Chickens require a balanced diet to stay healthy and productive. Their nutrition should include proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals for proper development.
Commercial feed companies employ nutritionists and consultants with years of expertise to design precise diets that promote health, performance and wellbeing. Furthermore, they employ sophisticated systems designed to keep costs down.
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Protein
Protein is an integral part of chickens’ diets. Not only does it build tissue and organs, especially in younger chickens, but it’s also necessary for maintaining body weight.
Chicks require a feed with about 24 percent protein, while mature chickens need around 20 percent. Egg-laying hens require around 16 percent protein.
Chicken feed, also known as complete chicken food, is composed of grains and other ingredients to provide the ideal balance of nutrients for your pet. The most common form is in pellet form but you may also come across crumbles or mash.
Protein levels in feed vary seasonally and depend on how much metabolizable energy a bird consumes. For instance, a hen may consume up to 340 calories of energy during winter in order to stay warm, but only 260 calories during summer months.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are an integral part of a chicken’s diet. They provide energy for daily tasks such as walking, eating, digesting, breathing and maintaining body temperature.
Carbohydrates are typically found in cereals such as wheat, corn, sorghum, millet and barley; or other foodstuffs like sugars and starches. Some may contain indigestible carbohydrates like cellulose.
Protein is an integral part of a chicken’s diet. It helps build muscle, skin, feathers, cartilage and nerve tissue.
Protein is a complex chemical composed of amino acids. It breaks down in the digestive tract and absorbs into the bloodstream, where it can be utilized for other activities.
Fat
Fats are an essential component of chicken nutrition, providing energy and aiding with cell membrane health as well as absorption of fat-soluble vitamins.
Fat is essential for poultry nutrition and comes mainly from animal sources like lard, tallow and choice white grease. Other good fat sources include corn oil, canola oil and soy oils.
Add fat to your flock’s diet in a number of ways, from adding grass clippings or supplementing with pelleted chicken feed. One of the best options for increasing fat levels in your birds is a complete feed that contains grains, corn and diatomaceous earth which will make their shells harder and more resistant to eggshell damage.
Minerals
Chickens, just like humans, require a range of vitamins and minerals for optimal health. These essential nutrients aid with metabolic processes, the growth and development of feathers or muscles, egg production, as well as general wellbeing.
Complete feed will include these in an easily absorbable form for chickens. This may come in the form of pellets, crumbles or mash.
Grains tend to lack essential minerals like calcium, phosphorus, iron, chlorine, potassium and sodium; so they are often added to commercial feeds as supplemental sources.
Hens laying eggs require a steady supply of calcium for strong egg shells. Unfortunately, if they aren’t given ground oyster shells or free-choice calcium supplements, their bones can become depleted of these minerals, leading to poor bone development, weak bones or broken bones.
Vitamins
Chickens require vitamins for healthy growth and reproduction, to support metabolic processes, as well as to ensure optimal egg production. These essential vitamins can usually be found in complete feed which comes in the form of mash, crumble or pellet form.
Vitamins are a group of organic compounds essential for poultry health. Some are produced naturally within the bird, while others must be provided through supplementation or natural sources.
Poultry require fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K for skin growth, internal tissue development, bone formation, blood clotting and eggshell production. They also need the water soluble B Vitamins such as biotin, folacin niacin pantothenic acid riboflavin thiamin for metabolism and energy formation.
