On Feeding Chickens: A Nutritious and Varied Diet for Your Flock

I have been struggling for some time now with the thought of continuing to feed my chickens processed feeds. I recently saw a commercial for a newer brand of dog food and the spokesperson said something like ‘no animal should be made to eat the same food day after day’. That’s exactly how I feel about my animals, even my chickens, and I’m pretty sure they are all thinking that there has to be more to dinner then the same processed feed that they had for breakfast! We also hear a lot about creating our own chicken feed and how you need to be a math genius to figure out protein ratios. Honestly, I have never seen a free-range chicken pull out their meal planner and food tracking app and they seem to be some of the healthiest birds in the flock. When it comes to diet and nutrition, I believe our animals will generally make wise decisions if given healthy choices. I think that much of what we hear about feeding our poultry involves marketing strategies to help us spend money, and bloggers who don’t want to offer advice contrary to mainstream rhetoric. I remember when I got my first chickens, I fed my hens chicken scratch and table scraps. That was it! Not complicated at all. Of course that was some 20 years ago and poultry feed was most likely of a higher quality and I had a growing family with lots of table scraps.

Feeding our chickens a bag of name brand starter, grower or layer feed is by far a much simpler and a less time consuming process then trying to create and mix your own chicken feed. Many chicken farmers feed their birds strictly a commercially produced all around poultry feed, and this works great for them and their chickens. Personally, I have had a hard time trying to get my chickens to eat a specialized poultry feed. My chicks have always done great consuming a starter feed, but once I graduate them to a grower feed and then a layer feed, I start having some issues. I do believe in feeding variety, and I think once my birds find out that there is more to lunch than processed layer feed, they begin to look forward to excess garden harvests and table scraps and start to shun commercially processed feed.

Unfortunately I don’t have the land space to grow all of my own chicken feed, so I have to rely on purchased grains and other food sources, in addition to what I am able to grow and of course, good ole table scraps. I mean isn’t table scrap consumption and fresh eggs the two main reasons we started raising chickens in the first place?

So, what am I feeding my chickens these days? First, I did do some research and familiarized myself with the nutritional value of many different seeds, grains and legumes. Next, I experimented with what my chickens enjoyed eating and actually consumed. I want to steer away from GMO grains for the most part, but I am not able to eliminate all of them. I have a large barrel that I mix an adult chicken feed in. I add wheat, sunflower seeds, rice, rolled oats and chicken scratch. I use chicken scratch instead of cracked corn because of the added seeds in scratch that my birds enjoy and have nutritional value. I add in alfalfa leaves, various dried herbs and flowers and for calcium I save all the egg shells, dry and crush them and add them in. I tried rolled barley, dried lentils and split peas, but they were not well received. I have learned that lentils are a good source of protein, minerals, fiber and folate, so I sprout the lentils and feed them to my birds several times a week, especially during the winter, when they seem to be most needed and appreciated!

I do not have exact measurements of how much of each product I mix together. I watched what the consumption of each individual product seemed to be and adjusted my mix based on that information. The lentils, split peas and rolled barley were always left in the feed pans at the end of the day so I just eliminated these. The wheat, sunflower seeds and scratch were always well consumed as were the dried herbs and flowers. The oats and rice were generally well consumed with only a little remaining in feed pans at the end of the day. So, approximately 1/2 to 2/3 of the mix is comprised of wheat, sunflower seeds and scratch. The remaining 1/3 to 1/2 is alfalfa leaves, oats, rice, dried herbs and flowers, and anything else that sounds healthy and nutritious such as raisins, dried fruits and vegetables, and nuts. Just use good judgement and avoid junk foods. I also feed my birds table scraps, sprouts, garden excesses and I have started a meal worm farm.

A few of the benefits that I see to feeding my birds this way include actually being able to see and recognize what foods my chickens are getting. The chickens can also recognize different foods and are able to pick out what they want and need to eat. If they need added protein, they can focus on eating more wheat and rice. If they need a boost of calcium, they seek out the eggshell. The roosters who don’t need as much calcium as the hens, can pass on the eggshell and lower their health risk of too much calcium. Because I know exactly what is in the chicken feed, I don’t worry if one of my goats happens to get in with the chickens and eat their feed. Everything that is in it is ok for other animals to eat as well. My birds seem to consume their feed better. There is not much left at the end of the day. They are more excited at mealtime, eagerly greeting me to find out what yummy morsels I have for them! My birds look healthy, have good feather growth, lay well and eggshell structure is good. I actually save a little money. Not much, but every saved penny counts!

This new system is working well for me at this point and I am pleased with the results. However, it is your responsibility as a chicken farmer to conduct your own research related to your chicken’s diet and nutrition and make informed decisions on how you choose to feed your birds. Raising healthy chickens should not be stressful or difficult, and sometimes we tend to overthink and complicate issues like feeding our birds. I think that our job in feeding our chickens a healthy diet can be a lot easier if we just take our clues from Mother Nature!