What EXACTLY should I be feeding my girls?

[PatchyPauline]

I have read tons of advice but please can you tell me what treats I need to buy? My girls are about 20 weeks and have been laying for a week - they have their layers feed and some corn and have had some dried mealworms which they love. They don't really seem that bothered about kitchen bits - will they learn to love them? what other treats should I get them? They like my rasperry canes in the garden..
Thanks
Pauline

[Flummery]

They need some greens every day. I grow a lot of leafy green veg on the veg plot and the allotment - some for us but mostly it seems to go to the chickens!
Mine also love fruit. Any grapes or nectarine that are starting to go wrinkly, any elderly apples or pears, they'll scoff up.
I leave such treats till later in the day though, to make sure they've eaten all the layers' pellets they need.

[Nicos]

You need to go easy on treats as they put on weight- and then stop/slow down with their laying!
Mine utterly adore- and will fly over the electric fence for- when they hear the crinkle of a sultana packet!
Nope- it's clearly not the packet they're after- but the sultanas!!! Tesco sell ( as I'm sure that many of the other major supermarkets do) value packs of sultanas- and porridge oats -which are perfect for this time of the year for you to add spice, garlic and ground up eggshell.

[PatchyPauline]

Thanks - should I just put it all in a container in the run and remove it with all the uneaten stuff when they go to bed? (worried about the vermin)
Apologies for seeming a bit naive - you are all so experienced!
Pauline

[Hans Mum]

i only give treats when they've eaten their pellets (bit like kids no sweets etc) and they usually finish it all off....so there's nothing left to clear up if there is anything left i would clear it up as your right to worry about vermin.......
mine love tomatoes & plums when the plum tree was full of ripe fruit they were hopping onto the lower branches to get at them & they quite like courgettes which have managed to become marrows

[RichmondHens]

Give just pellets as their main feed, and anything extra (corn/veg scraps etc) as a small treat at the end of the day (about an hour before they go to bed). Do not be tempted to give them loads of treats ad lib, even though they will tell you they want them!

[Bephlam]

I give layers pellets (and growers for my young'uns of course)....as much as they want pretty much...ie: fill the hopper and leave them to it. They get treats, in the winter a handful of corn before bed to fire up their internal central heating system! If it's proper icy cold some porridge with fruit or corn, etc. And...some greens from time to time, plus any leftovers I have in the house. (Of course, I don't mean left overs...I mean freshly prepared food that I've bought specifically for the chooks!)

[PatchyPauline]

What do I do with the porridge oats please?
Pauline

[Bramble-Poultry]

they will eat the oats as they are, and drink extra water to rehydrate them as needed. Alternativly you can soak them overnight in water and put the "glop" into the run for them to dive into.

Ours absolutley adore pasta. we buy the smartprice spaghetti and then break into short lengths and cook it. Scatter around the runs and they dive in. A couple of warning notes. Cooked food left out for any length of time will attract rats. therefore put down a little and make sure that is eaten before putting any more down. Secondly, pasta is extremely fattening for chickens. Therefore, down feed every day as you will end up with fat hens and fat hens dont lay eggs. We tend to give to the growers as it helps condition them for the table.

Also, if you leave the spaghetti in its natural length, they can have trouble eating it as it is too long. best to cut up into short lengths.

[PatchyPauline]

Thank you - with regard to the spice, I have seen it in the suppliers - is it good to use and how do you work out how much or is it not too important?
Pauline

[Eco-Chic]

The Poultry Spice pack instruction advises 1 tsp added to enough feed for 10 hens. I guesstimate how much really for my 3 chooks. They get Poultry spice added to their layers pellets for one week and powdered garlic (about the same amount) the next week. You'll know if you overdo the garlic 'cos the eggs will taste garlicky

I also add 10ml (roughly a tsp) daily of Apple Cider Vinegar to 1L of water (don't use metal drinker for this).

I've rigged up an apple for them to have in addition to their layers pellets tomorrow. They also free range from late morning to dusk most days.

[moola]

I give my chooks Poultry Spice and Apple Cider Vinegar when they are going through harder patches - in moult, when it is cold, when they come into lay etc. I keep these as 'boosters' so to speak. I would be very careful with your treats with your hens being POL. Their first few eggs can be difficult for them (and you can lose the odd hen during this period) so you don't want to mess their systems. Go easy on the carbs and make sure you have grit and oystershell available to help them digest and form good solid shells. Yours may not start laying until early Spring (unless they are hybrids and they may kick in earlier) so take it nice and easy. Give them a good healthy start

[winstonwobble]

Wont feeding egg shell encorage them to eat their eggs?

[Bephlam]

I just mix a couple of scoops of porridge with equal parts water, cook it on the stove until it's all gloopy, then add some poultry spice and whatever else takes my fancy...then put it in the chicken treat tin and pop it in with the boys and girls. They go mad for it...love it...they don't get it every day though, just once a weekish (unless it's really icy cold!)

Mine also love pasta (spaghetti), grapes, prunes, rice, yoghurt, banana, strawberries with pro biotic yoghurt...etc etc.

On the other end of the spectrum...my dogs ADORE growers and layers pellets!!! Weird!

[Eco-Chic]

Wont feeding egg shell encorage them to eat their eggs?

No, the egg shells should be baked or microwaved to kill off bacteria and then crushed a blender or with a pestle and mortar so it won't resemble an egg shell to look at or to taste.