Milly Gaines
A balanced diet is essential for chickens to maintain their health and well-being. Their diet should provide the necessary energy and nutrients to support various life stages and physiological needs, including growth, moulting, and egg-laying. The core of a chicken's diet is typically a quality layer feed, which provides protein, calcium, and other essential nutrients. This can be supplemented with treats and table scraps, but these should be limited to ensure a balanced and healthy diet for the chickens. The specific dietary requirements also vary depending on factors such as age, sex, and reproductive state, so it is crucial to tailor the diet accordingly.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Age | Starter diet (up to 6 weeks of age), grower diet (from 6-18 weeks of age), layer diet (from 18 weeks of age) |
| Sex | Roosters and hens have different nutritional requirements after sexual maturity |
| Reproductive state | Laying hens need more calcium in their diet |
| Housing system | Influences the level of activity and energy requirements |
| Health status | Birds with health issues may benefit from increased vitamins |
| Diet composition | 16-18% protein, calcium, and other essential nutrients; grit for digestion |
| Diet form | Pellets, crumbles, or mash |
| Treats | Scratch grains, mealworms, fruits, vegetables, and grains; avoid moldy, salty, and toxic foods |
| Water intake | On average, 400-500 ml per bird per day, varying with breed, weather, diet, etc. |
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What You'll Learn
Chicks, hens and roosters have different nutritional needs
Chicks, hens, and roosters have different nutritional needs, and providing an incorrect diet can be harmful. Generally, chickens require a diet of protein, energy, vitamins, and minerals. However, the specific requirements of these nutrients vary depending on the chicken's age, sex, and reproductive state.
Chicks under six weeks old should be fed a starter diet, which is higher in protein (18-22%) and lower in calcium to prevent deformities in their growing bones. From six to 18 weeks of age, they can be transitioned to a grower diet, which has less protein (14-18%) but still lacks the extra calcium needed for egg formation.
Once hens reach the laying age, their calcium requirements increase to support egg production. A layer diet should be introduced gradually, starting when the hen begins to lay eggs, to avoid improper bone development. This diet typically contains 16-18% protein and provides the essential nutrients needed for strong egg shells and healthy hens.
Roosters and mature hens that are not laying may benefit from a maintenance diet. While roosters and pre-laying hens can be fed the same diet before sexual maturity, their nutritional needs diverge afterward due to the unique demands of egg production.
In addition to these life stage-specific diets, it is important to consider the housing system and health status of the birds, as these factors influence their energy requirements and nutrient needs. Foraging and free-ranging can provide chickens with additional protein and vitamins but may not meet their full nutritional requirements, especially in the case of backyard chickens with limited space.
Supplementing their diet with select fruits, vegetables, and grains can help ensure they receive a nutritionally balanced diet. However, it is crucial to follow the 90/10 rule, providing 90% complete feed and a maximum of 10% treats to avoid nutritional imbalances.
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Calcium is important for laying hens
A balanced chicken diet should include protein, energy, vitamins, and minerals. Calcium is a key mineral for laying hens. An adult laying hen needs approximately 4 to 5 grams of calcium daily to meet the needs of her body and to make a strong eggshell. Calcium is drawn from the bones for eggshell development, so it is important that a laying hen gets enough calcium to create eggshells and build new bone.
An excess of calcium in a non-laying chicken's diet can lead to kidney damage. This is irreversible and may result in a decrease in potential laying ability or even death from kidney failure. Therefore, it is important to be careful when introducing the laying diet to young hens. Early introduction of the layer diet may cause improper bone development. A chicken owner should only start feeding a hen a layer diet when she reaches the age of laying, which is usually around 18 to 22 weeks.
If a hen is laying an egg every other day, she needs a lot of calcium to make a strong, sturdy eggshell every 48 hours. Calcium is also needed throughout the body for various other functions, such as controlling muscle spasms, triggering hormone production for a healthy reproductive system, and ensuring breeding hens lay strong eggs that will hatch into healthy, strong chicks.
To avoid or resolve a calcium deficiency in hens' diets, chicken owners must know how to manage their flock's calcium needs. While providing free-choice supplemental calcium can help solve and prevent a lot of calcium-related issues, it is also important to know how to manage calcium needs under certain circumstances. If a chicken owner knows their flock has a calcium deficiency, they can implement the following measures: switch to a better, high-quality complete layer feed and provide supplemental calcium in an easy-to-access spot. Crushed oyster shells mixed with crushed eggshells are a good option.
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Commercial feeds are carefully balanced
The nutrient requirements of chickens vary depending on factors such as age, sex, reproductive state, and health status. For example, young chicks have different nutritional needs than mature hens or roosters. Chicks require a starter feed that is high in protein and low in calcium to support their growth and bone development. On the other hand, laying hens need additional calcium in their diet for egg formation and strong egg shells.
Commercial feeds are formulated to address these specific needs. They provide a balanced mix of protein, energy, vitamins, and minerals. For instance, Purina® complete feeds offer a starter-grower feed for chicks and a separate layer feed for laying hens, ensuring that chickens receive the appropriate nutrition for their life stage.
Feeding chickens a commercial diet simplifies the feeding process and ensures they receive a complete and balanced diet. By following the recommended feeding guidelines, chicken owners can be confident that their flock is getting the necessary nutrients to stay healthy and productive. This precision in nutrition is particularly important for laying hens, as nutrient deficiencies can lead to issues such as feather picking, egg eating, and even cannibalism.
In addition to commercial feeds, chickens may also benefit from supplements or treats, constituting about 10% of their diet. Natural, healthy treats such as grains, vegetables, and fruits can provide variety and additional nutrition. However, it is important to be mindful of the types and amounts of treats offered to avoid nutritional imbalances or health issues.
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Free-ranging chickens need more protein
Providing your chickens with a balanced diet is essential to maintaining their health and ensuring strong egg production. While free-ranging is great for chickens, allowing them to express their natural behaviours and making for happier, healthier hens, it does not guarantee a balanced diet.
Chickens that free-range will eat some forage and insects, but they will not meet their dietary needs through foraging. They simply do not have enough space to find all the nutrients they need. Free-range chickens need the same diet as a normal laying hen, but with a little extra protein.
Protein is one of the most important factors for egg production. Studies suggest that 16-18% protein in the diet is optimal for laying hens. Animal or insect proteins are best as the amino acids are more balanced and easier to absorb. Extra protein is beneficial for most backyard flocks. Free-range chickens and chickens that eat scraps need more protein than chickens that only eat feed. This is because they will fill up on their favourite things and ignore the rest. However, be careful not to give your chickens too much protein, as this will result in wet, smelly, ammonia-rich droppings.
A chicken's diet should be predominantly (around 90%) a commercial, balanced pelleted diet. This can be supplemented (around 10% of their daily intake) with kitchen vegetable scraps, whole scratch grain, and garden foraging. A complete feed is a good way to ensure your chickens are getting the nutrients they need.
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Treats should be limited to 10% of a chicken's diet
A chicken's diet should be balanced and complete, and this can be achieved by following the 90/10 rule. A chicken's diet should consist of 90% complete feed and a maximum of 10% treats each day. This is because treats like scraps, scratch grains, and mealworms are like candy for birds, and can quickly spoil their diet.
Chickens need different feed at various times in their lives, depending on their age, sex, and reproductive state. For the first six weeks of a chicken's life, they should be fed a starter diet. From six to 18 weeks, they should be fed a grower diet, which has less protein but still does not have the extra calcium needed for egg formation. From 18 weeks onwards, a layer diet should be introduced. However, it is important not to introduce the laying diet more than two weeks before the bird begins to lay, as early introduction of the layer diet may cause improper bone development.
The quality and balance of a chicken's diet when young will affect the quality of the eggs they lay later on. For this reason, it is important to ensure that young chickens are not fed excess calcium, as this can cause deformations in their growing bones and damage their kidneys.
Chickens that are allowed to range freely will eat a variety of protein- and vitamin-rich foods, including insects, grubs, vegetation, and seeds. However, free-ranging is not required for chickens to enjoy a healthy, balanced diet. In warm weather or cold, the primary food for backyard chickens should be layer feed, which provides the nutritional requirements to keep them healthy and consistently producing well-formed eggs.
In addition to layer feed, chickens can be fed select fruits, vegetables, and grains to ensure they are receiving a nutritionally balanced diet. Good choices include leafy greens, cooked beans, corn, non-sugary cereals, grains, berries, apples, and most other fruits and vegetables. It is important to avoid feeding chickens citrus fruits, rhubarb, avocado, uncooked beans, green potato skins, and onions, as these foods are unhealthy or even poisonous.
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Frequently asked questions
A balanced chicken diet should be predominantly (~90%) a commercial-prepared balanced pelleted diet, which can then be supplemented (~10% of daily intake) with treats and scraps.
Good treats and supplements for chickens include select fruits, vegetables, grains, and kitchen scraps. Good choices include leafy greens, cooked beans, corn, non-sugary cereals, grains, berries, apples, and most other fruits and vegetables. Chickens also enjoy mealworms as treats.
Do not feed chickens mouldy, rotten, or very salty food. Avoid citrus fruits, rhubarb, avocado, uncooked beans, green potato skins, onions, and garlic.
