the growth of nasty bacteria, and giving a boost to good bacteria. Acid also helps control coccidiosis and Clostridium bacteria, which can cause a fatal disease called necrotic enteritis.

Vinegar (acetic acid) is a cheap, accessible source of acid that anyone can find. It is, however, not a great acidifier…other organic acids such a butyric or proprionic acids actually work better…(the reason revolves around the pKa of the acid….high-school chemistry, anyone?)

I have never found any study that showed any value to apple cider vinegar specifically, and several studies (the Journal of Applied Poultry Science in 2011, and Asian Australasian Journal of Animal Science), showed that broiler (meat) chickens grew slower when fed 0.5% apple cider vinegar or formic acid vs. pure water. Acidified water also affects laying hens by making the calcium in her feed a little less digestible (again, based on chemistry….calcium is a positive ion, and dissociates better in a more alkaline environment…..seriously, who ever knew that this stuff might matter?).

Professional farmers regularly add baking soda to their feed when heat stress is expected….this maintains egg shell quality when hens’ feed consumption drops due to the heat.”

They don’t need warm food in winter to keep them warm. Oatmeal is highly toxic. According to Dr Patrick Biggs DVM, poultry nutritionist at Purina Animal Nutrition, oatmeal contains Beta-glucan which binds with water and chickens cannot digest. It forms a gel in the intestines that thickens the contents of the intestines preventing proper digestion of food and blocks absorption of nutrients in the oats and anything else they eat while the beta glucan is in the body. The malabsorption then causes thick, sticky droppings which can cause other health hazards. This thickened digesta has also been known to cause necrotic enteritis aka: rot gut, a bacterial condition that destroys the intestinal wall. Even in small amounts beta glucan can range from mild, reduction in egg laying to death. This does not apply to raw oats that are in your chicken feed, this is human oatmeal.

If you have roosters and are concerned, they are getting too much calcium which can damage their kidneys over time, you can feed All Flock or Chick Starter/Grower and make sure to always have oyster shell available for your girls at all times, no matter what feed you are giving. Many roosters do live long, healthy lives on layer feed, it’s a personal choice. https://organicfeeds.com/can-roosters-eat-layer-feed/

They are digesting what’s in their crop all night and this also creates heat in the gut. Their core body temperature is between 104°-107° so staying warm is no problem with their down coats, staying cool is a problem because they cannot sweat, so I freeze large cool whip containers with water and put in their nipple drinkers twice a day, provide lots of shade and even a fan and they will be fine.

Containing feed waste will keep rodents and wild birds who carry diseases away from your flock. Grandpa’s treadle feeder is a great way to do this. No food on the ground, no waste, no worries. Easy to train your flock to use and well worth the money, mine is 15 years old and still looks like new, holds 20 pounds of layer feed. Rollout nesting boxes are also wonderful, eggs stay clean, and hens can’t sit on them. Biosecurity and a clean coop and run are key to a healthy flock as is not over crowding the birds. Doing a combined fecal sample to the vet every 6 months to check for intestinal parasites and coccidia is also very important to good flock health, we don’t treat unless we see worms or have a positive fecal result as resistance will build to medications and treatment for coccidia is harsh on the system, especially if they don’t have it. Many State Department’s of Agriculture will do fecal testing and necropsies, along with mail in labs.

If you have roosters and are concerned, they are getting too much calcium, which can damage their kidneys over time, you can feed All Flock or Chick Starter/Grower and make sure to always have oyster shell available for your girls at all times, no matter what feed you are giving. Many roosters do live long, healthy lives on layer feed, it’s a personal choice. https://organicfeeds.com/can-roosters-eat-layer-feed/  You can also offer both Layer feed and Chick Starter/Grower as they will eat what they need. When I offer both, I have never seen my roosters eat the layer feed but they hens will eat the Chick Starter.

Mail in labs
Idexx.com, vetdna.com/test-type/avian-bird, midamericaagresarch.net

Sources:

RAISING CHICKENS FOR EGG PRODUCTION

https://www.purinamills.com/purina…/bio/patrick-biggs

Calcium particle size and feeding time influence egg shell quality in laying hens

Dr. Mike Petrik, DVM, MSc, ‘The Chicken Vet’

Can Roosters Eat Layer Feed