Chickens require energy in the form of food to grow and remain healthy. Their feed provides them with enough fuel to complete daily tasks like breathing and walking while also producing eggs for laying.
Commercial feed typically comes in pellet, crumble or mash form. Pellets resemble compact cylindrical structures while crumbles and mashes have finely ground particles.
Contents
1. It’s Free from Harmful Additives and Preservatives
Chickens require nutrients in order to grow and remain healthy. Protein (composed of amino acids), carbohydrates, fats and vitamins are vitally important; without them, chickens would simply stop functioning properly. Protein helps form muscles, bones and feathers as well as egg whites; carbohydrates provide energy quickly while fats provide more calories.
Vitamins are vitally important to any flock and can be obtained either naturally through food sources or supplements, including vegetables, fruits, nuts and table scraps.
Kaytee Laying Hen Diet, a pelleted feed for laying hens that contains 16% protein for optimal hen health and eggshell strength, as well as probiotics and marigold extract to promote digestive wellness, makes an ideal feed option. In addition, its composition makes it suitable for chickens with sensitivities or allergies to soy or corn products.
2. It’s Non-GMO
Non-GMO ingredients are an invaluable asset in supporting your chickens’ wellbeing. Produced without genetically modified seeds, these non-GMO ingredients contain essential proteins and vitamins necessary for production of nutritious eggs and meat products from your flock.
Carbs provide energy quickly to your poultry flock. Achieving this requires using feed with both digestible and indigestible carbohydrates for optimal performance.
Seek organic poultry feed that includes both carbohydrates such as wheat, barley, peas and lupins; flaxseed meal; sunflower seeds; sesame seed meal and molasses fish meal in 25lb bags and is an ideal option for your laying flock. Ensure it contains sufficient calcium levels so as to promote strong egg shells.
3. It’s Organic
Layer feed should always be organic and non-GMO to ensure your birds receive a balanced and nutritional diet. Organic poultry feed offers more protein, calcium, vitamins, minerals, and more than non-organic options.
Good organic chicken feed will go beyond simply eliminating additives and preservatives; it will also strive to avoid GMO ingredients which have been known to cause organ damage, immune system issues and infertility issues in chickens.
Scratch and Peck Feeds Organic Layer Mash stands out as one of the finest organic poultry feed options on the market, being both soy- and corn-free and USDA certified organic. Perfect for egg layers, this organic mash contains kelp for additional nutritional benefit – plus, its quality is unmatched by any competitor on the market!
4. It’s Made in the U.S.A.
No matter which form of chicken feed your flock prefers (crumbles, pellets or mash), make sure it was made in America to guarantee access to natural ingredients that meet their nutritional requirements.
A healthy poultry feed provides a balance of carbohydrates (starch and sugar), protein, calcium, vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients. Vitamin supplementation plays a significant role in supporting both health development and reproduction cycle processes.
Carbs provide poultry with energy, typically consisting of cereal grains such as wheat, corn, sorghum, barley or rye. Byproducts from milling or brewing processes – such as brewer’s grain, wheat middlings or soybean meal – may also be included as feed ingredients for their poultry feed. Furthermore, good poultry feed includes protein sources like black soldier fly grubs and brewer’s rice to provide additional energy source.
5. It’s Delicious
Chicken feed provides your flock with essential nutrition needed for growth and egg production, with high quality feed offering an array of proteins, vitamins, and minerals for optimal health.
Good quality poultry feed will also promote your flock’s natural foraging behavior, an essential element for ensuring happy birds. The mix of grains provides them with what they crave as food sources throughout their day of activity and engagement.
Most poultry feeds begin as mash, which is fully ground and similar in texture to bread crumbs. From there, pellets or crumbles can be created – some fermented with probiotics for easier digestion; others sprouted to break down seed coatings more effectively and increase nutritional content.
