Feeding family farm chickens requires careful consideration when selecting the feed type and quality to maximize health and growth of each flock. With many types of chicken food available on the market today, each type serves its own specific purpose and use.
Example of complete chicken feed designed for laying hens that contains 16% protein to promote optimal weight and egg production; plus calcium to prevent fragile eggs.
Contents
Egg Maker 15 Crumbles
Country Road feed for laying hens comes in an economical 50 lb bag and has received high praise from customers who appreciate its effectiveness at increasing egg production while remaining an economical and budget-friendly alternative to costly commercial feeds.
Laying chickens require a simple diet of grains, greens, protein and calcium in order to produce protein-rich eggs with strong shells. Some farmers prepare homemade mash or crumble while others opt for commercial laying feeds – neither form affects nutrition in either case – so try both and see which suits your flock best. Grit and oyster shell should also be provided to assist with breaking down larger nutrients while providing proper hydration of birds.
Manna Pro Layer Probiotic Crumble
This family farm chicken feed offers your birds an impressive blend of probiotics, vitamins, minerals, omega 3’s, kelp and other natural supplements for maximum performance and digestion. In addition, its mix of grains provides your flock with essential nutrition they can easily break down into fuel for growth and health.
This pellet and crumble feed has been specifically tailored to cater to laying hens, with its nutritionally balanced ration helping promote the health and egg production of your flock. Formulated by nutritionists, this feed includes probiotics for improved gut health.
This feed can be purchased online or from Tractor Supply stores and features organic ingredients from a local family farm, with an emphasis on wheat, barley, peas and sesame meal – plus many vitamins and nutrients – in its composition.
Nutrena Country Feed Layer Pellets
if your goal is to raise eggs from your flock, choosing the appropriate chicken feed is essential to its success. Layer feed contains higher protein and calcium levels to support healthy hens and strong eggshells; typically available as either a mash, crumble, or pellet form for convenient consumption by your flock. Pellets offer compact feeding solutions while offering more compact solutions than their counterparts.
This 16% protein layer feed for laying hens contains prebiotics and probiotics to promote optimal nutrient absorption, as well as vitamins and minerals for overall hen health and strong, hard-shelled eggs. When supplemented with shell grit or ground limestone (which looks similar to coarse gravel), this feed becomes even more effective at creating strong eggs with hard shells.
Shell Grit
Grit is a nutritional must for your flock whether they reside in a chicken coop or free range environment. Grit can be composed of oyster shell or water-soluble grit which dissolves quickly when exposed to liquid, fulfilling calcium requirements of laying hens. For optimal results, provide your flock with access to it at will – offering as an individual supplement rather than mixing into food can prevent overdosing and deficiency occurring simultaneously.
Your local farm store or online will likely carry both insoluble flint grit and oyster shell grit for your chooks’ use, in a form they can access easily for pecking as necessary. Furthermore, shell grit can help prevent egg-binding which occurs when too many eggs cannot break down easily in their digestive system.
Medicated Feeds
Medicated feeds are used to maintain the health and wellness of young chicks and protect them against diseases like coccidiosis and worms. Furthermore, medicated feeds increase egg production while simultaneously improving milk output.
FDA regulations differentiate animal drugs into two broad categories, therapeutic drugs which treat diseases in animals; and production drugs used to enhance animal production of edible or nonedible products by animals (FDA 2000a). Feed mills that manufacture medicated feed must hold a federal Feed Mill License which imposes more stringent cGMP requirements than non-medicated feed mills.
No matter whether or not you choose medicated feed for your animals, its tag will contain important details on feeding instructions and withdrawal periods before slaughter. Care must be taken when reviewing this information as the legal responsibility lies with the producer to ensure any medication administered correctly to animals.
