In your opinion - chicken feed

[hensnchicks]

I have free range chickens and supplement their insects and worms diet with laying mash and vegetable scraps. I chose laying mash because it was cheaper than pellets or crumbles. My girls look healthy and lay big, brown eggs on that diet.

 

[patandchickens]

If it were me, if their forage was good (actively-growing plants, and *lots* of bugs) all's I'd do is make sure they have a free-choice calcium source and possibly a free-choice thing of plain mixed grains (the cheap kind from the feedstore, when you walk in and say "gimme a bag o' mixed grain please", I don't mean anything fancy).

If plants are not actively growing or are getting a bit beaten down, or bugs are scarce, I'd give them layer pellets because waste is less than other forms of balanced ration. I like Free's suggestion of sprouted grains but it might be a little tricky balancing the amount you offer iwth the amount they eat... or it might not, I dunno, certainly worth trying.

Pat

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I personally like crumbles best, but I don't feed crumbles because it's more expensive. I feed a locally milled mash, but it also has a good amount of cracked corn in it that hasn't been mashed. They LOVE the cracked corn and usually leave some mash behind. They also free range every day of the year, and get lots of kitchen scraps. Now that it's winter I'm also mixing some cracked corn in with their mash and they love it.

 

[BarredBuff]

My hens just got the their first oat/corn/boss mix. It was a hit!

 

[VickiLynn]

Dumb question: What is BOSS?

 

[Buster]

I mix my own. That and what they can get out on pasture seems to suffice.

 

[murphysranch]

Black Oil Sunflower Seeds

I didn't know what it was until someone here told me too.

 

[TanksHill]

Always free range, some lay crumble. I also have a bucket of scratch, oat, rye and wheat mix. I give them a handful or two. Kitchen scraps when I have them.

When I was really short on cash there was no lay crumble. They ate free range and kitchen scraps. The eggs were the best ever. Dark orange yolk and great flavor.

g

 

[BarredBuff]

In the summer Im going to give them scraps and corn/boss mix.

 

[savingdogs]

Dumb question: What is BOSS?

Not a dumb question. I see this question more than any other actually.