| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| VM |
me again - on chicken feeding, again!It's about these layers pellets...I know I asked about this before - but I still don't quite get it about the pellets and grain business. Everyone I talk to seems to agree that the chickens hate the pellets but that they should have them. I can see that if I leave the feeder full of pellets they don't eat them until they are desperate. So is the point that if they always have them there, they won't starve but won't overeat? Or is there stuff in the pellets that they won't get from just grain and whatever else I give them? They are confined rather than free range, as they are on our allotment. What would be the problem if I fed them only on grain and not pellets? Would they overeat and get fat (though could presumably control this by only giving them the right amount)? Or would they be missing something? Should I be witholding other nicer food until they've eaten up their pellets?? Sorry if this is very boring. 
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| judith |
Your birds need a certain amount of protein in their diet to keep laying eggs. The pellets have a higher protein content than grain, and are intended as a "complete" diet for laying birds. If chickens are free-ranging, they will supplement their diet with bugs, worms, seeds and wotnot, adding to their protein intake. If they are confined, on the other hand, and fed grain, they will be getting much more carbohydrate than protein - which will make them fat. A chicken that is fed mainly on grain will have lots of yellow fat inside the body cavity which is fine if you are fattening it up to eat, but not so great if you want it to have a long and healthy life.
Soooo, the upshot of that rambling is that my advice for confined birds would be to feed them mostly layers pellets, supplemented with lots of green stuff which will give their eggs lovely dark yolks and keep the grain for an occasional treat. |
| Chez |
I think that the general received wisdom is that they won't get all of their nutrients simply from the grain if you have them confined all the time, even if you are feeding them greens and what-not. They are omnivores, really. I leave the pellets in the house all the time; and feed them about an ounce of mixed corn each in the late afternoon. I reckon that that means that they will eat the pellets when hungry and then 'fill up' on the grain in the evening - it stays longer in the crop and is good for them to 'overnight' on. Do what suits you, basically - you'll get to know whether they are healthy or not and whether what they are eating is suiting them. If they are bright eyed and alert and laying well (when they come in to lay) then you aren't doing much wrong. |
| pookie |
fat hens get egg bound too! |
| VM |
re: the lots of greens
Someone said on here not to give them greens every day as it would make their poo runny. Is this right? Someone at the allotments said perhaps it would while they're still a bit young. They have been doing runny, light brown  poos on quite a few days - so I try to hold off on greens when they are - but perhaps it's unrelated.
Find it hard to be disciplined about not giving them as it's what they seem to like most - and of course greens are what we have lots of to hand at the allotment. Other chicken keepers down there say they feed them most of their weeds. Absolute favourite seems to be borage - tried it because partner asked rather acidly when I was going to use all the borage I'd made him plant - and they went wild for it - grabbing bits and all chasing each other round the run and squawking furiously. Slugs are the only other thing which have elicited quite such an excited response! |
| Treacodactyl |
Have you had a look at this article? http://www.downsizer.net/Projects/Raising_livestock/Feeding_Chickens/
As has been mentioned, layers rations should be all your chicken needs to eat apart from insoluble grit. The rations should contain soluble grit for decent eggs shells and some contain ingredients for colouring the yolks. I've not worried about feeding greens every day (free range hens have access all the time after all) although I gather some greens are less suitable. I wouldn't feed stuff like lettuce too much and they're not meant to eat too much sorrel, although my hens love it. Chickens also produce the odd smelly brown dropping every now and again, something like one in ten IIRC, and this is normal. If they are always producing it then something is wrong. If you feed them weeds take care not to give long grass as it can bind their crop. |
| Rosemary Judy |
Feeding animals what they NEED, to be healthy, rather than what they WANT is a very important part of the responsibility of looking after them, IMHO.
so it is hard to give then what is GOOD FOR THEM, but in order to promote good health and avoid the obvious results if incorrect feeding, then it has to be done. I have just got back from a week away and MIL has given mine about 5 times the amount of grain I would give them - I give what Chez says - and her reason - 'they love it', and alot of other rubbish and junk My favourite hen is now poorly, and crop bound and very thin indeed, and the greediest is about a pound heavier 
I was getting 15-18 eggs a week from my three girls I have had 2 eggs this week, I have had to work hard to save the little hen, and she is still not right..... and I am now out of eggs, and am very cross....... they may well have enjoyed all the 'treats' but they have actually made my girls ill - funny definition of 'treat'............ 
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| VM |
Thank you everyone for all the above. I take the points that people made here and when I posted on this before, about the pellets being useful because the hens are confined and therefore can't sort out their own diet as they would if free range.
I've come back to the question again because of not particularly liking the idea of having to buy a commercial, complete food, just as it annoys me buying complete food for my dog - feels as if we lose some knowledge of nutrition by doing this - that's why I keep asking about it. However, since I don't know what I'm doing yet and I do value all the experience on here, I guess I will continue doing what you've said - i.e. pellets and then grain later in the day. I've been giving more grain than you've said above - but they seem to me to be continuing to mature quite slowly, which I assume is good (though I would like some eggs eventually!). Our neighbours at the allotment have ex-batts which they feed on layers mash. We had their eggs while we looked after them for a few days - and I have to say that they tasted OK but nothing very special - probably not as good as the Hi-Peak eggs we normally buy. Am I right that the taste of the eggs is basically to do with what you feed them, not to do with the breed of hen or anything else? I wonder if in the past people fed hens more meat scraps than perhaps we do now - presumably they found ways of getting protein into them before layers pellets were invented! What does the protein come from - soya mainly? thanks again everybody - it's really helpful! |
| jocorless |
Depends on the brand - I only feed mine Allen and Page Smallholder Natural Free Range Pellets or their Organic ones - that way I know the amount of soya in the feed is relatively low - other brands of pellets don't have that guarantee - so I don't use them but it is more expensive that way |
| VM |
thanks for that - Allen and Page Organic is what we have just bought - as we've only a few hens the price difference isn't critical - useful to know that it's good - other people at the allotments have been wanting to switch to an organic feed and we're going to start buying as a group I think.
Thanks whoever said about not all greens being so good - and useful to know about long grass - I haven't given them lettuce as I remembered it not being good for my guinea pigs when I was 11! Mostly have been giving them small bits of weeds, leaves of brassicas like broccoli plants and, as I said above, borage and comfrey, but especially borage! Please tell me, someone, if borage is bad for them! They like it so much, there must be something wrong with it. What about dandelions? Also something we used to give guinea pigs only in v small quantities, due to its diuretic properties... |
| judith |
I don't think dandelions will do them any harm - nor borage for that matter - but mine aren't that keen. They absolutely love docks though. |
| Chez |
Mine won't eat docks. But they like rhubarb leaves . I believe that Pookie had one lot that she trained from hatching to eat dandelions and plantain - when she let them out they turned in to kind of automatic weeding machines
I think in the past people saved household scraps and mixed them in the layer's mash. I am sure that some people still do it; although there are DEFRA regulations about it. I don't think you are supposed to feed them *anything* that's been 'prepared' in your kitchen - ie, even veg leaves that you have taken off after washing under the tap. I guess that this is sensible in a commercial sense - a blanket rule to stop meat etc. getting in to their food chain. However - if your eggs are for your own consumption and you are careful what kitchen scraps you feed - keeping veg peelings etc separate from prepared food waste or meat - I, personally, don't think there is any health and hygiene argument against it. I know what you mean about the soya. If you don't want to feed it, though, you have to construct a balanced diet for them from scratch. I am sure there are people around who do so ... in fact, I may go and have a google later on. |