what to feed chickens for nutritious eggs

What type of feed should I Feed my chickens?

• Dairy products – poultry lacks the enzyme that allows them to digest milk on a large scale, but a small amount can prove beneficial to your flock. ...
• Sweet Potatoes & Potatoes – Make sure they are cooked (we don’t eat raw potatoes and neither should your flock. ...
• Corn – This is another what that is greatly debated in the world of chicken keeping. ...

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What can I Feed my chickens to fatten them up?

What to Feed Chickens to Fatten them up?

• Scratch Feed. Scratch feed is made out of different seeds and grains. ...
• Mealworms. The idea of purchasing mealworms to feed your chicken would not be so appealing. ...
• Cooked Oatmeal. Another effective method to fatten your chicken is to provide them with cooked oatmeal. ...
• Bread. ...
• Berries. ...
• Yogurt. ...

What is the best thing to feed chickens?

• Raw veggies, like cucumber peels, spinach, endive, and tomatoes
• Fresh fruit, including watermelon and banana - or even the banana peel
• Sprouted grain bread crusts
• Juice pulp you otherwise might trash
• Supplement with organic layer pellet feed, found at a local pet store or on Amazon.
• A diet of ONLY commercially produced feed pellets. ...

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How to feed chickens without buying feed?

Feeding chickens without “chicken feed”

• Feeding chickens in the beginning. The Allen’s chickens enjoy their dinner. ...
• Wasting feed. But the areas our hens had regular access to were severely overgrazed and when harvest season ended we expected to be feeding mostly layer ration.
• Brew grain. ...
• Dumpster diving. ...
• A complete diet. ...

What to feed chickens for the most nutritious eggs?

Have a crack at these tasty chicken treats to boost your backyard chicken eggs' nutritional value and keep those cheeky chooks flappin' happy in their coop or run. Vibrant leafy green vegetables like spinach, pak choi, silverbeet, kale or millet are a great treat for your laying hens.

What chicken feed produces the best eggs?

Alfalfa is great to produce that rich golden egg yolk. Mealworms mimic some of the naturally occurring food sources and even Earthworms have their place. Fish meal is also a great feeding choice. Flaxseed can up the Omega 3 content of eggs but use it sparingly.

How do you improve chicken egg quality?

8 Tips To Help Your Chickens Lay More EggsQuality Feed. You don't have to go crazy with some cutting-edge feed that's guaranteed to make your chickens produce eggs the size of a garden gnome. ... Clean Nests Boxes. ... Open Areas. ... Calcium. ... Inspect Regularly. ... Coop Security. ... Fresh Water. ... Parasite Control.

How do you make chicken eggs richer?

Give your chickens plenty of fresh greens to increase the lutein in their yolks. The darker the green the better, so I often fix them a feast of edible amaranth (one of my favorite summer greens), kale, mustard greens, broccoli leaves, or whatever I happen to have growing in my garden.

What foods increase egg production in chickens?

Treats That Will Make Your Hens Lay More EggsMealworms.Eggs and Eggshells.Greens.Watermelon and Fruit.Japanese Beetles.Sunflower Seeds.Scratch Grains.Cracked Corn.More items...•

What feed makes the best tasting eggs?

Wheat grass is very high in protein, and protein is key to healthy chickens and better tasting eggs.

How do you add value to eggs?

4 Ways to add Value to your Poultry Eggs for more Profit1) Boiled Egg Vending Business. ... 2) Selling Fertile Poultry Eggs for Incubation. ... 3) Supplying your Eggs to your Customers (Consumers) directly. ... 4) Packaging and Branding your Egg Products.

Does a chicken's diet affect egg nutrition?

Now, while certain foods won't affect the taste of your chickens' eggs, the healthier diet you feed them, the more nutritious their eggs will be. That's a completely different topic, but it has been proven that a hen can direct the nutrients in the food she eats directly into her eggs.

How do you increase egg shell strength?

Shell quality can be improved by providing the nutrients needed for the hen to build her bone reserves of calcium and make good shells: Feed a third to half of the calcium as large particles that are approximately ½ cm in size.

What do you feed chickens to make their eggs orange?

Farmers have added marigolds to chicken feed for about 60 years now. Marigolds contain a chemical called carotenoids which gives the petals a bright orange color. When a chicken eats the marigold petals the yolks of their eggs become orange colored too.

What to feed hens to get orange yolks?

"So, typically a diet high in dehydrated alfalfa will give you darker yolks." You can also give your chickens treats that are high in xanthophyll, such as carrots, apricots, pumpkins, red cabbage, and the leaves of most green plants.

How do you make egg yolks stronger?

Parsley, Marjoram, Fennel, and Borage are good to add when egg problems exist. As a result, the hens will be more comfortable while providing delicious strong, high quality eggs. In any event, adding more quality ingredients to your hen's diet can only help them build stronger immunity and live healthier lives.

What to feed chickens for rich yolks?

"So, typically a diet high in dehydrated alfalfa will give you darker yolks." You can also give your chickens treats that are high in xanthophyll, such as carrots, apricots, pumpkins, red cabbage, and the leaves of most green plants.

Do chickens like crumble or pellets better?

Feeding crumbles provides a nutritionally complete and balanced diet, just like pellets. Some may find that their flock wastes the crumbles a little more than pellets since chickens instinctually forage through smaller feed particles to eat the pieces they want.

What do you feed chickens to make their eggs orange?

Farmers have added marigolds to chicken feed for about 60 years now. Marigolds contain a chemical called carotenoids which gives the petals a bright orange color. When a chicken eats the marigold petals the yolks of their eggs become orange colored too.

Feed Chickens – What Feed to Use

For laying hens you’re going to want a 16% protein feed, that’s the basics. I will go further and recommend that you use a feed that is organic and gmo-free. To ensure that you are getting the best nutrition for your hens and then, in turn, for yourself you should eliminate feed with corn and soy.

Feed Chickens – Pasture and Grazing for ALL

I don’t have acres. I keep a small flock in my backyard. But I also have gorgeous and yummy orange yolks like my hens have been in the back 40 all day long. How you ask? I use my weeds, garden and kitchen scraps to keep them in good greens.

Feed Chickens – Other Considerations for Delicious and Nutritious Eggs

There are a few other options that will help you to make sure you are giving the best nutrition to your chickens and then to yourself.

1. Hydration

Besides having a generous supplementary feed, chickens need the perfect mix of carbohydrates, fiber, proteins, and fats. However, to break it all down while keeping the chickens in tip-top shape, you will need to supply them with a lot of water.

2. Fresh Food

Just sprinkling some fresh foods on their main meal should be enough. Chicken pet owners can also incorporate fresh vegetables such as tomatoes or cabbage into the chickens’ diet.

3. Herbs And Fibers

You can add garlic, alfalfa, dried oregano, and oatmeal to your chickens’ diet. Moreover, for nesting chickens, ingredients such as calendula, cornflower, lavender, roses, and chamomile can do wonders for the best smelling and tasting eggs.

4. Protein

Wheatgrass can be the foundation of a long, high-protein dietary list for your chickens. Wheatgrass consists of high protein contents and is vital for making chickens stronger, healthier, and, of course – eggs that taste like heaven drops.

5. Free Range

Do you believe in setting nature free? You should. If you’re a proud owner of a giant or mid-ranged backyard, let your chicken forage through it to find some joy and hidden treasures. This sets a stress-free environment for them, and sometimes that can play a more significant role than generic dietary regulations.

6. Calcium

Focusing on better-tasting eggs alone is never enough. A healthy egg overall must have the most rigid exterior shell too. Calcium is an all-time essential ingredient that promotes the production of sturdy, tasty, and appealing eggs.

Step 1: A high protein diet

The foundation of that diet is the wheat grass fodder I grow. Wheat grass is very high in protein, and protein is key to healthy chickens and better tasting eggs. You can also use barley, but I use wheat because barley isn’t available in the quantities I need in my area, and I try to support local businesses.

Step 2: Fiber and Herbs

Along with the wheat grass, I add oatmeal, alfalfa, garlic (fresh or powdered), and dried oregano to my chicken’s feed. You can find those herbs in this non-GMO product I love:

Step 3: Fresh foods

I don’t use a set recipe. I just sprinkle and mix. I also add kitchen scraps, as well as fresh veggies like cabbage, tomatoes (which they can pick through), etc. Since it’s winter and their water keeps freezing, the fresh veggies help them stay hydrated in addition to giving me better tasting eggs.

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.

Grains that Chickens Can Eat

You can feed a wide selection of whole grains to your poultry. Nevertheless, you have to provide them in a balanced ratio to prevent digestion issues. We all know that corn is the standard grain in commercialized feeds, but you can interchange it with sorghum because it has similar nutritional value.

Whole vs Cracked Grains

Feeding whole or cracked grains to chickens has been a debatable topic for a long time. While some individuals state about less nutritional value in whole grains, others argue otherwise. You should be aware that whole grains do not lose nutrition when cracked.

How to Feed Chickens Whole Grains?

The best time to feed your chicken with whole grains is from six weeks and above. Start by mixing it gradually in their meals for easier adaptations. Other than that, some experts recommend soaking the grains to save money.

How Much Grain Should a Chicken Eat?

A chicken diet quantity depends on age, weather conditions, productivity, and bird size. On average laying hens consume approximately ¼ pound of grains daily. Given that roosters are slightly heavy eaters; their daily grain requirement may be considerably more.

What to Feed Besides Grains?

Chickens are omnivores and feed on an almost similar diet to human beings. When foraging in the yard, they can find plenty of vitamin and protein-rich food like vegetation, grubs, and insects. Altogether, supplementing the diet is vital, especially during the cold months.

Bottom Line

Feeding your chicken on whole-grain does offer not only nutritional value but also protects them from bacterial infections. According to experts, poultry that often feeds on grains tends to have bigger crops which impacts better nutrient digestion.