What to Feed Chicken to Lay More Eggs
- Oyster shell. Besides oysters, hens need calcium to create a strong egg shell. A consistent supply of calcium is...
- Layer feed. It is crucial to provide your chickens with a diet rich in nutrients for laying eggs. Layer feeds should...
- Cracked corn. Providing cracked corn to your chicken will help it produce heat, making it a great...
- Providing vitamin and electrolyte supplements for more than 10 days.
- Supplementing complete feeds with cracked corn, oats, or other grains.
- Regularly adding green chops, lettuce, or other low nutrition ingredients to the diet.
What are the 5 best chicken feeds for laying eggs?
- Well balanced protein and calcium for egg productivity
- Probiotics for boosting digestion
- Proper nutrients combination for healthy chickens and quality eggs
- No animal protein and fats
- Added flax seeds for omega-3
- High colored egg yolk
What is the best food to feed chickens?
- Eggs – It’s always easy to whip up scrambled eggs in the morning. Perhaps, you can make some for your chickens too. ...
- Chicken – Like how chickens provide protein to humans, chickens are also good protein sources for chickens. It’s delicious! ...
- Shellfish – Yes, chickens are into seafood too! Shellfishes are good sources of proteins for the flock. ...
What type of feed should I Feed my chickens?
Usually, commercial feeds will include grains like wheat, oats, or corn. These grains provide all the phosphorus, B-vitamins, and whole grains (as well as more protein) that your chicks need to stay healthy. Chicken need certain vitamins, such as vitamins A, D, and B. They also need salt.
What can I Feed my chickens to fatten them up?
You can supplement what you give the chicken to help it fatten up more. Cracked corn, whole wheat and soy can be fed to chickens throughout the day. These items help to pack on the weight.If you decide your chickens need better nutrition for better weight and muscle development I would recommend using a conditioning feed.
Feeding Your Layers For Egg Production
The simplest and most effective way of feeding your flock of hens for egg production is to buy a complete feed intended for this purpose. Complete chicken feeds are processed to provide all essential nutrients needed by your egg-layers for better production.
Top 5 Chicken Feeds for Laying Eggs
Here comes Hiland-Naturals Non-GMO Chicken Grower feed for your hens. This brand offers different types of chicken feed, especially for layers. Also, you can provide it to your growers and starters if you want to.
SUPPLEMENTS
Chickens are compelled to scratch at the ground. They use their toes to mix up litter or scrape the ground in search of various seeds, greens, grit, or insects to eat. Spreading scratch grains (cracked, rolled, or whole grains such as corn, barley, oats, or wheat) encourages this behavior.
MEDICATED FEEDS
Medicated poultry feeds, which typically contain a coccidiostat and/or an antibiotic, are available. Coccidiosis can be hard to control through sanitation practices alone. Chickens benefit from being fed a coccidiostat at low levels. Mature chickens develop a resistance to coccidiosis if allowed to contract a mild infection of the disease.
FEEDING AND STORAGE
The way the chickens are fed is as important as the feed itself. Supply enough feeder space for all the chickens to eat at one time. With limited feeder space, some chickens do not get enough to eat. Place the feeders so that the trough is at the level of the chickens’ backs. This will reduce feed spillage.
REPLACEMENT PULLETS
The manner in which a pullet is raised to sexual maturity will have a lasting effect on the productive life of the hen. Pullets are grown to reach a certain body weight at a specific age. Many of the problems that occur in a laying flock can be traced back to insufficient body weight during the growing period.
LAYING HENS
Once your chickens start laying eggs (around 20 weeks of age) they should be switched to a layer feed. Layer feeds are formulated for chickens laying table eggs (those used for human consumption). Broiler feeds are formulated for those chickens producing hatching eggs (breeders).
MOLTING
Each year chickens molt (lose older feathers) and grow new ones. Hens typically stop egg production until after the molt is completed. There is considerable variability in the timing and duration of a molt. “Late molters” lay for 12 to 14 months before molting, whereas “early molters” can begin to molt after only a few months in production.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
How to feed your laying and breed flock. James Hermes, Oregon State University.
When do chickens start laying eggs?
Different breeds of chicken have varying ages when they start laying eggs.
What to feed your chickens from chicks to egg-laying hens
After buying the chickens, (preferably either of the best chicken breeds for eggs) what next to do you do?
Treats to feed you chickens that will make them lay more eggs
We know the regular strategic feeding we listed above is enough to make the chickens lay eggs.
Chicken Feed
There are various types of formulated feeds available in the market for chickens according to their age and types of hens. You will find feeds for your chicks, growing chicks and mature one.
Greens
Chickens enjoy all kinds of greens including grasses, leaves, plants etc. Fresh greens, tender grass clippings, table scraps, vegetables etc. are effective greens for your laying hens.
Scratch Mix
Naturally chickens love to scratch up the soil and eat bugs, insects, grit and greens. You can provide your hens scratch mix that is an assortment of grains and seeds like barley, corn, oats or wheat.
Supplemental Calcium & Vitamins
Supplement the feed of your laying hens with extra vitamins and calcium whether they eat commercially prepared feed or feed free range. Calcium helps to make the eggshells strong.
Water
Along with feeding high quality and nutritious feeds, your laying hens also need a consistent water source. Normally, chickens drink double or triple than the total amount of feed they consume each day.
Know Your Timeline
One of the best tips to pay attention to when raising chickens for eggs is that chickens don’t start laying as soon as they hatch out of their own eggs.
Mind the Feed
The good news about raising laying hens is that you don’t have to go absolutely bonkers trying to find some new, cutting-edge feed for your chickens. You just need to give them a basic, quality diet.
Add Some Treats
Although the easiest way to modify your chickens’ diets to get them to lay more eggs is to simply provide them more of their regular, high-protein and high-calcium feed, you can also supplement with treats.
Keep Things Clean
Think about it – how relaxed would you feel if your toilet was overflowing and your house was a mess? Probably not very.
Tidy Up Those Nest Boxes
How are your nesting boxes looking? Ideally, you should have at least one nesting box for every four chickens, but if your girls are struggling to lay the right amount of eggs, you may need to add a few more areas for them to do so.
Give a Girl Some Space!
If your chickens are feeling cooped up – see what I did there? – they are far more likely to lay fewer eggs.
Add Calcium
Laying an egg requires a shocking amount of calcium. Make sure your laying hens have access to a calcium supplement.
When Do Chickens Normally Start to Lay?
The first thing you need to be aware of if you are growing impatient while waiting for your chickens to start laying eggs is that time is the biggest factor.
How to Get Chickens to Lay Eggs – Our Top Tips
Here are a few actionable tips to encourage your chickens to lay eggs:
Signs Your Hens are Ready to Lay Eggs
If you’ve implemented all of the tips I’ve told you above and there are still no eggs in sight, take a step back for a moment to truly evaluate your chickens.
Supplements
Medicated Feeds
Feeding and Storage
- The way the chickens are fed is as important as the feed itself. Supply enough feeder space for all the chickens to eat at one time. With limited feeder space, some chickens do not get enough to eat. Place the feeders so that the trough is at the level of the chickens’ backs. This will reduce feed spillage. If bantams and large fowl are being fed from the same feeder, adjust the feeder t…
Replacement Pullets
- The manner in which a pullet is raised to sexual maturity will have a lasting effect on the productive life of the hen. Pullets are grown to reach a certain body weight at a specific age. Many of the problems that occur in a laying flock can be traced back to insufficient body weight during the growing period. Commercially raised pullets receive three diets during the growing phase: st…
Laying Hens
- Once your chickens start laying eggs (around 20 weeks of age) they should be switched to a layer feed. Layer feeds are formulated for chickens laying table eggs (those used for human consumption). Broiler feedsare formulated for those chickens producing hatching eggs (breeders). The diets are basically the same, but the breeder diets typically have...
Molting
- Each year chickens molt (lose older feathers) and grow new ones. Hens typically stop egg production until after the molt is completed. There is considerable variability in the timing and duration of a molt. “Late molters” lay for 12 to 14 months before molting, whereas “early molters” can begin to molt after only a few months in production. Early molters drop only a few feathers a…
For More Information
- How to feed your laying and breed flock. James Hermes, Oregon State University. Principles of feeding small flocks of chickens at home. David Frame, Utah State University. Molting of laying hens. Mississippi State University. BACK TO FEEDS AND FEEDING MENU