You want to know what chickens eat? In this Animal Expert article, we’ll talk in detail about the feeding of chickens, but it’s important to note that we’ll focus on chickens as pets, not chickens bred to produce meat and eggs. And this is the main problem when it comes to seeking food for them, as it can be verified that the commercial food is intended for specific populations of laying hens or animals for slaughter.
To clear the doubts about it, we will explain below which foods are recommended and which are dangerous. Read on and find out what chickens eat in this comprehensive guide to feeding chickens.
- Before detailing what chickens eat.
- It is important to know the peculiarities of your digestive system.
- Since they don’t have teeth.
- These birds have an organ we call gizzards.
- This organ holds small stones and cuttings to help grind the food that the chicken eats almost whole.
- At this point.
- It is important to consider where the hens live because if they have access to an outdoor space.
- They themselves will consume enough sand for their gizzard to work.
- On the other hand.
- If they do not have this possibility or are still small.
- You must provide this mineral component.
- You can buy it from specialty stores and sprinkle it simply under the food.
The veterinary food industry has made it easier for humans to feed chickens. Today, all you have to do is buy a chicken-friendly formula that is specific to every moment of your life, directly in specialty stores. This way, if you’re wondering what laying hens eat, it’s possible to find them a specific food for sale. The same goes for you if you want to know what organic chickens eat. With the organic adjective, we mean birds fed organic products, where possible, without GMOs or medicines that increase their growth or fattening.
In all cases, these terms laying or organic hens refer to production hens, which is not the case with pet hens. All hens, when they mature and for a few years, lay eggs, one a day depending on the light and their living conditions. Therefore, they will all be laying hens, but since at home you do not want to stimulate this production, the food does not need to favor this laying, and of course, it is not necessary to artificially increase the daylight hours by the amount of eggs to be greater.
Therefore, you must tend to respect the natural conditions of hens. They need a space where they can come into contact with the outside, access to the land where they will ride, places to climb and protected areas where to rest or lay eggs. To complete the well-being of the chicken, in terms of food, let’s see what chickens eat when they are free, if you want to offer more than just commercial food. The recommendation at this point is to think about healthy foods for humans. Cereals, fruits, vegetables, but also meats or fish can be part of the diet of our chickens. Even if they have access to the outdoors, the herbs, fruits, seeds, etc. they can consume are just supplements to the food that the tutor must provide.
If you’ve just adopted a chicken, check out our list of beautiful and original chicken names.
After choosing what your chicken will eat, you should know that it will eat and peck throughout the day, as long as there is sunshine. For this reason, the hen must always have at its disposal food that, depending on the space and type of food, can be placed in a bird feeder, offered directly or in a ground dispenser.
Chickens should also have clean, fresh water at their disposal. It is important to place it in a drinker, also designed for birds. This way, you won’t let the water overturn or the chickens will defecate in the water. This is especially important if the chickens are left alone for several hours.
You may have noticed that the question about what hens eat has several answers, because there are so many foods a tutor offers them. Next, we’ll focus on some who often raise questions about the feeding of chickens:
Yes, hens can eat bread because the main component of this food is cereals, which can also be offered directly to chicken, grains or ground. The only precaution you should take is to moisten it a little with water if it’s hard, so that the chickens can bite you.
Yes, hens can eat nettles. If you have an outdoor area where these herbs grow, they’re likely to include them in your diet, although some prefer other plants and eat nettles only if they can’t find anything better.
Yes, and not just insects, if your hen has access to the outside, it won’t be strange to find his pecking lizards, snakes and even small rodents. These are supplements for your diet.
Onions are one of the few foods that contrast for chickens. A small amount will not be harmful, but should not consume onions daily or in large quantities. In the next section we will tell you what other foods are not recommended for them.
Almost all fresh foods can be included in chicken foods, but there are a few exceptions we will detail below. It is not recommended that chickens have access to these products, as their components contain substances harmful to them. Occasional consumption may have no consequences, but these foods should not be part of the usual diet or consumed by chickens in large quantities:
Now he knows how chicken is fed, which foods are most beneficial, and which chicken he can’t eat. Do not hesitate to share your experience, doubts and comments with us. Find out also at Animal Expert why chickens don’t fly and how long a chicken lives.
If you want to read articles similar to What Chickens Eat, we recommend that you visit our Balanced Diets section.