Chicken Feeding Worries

For people who are getting started with raising chickens one of the main issues is the right
chicken feeding proportions, the heating of some of the feeds, the kind and the quality of the
feed. Another worry considered seriously is the chicken actually starving because the feeding
failed in one way or the other.

No. In fact it is not. Chicken may be very low maintenance birds but they have survived longer
than us and their population is several hundred folds over ours. True they are prone to diseases
and pests but their population is a testament that chickens are survivors. More so with hands
that care.

Chicken will eat just about anything. They will scratch for worms, they are happy with people
leftovers; they love pellets, seeds and vegetables, peels, bugs and slugs. They are just as happy
eating bread while pecking at a cockroach, and when something is not right with them, they will
eat grass and even pebbles. They are most content when they range around for food and they
will know what to eat and what not to every time. On the other hand, people could prepare the
fanciest feed preparation for them but if they do not want it, they will avoid it.

So once in a while, if the size is manageable, let the chicken roam around, with supervision of
course. Because if chickens are caged their diet is only as varied as those that are fed to them.
While the chickens are in their pens, there are two types of feeds. The first and most important
is the corn mixed with other seeds. The second is the pellets. There are three kinds of pellet
feeds. The layers mash, the crumbled pellet and the pellets. These variations typically have
similar composition. The different names are only to identify the grade of the milling. Layers
mash for example is crushed to almost powdery consistency to make it easier for chicks to peck
and digest.

The crumbles are milled to rough consistency and are ideal for young chickens and the pellets
for the full grown. Chickens could get by very well with one measure of mixed corn with one
measure of pellets. If you can throw in other food, they will pretty much eat that too and if they
do, there is no cause for worry.

Chicken eats grit too. They need grit to aid their digestion. If you do not provide them that, they
would be pecking pebbles. If you want that prevented, you could purchase that at farm supplier
but you could very well make grit yourself. To do that, roast eggshells in your oven until they
are brown, pound it (not too powdery), and mix it with their meal. One of the few things that
you do not have to feed chickens is preparing grit from oyster shells. Oyster shells, even when
prepared in similar fashion to those of the eggshells will always have rugged and sharp edges.

Chicken feeding is never complicated. Simple steps like this could provide eggs for the table or
for hatching. You will know if something is wrong when eggs are getting scarce but then you
would easily find a way to correct whatever the cause may be.