Chicken feed

[pclint]

Chickens will eat anything, raised in the country as a kid, only fed chickens and chicks whole grain corn and milo, Free range chickens, never a problem with them.

 

[TooCheep]

Welcome to BYC!

You are correct. Chickens can live on many things- grains, insects, greens/fruit/veggies, digging around in compost, even picking through cow poo for useful bits.

Chickens originally came from warm zones in SE Asia where winter wasn't much of an issue. Free ranging is nearly impossible in areas with real winters.

However, living/surviving is not the same thing as healthy/thriving. Humans can survive on all kinds of junk as well, but we just wouldn't be very healthy (ex: modern health issues).

Chickens are some of the most highly studied animals due to how important they are for providing human food. We now have a good idea of how much of each kind of vitamin, amino acid, fats, minerals, etc. they need to be healthy and productive.

Plus, many current breeds produce a lot of eggs compared to ages past. They need more nutrients to support that production and remain healthy. Meat birds require a lot of protein to grow quickly into the broilers we see in supermarkets.

That is why so many of us use processed feeds. They are already balanced with these needs in mind. If we ever lost those feeds for some reason, a lot of birds would have a hard time making it. People would have to go back to more of a subsistence system where they would provide only part of the chickens food, harvest many before winter and allow the remainder to breed and repopulate in the spring.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Feeding whole grains while truly free ranging chickens on acreage that can support year round diverse vegetation and an abundance of insects can work when done correctly. However, the biggest issue I see now is you have a lot of chicken keepers with minimal to no land or their chickens are contained in a coop/run set-up 24/7 that see flashy words and take their advice from blogs trying to feed homemade feeds composed of whole grains or corn instead of regular feeds. They also always seem to be the ones with chickens that have all of the health problems. I have no quarrels with anyone who has the land to truly free range and the resources to make their own feed. However, I cannot support someone who contains their chickens 24/7 only feeding a homemade mix of wheat berries, split peas and dried corn because a YouTuber told them it was healthier. To clarify, I am not against people keeping their chickens locked up for safety reasons, but in doing so they must ensure that their chickens are being fed a nutritionally complete profile. Everyone has to do what is best for them, but it is our responsibility as chicken owners to ensure that they receive proper nutrition.

 

[Mrs. K]

First, I do feed commercial feed as my primary feed. But I also feed scratch, and table and garden scraps. I do not feed 24/7, I did that in the beginning, and found out that spilled feed, treaded into muck, makes the coop/run stink. So I take down a bucket of feed every day. If there is feed left over at night, I feed a little less, if the bowls are empty, I feed a little more. And with that, I found out some surprising things.

Chickens do not eat the same amount of feed each day. Sometimes this is influenced by the weather, but not always in the way you think. I used to think that in bitter cold weather, they would need more feed. But they don't eat much. When the weather breaks - they eat more.

I do let mine out to scratch and peck. In SD, I noticed that the bugs that people are so fond of mentioning as a food source, really only made a difference in their feed consumption, in the months of May and June, and by July, the protein value must fall as they are eating more commercial feed.

In the spring, they will chase fresh green growing things, so I sprouted wheat one winter. They seemed to love the roots, not the green part. At first they seemed to love it, but when it was being left over - I figured not so much.

Often times, when someone has a problem here, people (who I assume, eat chips and drink pop at least some times) immediately ask what you are feeding them. And a lot of talk is about protein.

Thing is, animals need calories first, calories give energy to run the digestive track, the reproduction track, and all other life systems. Secondly, they need the protein, vitamins and minerals found in those calories. Birds will eat enough to support their needs. If they are being fed 16% protein, and need a higher level of protein, they will eat more feed.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with just feeding your birds commercial feed, they will do just fine with it...but then of course, your eggs will taste like grocery store eggs. Personally, I don't feed meal worms, I swear I can taste them in the eggs. I do like a little grain in the diet - makes for better color eggs. I do try and produce high quality eggs.

Mrs K

 

[bearcreekbees]

First, I do feed commercial feed as my primary feed. But I also feed scratch, and table and garden scraps. I do not feed 24/7, I did that in the beginning, and found out that spilled feed, treaded into muck, makes the coop/run stink. So I take down a bucket of feed every day. If there is feed left over at night, I feed a little less, if the bowls are empty, I feed a little more. And with that, I found out some surprising things.

Chickens do not eat the same amount of feed each day. Sometimes this is influenced by the weather, but not always in the way you think. I used to think that in bitter cold weather, they would need more feed. But they don't eat much. When the weather breaks - they eat more.

I do let mine out to scratch and peck. In SD, I noticed that the bugs that people are so fond of mentioning as a food source, really only made a difference in their feed consumption, in the months of May and June, and by July, the protein value must fall as they are eating more commercial feed.

In the spring, they will chase fresh green growing things, so I sprouted wheat one winter. They seemed to love the roots, not the green part. At first they seemed to love it, but when it was being left over - I figured not so much.

Often times, when someone has a problem here, people (who I assume, eat chips and drink pop at least some times) immediately ask what you are feeding them. And a lot of talk is about protein.

Thing is, animals need calories first, calories give energy to run the digestive track, the reproduction track, and all other life systems. Secondly, they need the protein, vitamins and minerals found in those calories. Birds will eat enough to support their needs. If they are being fed 16% protein, and need a higher level of protein, they will eat more feed.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with just feeding your birds commercial feed, they will do just fine with it...but then of course, your eggs will taste like grocery store eggs. Personally, I don't feed meal worms, I swear I can taste them in the eggs. I do like a little grain in the diet - makes for better color eggs. I do try and produce high quality eggs.

Mrs K

I wish you hadn't said that about the mealworms, lol. Now every time I eat an egg I am going to taste worms.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Thing is, animals need calories first, calories give energy to run the digestive track, the reproduction track, and all other life systems. Secondly, they need the protein, vitamins and minerals found in those calories. Birds will eat enough to support their needs. If they are being fed 16% protein, and need a higher level of protein, they will eat more feed.

I'm going to quibble here, a little. As you know, poultry nutrition is somethign of a hobby of mine, and I've been trying to run down the answer to the question alluded to above for about a year now.

There is surprisingly little research.

However, from the research I have found, it appears that chickens eat to meet their caloric needs First, and their Protein needs, Second. That doesn't disagree with what you said above, but it provides important context. As a practical matter, it means chickens will overeat, and deposit potentially dangerous levels of fat, in seeking to meet their protein needs in an environment where they are forced to do so.

We also know that - given options - they are reasonably good at selecting from a range of feeds to balance their amino acid needs. However, absent nutrtionally dense options, chickens wil prioritize crude protein over balanced amino intake, and can suffer nutritional deficiency of limiting amino acids as result.

Finally, there are a few studies (mostly older) seeking to quantify and predict "how much" a chicken is willing (or able) to overeat in effort to meet its dietary caloric and CP needs. If their available feed is low enough in energy and/or CP, the chickens can reach a point where they simply stop eating "full", even though their nutritional needs remain unmet. That figure is somewhere around 130% of "normal" feed intake, though that's a very "squishy" figure.

Otherwise, my feed management looks a lot like yours. My birds free range a pasture 24/7 whose diversity I continue to improve. They get nutrient dense commercial feed from me once a day, and I vary how much I feed seasonally, based on how much they walk away from each feeding/how aggressively they mob me when the feeding is done. I periodically cull for table, and use my observations of their internals as a second check on the appropriateness of the feed regimen.

Obviously, such a practice is not suitable (for various reasons) for most back yard keepers.

 

[Perris]

Chickens can live on many things- grains, insects, greens/fruit/veggies, digging around in compost, even picking through cow poo for useful bits.

True

Free ranging is nearly impossible in areas with real winters.

The Scandinavian landraces demonstrate otherwise; see the Swedish Flowers, Norwegian Jaehon, Icelandics etc.

living/surviving is not the same thing as healthy/thriving

True

Chickens are some of the most highly studied animals due to how important they are for providing human food. We now have a good idea of how much of each kind of vitamin, amino acid, fats, minerals, etc. they need to

survive, not thrive. The big commercial operations that do the research on feed aim to supply the least of anything they know the birds absolutely need to survive and produce, at the cheapest cost, for a short (2 year layer) or extremely short (5 weeks broiler) time. The longer term deficiencies of these diets for their health show up in most ex-battery hens shortly after their 'rescue' (with significant variability there, for lots of reasons, not least the variety of diets offered by their rescuers) and in broilers at 6 weeks old (or younger).

be healthy

see above

Plus, many current breeds produce a lot of eggs compared to ages past. They need more nutrients to support that production and remain healthy. Meat birds require a lot of protein to grow quickly into the broilers we see in supermarkets

True. Compare a home bred 5 week old chick with the oven ready 5 week old chick (normal size broiler) on the supermarket shelf.

 

[Perris]

feed homemade feeds composed of whole grains or corn instead of regular feeds. They also always seem to be the ones with chickens that have all of the health problems

My impression is the opposite; most birds with digestive problems are on commercial feed. The feed question is asked, and when someone replies, as they often do, that they give just layer feed, the questioner moves on to consider other possible causes (especially treats, if they also are given, usually met with an injunction to stop feeding them immediately). Perhaps we should trawl through old posts and test our impressions?

 

[Perris]

Chickens do not eat the same amount of feed each day

True

At first they seemed to love it, but when it was being left over

They want variety, as we do. Who among us would want our favourite food every day? How long would it remain our favourite if we had it every day? Whatever nutrients a food contains, none are a perfect match for what our bodies require, which changes day by day never mind person by person. If your chickens like something and then go off it, give it a rest and offer them something else for a while. If you ring the changes often enough, they will enjoy it - whatever it is that they liked for a while - when it comes back on the menu again.

animals need calories first, calories give energy to run the digestive track, the reproduction track, and all other life systems. Secondly, they need the protein, vitamins and minerals found in those calories. Birds will eat enough to support their needs

True in the sense that they need food to give them energy for any and all of their cells to work. The macronutrients are the carbs, fats and protein that are needed in relatively large amounts. Most animals regularly convert a surplus of carbs into fats for storage in case of lean times, and can convert protein into carbs if push comes to shove (e.g. when muscle is burned for fuel in the absence of other food). Vitamins and minerals are the micronutrients needed in relatively tiny amounts, hence the name; some are water soluble, some fat-soluble (so if there is no fat at all in the meal, those nutrients will not be absorbed even if they are in the food but will be excreted with the poo); some can be stored in the body, some can't; and some are toxic in excess so extra will be excreted.

If they are being fed 16% protein, and need a higher level of protein, they will eat more feed.

True. This is why fatty liver haemorrhagic syndrome (FLHS) is associated with high carb diets (lots of maize/corn). All the excess carbs they had to consume to hit their protein target gets converted into and stored as body fat.

feeding your birds commercial feed, they will do just fine with it...but then of course, your eggs will taste like grocery store eggs

True

Personally, I don't feed meal worms, I swear I can taste them in the eggs

That's psychosomatic.

I do try and produce high quality eggs.

I think all we backyard chicken keepers do.

 

[Perris]

chickens will overeat, and deposit potentially dangerous levels of fat, in seeking to meet their protein needs in an environment where they are forced to do so

Correct. Reaching their protein target overrides the disadvantages of exceeding their carbohydrates target (so their protein target is actually the dominant appetite, which can be tested and confirmed by seeing if they stop eating, even though they have had insufficient carbs, because they've hit their protein target, and they'd have to consume excess protein in order to reach that carb target).

As you know, poultry nutrition is somethign of a hobby of mine, and I've been trying to run down the answer to the question alluded to above for about a year now.

You might find Simpson and Raubenheimer The Nature of Nutrition 2012 useful.