Chicken Digestion (just the highlights)
- Chickens are omnivores (eat plants and animals) and monogastrics (have one stomach, like us, and unlike a cow, who has four).
- Chickens have saliva in their mouths, which starts the digestion process (just like us).
- Food is stored in their crop, which is located just behind their breastbone. If they are too thin (their crop is empty), their breastbone looks like the keel of a ship, sharply angled, and it is very easy to feel. If the chicken is well fed, their crop is full, and they almost look like they have swallowed a tennis ball. You can barely feel their breast bone, and can’t easily see where it is.
- Food moves from their crop to their gizzard, where it is ground up small enough to continue on down the digestion process. Birds don’t have teeth, instead they have a gizzard. Birds eat grit, which goes into their gizzard, along with their food. The gizzard clenches, and grinds up their food with the aid of the grit.
- final excretions go out the vent
Water
The most important nutrient. Always provide fresh water. It is very important in winter to provide non-frozen water, and to provide abundant fresh water in the summer.
To keep water non-frozen in the winter, the best idea is to use an electric water dish, that keeps the water just warm enough not to freeze. If you have a chicken coop that is part of a shed or garage that stays above freezing, or use a heat lamp in your hen house, water can be kept in there where it won’t freeze, just be sure it stays full, clean, and isn’t soaking the surrounding area. An emergency solution, not a long-term solution, is to bring out hot water twice a day.
In the summer, you will be amazed how much water the chickens drink, and how much evaporates. Make sure to keep their water full and clean. They MUST NOT run out of water.
Feed
I recommend using pre-made chicken feed rather than home made feed. Commercially made feed already contains the required amounts of protein, vitamins, minerals (except Calcium), and other nutrients to keep your hens healthy and productive. As a matter of fact, feeding additional scratch (grains) to your hens actually dilutes the nutritional value of their feed, so it is best to avoid or use very little scratch.
Feed comes in crumbles (aka mash) or pellets, and either will provide complete nutrition for full grown and full sized hens. Crumbles are preferred for bantam hens (miniature breed) and pullets (teen-agers, between chick and laying hen). Pellets are preferred for full grown, full sized hens because they waste less, meaning they make less of a mess!
Chicks or pullets have different nutritional requirements than hens, so they should be fed chick or pullet feed.
Chicken Feeding Requirements, Age or Type of Chicken, Protein, Calcium
- Broilers (to 6 wks) – 23 % Protein, 0.9% Calcium
- Broilers (to mkt) – 10 % Protein, 0.08% Calcium
- Chicks (to 8 wks) – 20 % Protein, 0.9% Calcium
- Pullets (8-20 wks) – 14 % Protein, 0.8% Calcium
- Layer Hens – 16 % Protein, 3.0% Calcium
Feed should be provided in a Chicken Feeder. There are various types, easily found in feed stores and even many local pet supply stores. The feeder should help prevent the hens from throwing their food around (which they love to do) which causes a wet smelly mess that attracts rodents and insects, and feeders prevent waste, which will save you money. Our favorite feeder is a very old fashioned kind. It is a tin dish, with round feeding holes in it, which screws to the top of an ordinary canning jar (small mouth, quart or larger). You fill the jar with feed, screw on the dish, turn it over, and set it in the chicken yard in a place where it will stay dry, you can easily clean the area, and the hens can’t tip or drag it over (we made a little dished area to set it in, so the hens can’t drag it).
Scratch
Scratch is grain that is fed to chickens. As noted in the Feed section, scratch actually dilutes the nutritional value of the Feed, so if you use scratch, use it judiciously.
Scratch usually consists of cracked corn, with or without a combination of other cracked or whole grains and/or legumes. Whole corn is too large, as are some other whole grains, legumes, or seeds, so use common sense when deciding on a scratch. Wheat, oats, barley, rice, millet, milo, flax, peas, and lentils are all possible, and fine, scratch ingredients. If you should decide to feed soybeans, they must be roasted or heat treated, soybean meal is fine because it has been heat treated.
Scratch has a few uses that I’ll mention here.
Chicken treat. Chickens will love person that feeds them scratch. This is a useful tool.
Scratch, particularly corn, can help put weight on a thin or less than vigorous chicken, and can help to keep them warm.
Scattering a bit of scratch on the ground of their chicken yard will make them happy all day. Chickens need to scratch at the ground, looking for grains, bugs, worms, and grit, most of the day in order to be truly healthy and happy. Chickens that can’t scratch are stressed and will often turn to pecking their companions out of frustration. I feel that this is the most important use for scratch.
Grit and Oyster Shells
Grit is small stones or rocks, all birds look for this in their environment. Grit is small gravel bagged and sold just for chickens. Hens use #2 Grit (chicks use #1 grit and turkeys use #3 grit).
Oyster Shell is actually mined ancient oyster shells that are ground, bagged, and sold for chickens. Chickens use “lay blend” oyster shell. It is also available in a grind for chicks and as a flour which is feed grade for other livestock, or to be used as lime in the garden.
Oyster Shell and Grit are necessary for 2 reasons:
Birds don’t have teeth, instead they have a gizzard. Birds eat grit, which goes into their gizzard, along with their food. The gizzard clenches, and grinds up their food with the aid of the grit.
Oyster Shell is fed to hens to give them extra Calcium, which hens need to give their eggs strong, thick shells. This oyster shell also works as grit for the hens. If your hens lay eggs with thin or even incomplete shells, you know they need more Calcium. If your hens eat their eggs, they may need more Calcium or Protein. (If they are eating eggs, increase their oyster shell, and wait to see if they stop. If they don’t stop, increase protein in their diet, fish meal and/or dairy products work well)
Grit and Oyster shell are most often mixed equally and offered free choice. This can be scattered on the ground for the hens to scratch and peck (best choice), offered in its own feeder (they will consume what they need), or may be mixed in with their feed (may encourage them to throw their food around).
Grit and Oyster Shell for chickens are both available at feed stores and some pet supply stores.
OTHER
Food Scraps
There are many food scraps that hens will enjoy, that are also good for them. Keep in mind that the commercially formulated feed is the best feed for them, so don’t overwhelm their diet with other foodstuffs. Chickens don’t have teeth or cutlery to get their food into small pieces, and too much food in the birds crop can lead to compaction there, which is a life threatening problem. Therefore, it is a good idea to chop up the scraps that you feed to them. We call this “chicken-chop” in our house. Chopping scraps also makes them more attractive, so the scraps are more likely to be eaten, rather than becoming rodent bait or becoming moldy and rotten in their yard..
There are also things to avoid. If something is clearly rotten, moldy, or inedible don’t feed it to your chickens, just compost or toss it.
Cereal products, such as bread, cereal, pasta (for a good time, hand feed your hen spaghetti!), and pastry are fine.
Lean meats (cooked or raw) and fish, fish skin, and dairy products are good for chickens, since they usually benefit from added protein. Keep in mind that too much fat can lead to serious health problems.
Most fruits and vegetables (peels, cores, ends, tops, etc…) are fine, cooked or raw. Chopping them makes them more attractive. They don’t like citrus peels, and apple seeds are bad for them if too many.
Feed brassicas, like broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and choy’s, in moderation, too much is not good for Chickens.
Pet Food – Don’t feed cat food to Chickens, even though they love it. Cat food is formulated with the nutrient needs of cats in mind, and it contains dangerous levels of certain amino acids for chickens.
Garden Waste and Toxic plants
A long list of possibly toxic plants: http://www.poultryhelp.com/toxicplants.html.
Possibly toxic plants, the highlights: Allium (all onion family of plants), amaranth, columbine, azalea, bitter gourd, bleeding heart, boxwood, brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, choy family of plants. A little bit is OK, but not too much), beet (greens, not too many), buckwheat, cacti, Canada thistle, cannabis, cassia, Chinese lantern, hellebore, clematis, daphne, cocklebur, vetch, lilly-of-the-valley, ranunculus, daffodil, delphinium, foxglove, fox tail, English ivy, horse tail, euphorbia, flax, four o-clock, snowdrop, soybean (raw plant, leaves), heliotrope, holly, hyacynth, hydrangea, St John’s wort, morning glory/bindweed, potato vine, iris, lobelia, birdsfoot trefoil, may apple, milkweed mock orange, nicotiana/tobacco, oleander, poppies, buttercup, vinca/periwinkle, rhubarb, black locust, rue, elderberry, Scoth broom, cassias, ferns, sorrels, sorghum, sweet pea, skunk cabbage, tansey, yew, tomato/potato plants, white clover, wysteria
Grass – Do not feed cut grass to chickens and don’t expect them to eat grass. Chickens thrive when kept on grass, but they don’t eat it. They eat seed heads and young sprouts of grass, along with other seeds, weeds, grit, insects and worms that might be in the grass. Long blades of grass can wad up in their crop and become compacted, which is a life threatening situation.
Insects and Animals
Chickens are omnivores and crave protein, like all omnivores. Chickens favorite treats are all kinds of insects, worms, and even mice (chickens are actually very good mouse hunters).
Water is not a nutrient – it has no nutritional value whatsoever.
Pre made chicken feed is cheap garbage, feed your bird that, and you’ll have the same garbage you buy at the store.
So chickens are omnivores – What meat suggestions do you have ? rendered chicken like pre-made feed ?
What are chicken feathers made of ?
Have you ever owned a bird of any kind ?
Who is the source of your misinformation, do they sell pre-made feed by chance ?
Hey, if a PIGEON can eat a whole grain of CORN, why can’t a chicken ?
Scratch on that while your chicken is hunting mice.
My chickens EAT grass, and other weeds. They especially like eating comfrey leaves.
They love tomato fruits, chopped peanuts, raisins, sunflower seeds, and other leafy garden scraps. They can actually tell the difference between a comfrey leaf which they devour, and a romaine leaf, which they apparently don’t like.
They love corn plant leaves too. They don’t like eating the bigger corn seeds, but if the seeds are left to soften and or sprout, they gobble them up.
I can’t figure out why people think that chicken food has to be milled. Most 3rd world countries have chickens roaming around, without formulated, pelleted or milled feeds, or vast amounts of grain.
Pioneers had chickens without these things as well, if the chickens did so poorly on a “natural” diet, then there would have been no point in keeping chickens because they wouldn’t have laid any eggs, and been too skinny to make a meal out of.
Chickens are smarter than people give them credit for. They like a varied diet as much as we do.
I have had my chickens for 2 years, my first time at it, raised them from day-old chicks. From what I thought I had purchased 10 hens turned out to be 1 rooster and 9 hens. Wasnt supposed to start out as pets, but that soon changed (husband not too happy about that). All in all, everything’s going well, lost 1 last year due to illness, and a really bad molt.
My chickens are free-range and come running when they see me; I do give them food scraps and corn scratch, which they all love. I like to uncover big rocks to see them scurry for grubs and bugs. We’ve had a good supply of eggs and sell some from time to time.
I never thought that chickens would bring so much joy to my life. I could watch them all day long, I have a stay-at-home computer job and I love taking my breaks and going outside to spend time with my birds. They are good stress-relievers for me.
Good post- BUT not enough research was done to label it accurate. Chickens survived long before man began keeping them as farm animals. As still do wild turkies- if you have ever seen a wild turkey they are HUGE and they live off what they forage, which is not much in winter months. THAT being said- alot of chickens have been bread to lay eggs daily- in the wild this is not what they would be doing- not very safe for them or logical- no one would raise 365 babies a year!! They would go broody certain times and would lay a certain number cluster of fertile eggs to hatch and rear for that season. SO commercial breeds (egg slaves) do need higher levels of calcium to pump out hundreds of eggs/year. Though the feed used is usually fortified with enough calcium to save money. There is nothing wrong with feeding a homemade diet0 there are certain rations to follow and calcium must be added or provided in oyster. and depending on a individual hens needs) I feed commercial foods, but I get Layeena Layer and Dumor and other brands meant for layers which is formulated with enough calcium for strong eggs- you can surely suppliment with calcium (and may need to with lower quality brands)- but it is not necessary if feeding good quality layer feed. My farm vet said there was plenty enough calcium that I didnt need oyster shell. My family has never fed oyster and our eggs have always been strong.
I used to worry about chickens choking or getting bound up- but honestly if they have enough grit they ‘chew’ things just fine. Chickens have been known to eat snakes, rodents- and other things that cross their path- mine love dandilions and grass and clover which I hand pick and chop a bit with scissors. You would not want to feed mowed grass- to horses either, or picked grass(w/out chopping it abit) or HAY- hay is dried and not breakdownable, so HAY does pose a threat- once they start to swallow a piece there esophagus will pull it down whether they want to keep eating it or not…ever see one running round with a piece of hay in their beak, trying to itch it out with their foot? you pull it out to see its like a foot long? but generally one long stand of hay is not going to bind them up. Young chicks are more seceptable to choking or crop impaction than adults.
there are indeed toxic things to avoid, and things to give only in moderation- some bids are brighter than others and instincually will not eat something toxic to them unless by accident- all animals show levels of instinct- my chicens will run and duck for cover when a larger bird flyes overhead- of course how do they know to do that if they have never been attaked? INSTINCT. but surely dont go throwing something toxic to them when they are cooped up birds- they are more likley to be so bored (lack of free ranging/foraging) that they may jump on anything and eat it- especially when there is competition for the item.
There are days i throw oatmeal, strawberries, corn cobs and a miriad of other things to my bantams and they just look at it -the little buggers! BUT eventuallythey DO eat it- I find that standard sized birds especially red sex links are better garbage disposals (figure of speach of course).
Too much oats/bread can cause sour crop though- so things should always be given in moderations, and yes- it often can throw their system off and cause a couple ‘odd eggs’ to be found….long term deficiencies can cause health issues for sure.
Just use common sense and do your research, certain flocks do better on certain feeds- it all depends of stress level, confinement and how well they are physically and emotionally cared for. Happy hens with spacious clean environments are healthy hens.
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Sorry, my post was meant for the ‘critics’ and to elaborate on the initial post. Though I have to correct- Mash and crumbles are not the same thing Mash is fine almost floury which I prefer never feed to adults and older chicks as I feel they tend to ‘hack’/cough on it- I wouldnt want to swallow large gulps of dusty ‘flour’ either. Crumbles are ground up pellets.
I agree! I love my chickens, they are like therapy. One particularly stressful day at home with the kids I went and sat in the coop watching the girls all vie for the ‘favorite’ nest box. And watched them concentrate and eventually proudly lay an egg. I left 45 minutes later relaxed, refreshed and stress-free, ready to handle my kids skirmishes again… And what a witness of God’s provision for us, just feed them and they feed us back! Thank you!
Having had chickens for a number of years, my experience with dumor and purina layer feed is that they do not have enough calcium to meet my flock’s need. I feed oyster shell mixed with their feed as they do not consume it free choice. The grit problem really is no problem for me as my hens are free range on very adequate pasture. Although I do keep some grit on hand for the Michigan winter when the ground is frozen solid and snow covered. And my hens DO eat grass. They prefer to pick it off in small bits themselves. And I do feed them third cutting alfalfa hay in the winter, either run through a shredder or fed whole. If fed whole, they waste more, but get more entertainment. I also feed open pollinated organic whole corn and whole field peas. They get practically all the waste from the kitchen. It can be old, but not bad. What do they eat? a list of what they don’t eat would be much shorter, but here is some of what goes out to the chicken yard.
melon rinds
apple peelings and trimmings
squash
pumpkin
leftover chicken and meat scraps , try a steak bone. they’ll clean it up completely
pasta
salad
coleslaw
cheese
cereals
bananas
grapes
tomatoes
soup, etc, ad infinitum
Are my birds healthy? You bet your booties they are. They lay very well. per dozen birds I get between 8 to 12 eggs a day.