Nutrition and common sense

The mixing and feeding of all the required basics of a chicken's diet is a fine art and it is impossible (and unnecessary) to produce a perfect homemade mix now that balanced foods are readily available. For those worried about the unknown additives connected with the manufacture of commercial poultry foods, it is as well to realise that free range and organic rations are available and do not contain what some may perceive as undesirable additives.

Depending on their age, poultry have differing nutritional requirements.

Broody hens

A broody hen eats very little when she is sitting and requires little more than a diet of mixed corn with plenty of maize (to maintain body mass and warmth) and a fresh supply of water. No other specific nutrients are required. An additional advantage to feeding grain is the fact that the droppings are firmer and she is not as likely to foul her nest.

Chicks

Even if you have a home-produced or organic feeding programme in mind, do not be tempted into trying to rear young chicks on household scraps. Without the correct protein levels at this stage, they will have no chance of surviving, or if they do, will only make poor under-nourished specimens. Proprietary chick crumbs are essential, not only because they contain all of the nutritional requirements, but also because some necessary medicinal additives, to combat Coccidiosis, for example, are included.

In most cases, crumbs can be phased out at around three to four weeks of age, but some in-bred strains or the more delicate of true bantams may require crumbs for twice this period, as the chicks are often less efficient at absorbing all the necessary nutrients available via their food.

Growers

Proprietary grower's rations are your most sensible option. They are lower in protein and vitamin content and are cheaper than chick foods for this reason. Pullets must not be over-fed and the protein limited, as otherwise, they will develop too quickly, but internally, will still be immature - causing various egg-laying problems and possibly a partial moult at point-of-lay.

Layers

Buy a good balanced layers ration providing somewhere in the region of 17% protein and feed it either as a coarse ground mash or pellets. It is recommended that layer's feeds should not be fed with grain or other low protein foods, as their addition will unbalance the manufacturers carefully evolved formula - in practice, however, a mixture appears to do little or no harm to the small non-commercial flock.

Table birds
If you are raising some surplus cockerels for the table, household scraps can be an valuable addition to their diet and will certainly help in bulking up flesh when fed along with a high protein proprietary fattening meal. A bird fed in this way will have a great deal more taste than the majority of commercially produced chickens and its varied diet (here is where you can use maize to great advantage) will make the carcass virtually self-basting. Cockerels as young as ten weeks can make magnificent eating and in the catering trade would be known as 'poussin' and command a high price.

Feeding for breeding

Breeding birds need a plentiful supply of protein and trace elements in their diet otherwise their offspring may suffer from deficiency-related diseases. Some of the best breeders and maintenance rations are produced for game birds rather than poultry and are worth considering.

Breeder's rations are, as their name suggests, suitable for inclusion in the diet of birds from which you are intending to breed next year's stock and should be fed from about January onwards.

It is essential that sufficient vitamins are included in the diet of your breeding stock otherwise the resulting chicks may hatch with curly, misshapen toes, splayed legs, twisted necks and breastbones (It is, however, important to note that similar defects in incubator hatched birds may be a result of bad incubator management and have nothing to do with genetic deficiencies).

Pellets or mash?

Whilst the pellets are easier to manage and possibly less wasteful, there are some experienced poultry keepers who feel that it is better to feed a dry mash than a pellet, believing that, as it takes chickens around three hours of continuous feeding to eat the amount of mash they require, they will consume their day's ration of pellets in half an hour and then become bored, especially during the winter months.

Pellets are, however, your only option if keeping birds intended for exhibition as there is no doubt that mash is a messier form of feeding and show birds, especially the bearded or muffed varieties, will end up caked with encrusted feathers around the beak if mash is used.

If for any reason, you wish to change the type of food given, the process must be done slowly over a period of time and any changeover should take roughly the following pattern - mix in around a quarter volume of the new food to three quarters of the old for two or three days; then mix half and half for the same period, next, give three quarters of the new food mixed with a quarter of the old before finally changing entirely to the new ration.

Cereal feeds

It is pointless trying to give a combined feed of pellets and cereal at the same time - most poultry will eat the wheat first and leave the rest. Being harder to digest, cereal is best given as the afternoon or early evening feed, thus ensuring that birds go to roost with a full crop.

The afternoon feed is perhaps one occasion where one can make an exception to the rule of feeding chickens indoors: they will gain a great deal of amusement and exercise if the corn is scattered around the outdoor run in dead leaves or among any other suitable scratching material.

The best mix is one of wheat and maize, but the ratio should not be more than roughly one-quarter maize to three-quarters wheat. A little more maize can, however, be fed during the winter months, as it is an excellent way of maintaining the bird's body heat. Too much maize in a laying bird's diet is, however, bad for their health and fatty deposits can build up around the ovaries.

Split maize can be a very useful tool in enhancing the colour of yellow-legged breeds that are intended for showing and its inclusion in their diet will often sharpen up 'faded' legs. It also improves the colour of egg yolks.

Bags of ready mixed grain can be bought, but you may find that there has been some or too much barley included and so it is generally cheaper buy wheat and mix in the maize yourself (barley is not much liked by chickens and bantams and will be rejected in favour of other cereals).

It is possible to buy bags of sunflowers, linseed and other even smaller seeds intended for feeding to wild birds that will all help in keeping poultry amused, but they should be given as a treat rather than forming part of the daily cereal ration.

Using household scraps

For maximum egg production, household scraps should not form more than 20 per cent of the daily total intake, but some readers, keen on re-cycling and self-sufficiency, may wish to utilize the household scraps and vegetable off-cuts. One way of doing so would be to boil them up and add them to mash. If you decide on this method of feeding, it is important that you make the resultant mixture moist but crumbly - not sloppy. If the mash breaks up easily when a mixing spoon is put through it, you have got it about right.

Although a favoured method of feeding by old-time poultry keepers, the preparation of wet mash is very time-consuming and only as much as the birds can eat in about half an hour should be made available at any one time. If left around for much longer, it will become sour and unpalatable.

Chickens also enjoy any leftover stale brown (white is as unhealthy for poultry as it is for humans) bread soaked in milk, cheese, plus rice, pasta and any cereal-based scraps. However, do not feed strong-tasting, mouldy or otherwise contaminated food, as this will, at the very least taint the eggs and at the worst cause digestive problems and even death.

Many of the outer leaves of cabbage, cauliflower, beet, lettuce and sprouts that are intended for use in the kitchen can also all be given to chickens and will form a very important part of their daily diet of greenstuffs. Do not feed meat in any form.

Greenstuffs

Free-ranging birds will get most of their greenstuffs naturally. In the early part of the season, grass that has been correctly managed will be high in chlorophyll, which has, like split maize, been found to be beneficial in improving the colour tone of yellow-legged chickens.

In grassless runs and houses, a few turfs of short grass can be thrown in at intervals, but it is far better to give your birds a regular daily supply of greenstuffs, which, for preference, should be hung off the ground or given in racks. Whatever method is chosen, any leftovers must be removed each night and placed on the compost heap.

If you have space in your garden, many crops can be grown especially for feeding to poultry. Useful varieties include, Lucerne, vetches, green cereals, rape, kale, millet and clover - always try and give them the whole plant, as chickens will find grubs and minerals in the soil surrounding the roots as well as in the leaves and stems.

Weeds gathered in the countryside and which have no chance of being contaminated by chemicals or car exhausts can also be a good addition to the diet. Young chicks especially, will appreciate chopped dandelion leaves, plantains, shepherd's purse, watercress and, appropriately enough, chickweed!

Flint grit is an essential aid in digesting the birds' food once it has entered the gizzard and is also a means of supplying calcium - although this is often included in the manufactured feedstuffs.

Many chicken keepers believe that birds that are kept on a good quality layers ration should not be given extra oyster shell because it will upset the calcium phosphorous ratio and, in doing so, can cause thin shelled eggs, brittle bones and in some cases, feather loss.

In all other circumstances, poultry should have access to both types of grit, which can be purchased in any agricultural suppliers. Each bird can be expected to consume approximately 28grams (1oz) of flint grit each month.

Vitamin and mineral supplements are available commercially but are not normally required because the manufacturers of pellets and mash always add a certain amount. There may, however, be certain times of the year; during the winter months, rearing periods and at the moult, for example, where additional vitamins may prove beneficial.

When moving poultry long distances or, should you ever become enthusiastic enough to exhibit your birds at shows, there is always a possibility that they might become affected by stress. A course of soluble vitamins, obtained from your local veterinary surgery and given in the drinking water for 5 -7 days will help in alleviating this. As it has a long shelf life, it is useful to have a sachet of soluble vitamins on hand. Be sure to follow the vet's instructions to the letter and always discard any medicated water that is over 24 hours old.

In the wild, a bird's food contains all the necessary nutrients, carbohydrates, plant and animal protein, plus levels of naturally occurring vitamins and minerals.

As domesticated birds, poultry no longer have the freedom to make up their own nutritional package and so it is important that you offer a diet that is well balanced and will provide all the nutritional requirements at each stage of the chicken's life.

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