Chicken Feed

Laying hens need a diet that has around 18% protien in it, so layers mash or pellets are ideal, pellets are not as messy as mash so we are using organic layers pellets which have no colour enhancers or anything else artificial in it. We also allow our hens to roam the garden during the day when we are home to scratch for bugs and eat the weeds and grass too. Raking and cutting the grass regularly clears up any droppings which go in the compost heap.

Layers pellets can be fed either by a feeder or hopper see below or at set times of the day, a laying hen needs around 100 -120 gms per day, the hopper is useful if you are working or want to be able to leave your hens for a while.

Hens love mixed corn as a treat, I give it to them rather like coco just before bed time, a handful per bird gives them a full crop which sees them through the night. it is a mixture of cracked maize (sweet corn) and wheat.

Chickens are made up of approximately 50% water so access to drinking water is essential, you should allow 1/2 a litre of water per bird per day (larger breeds may need more). A poultry drinker is a good way of hens having unrestricted access to water that wont need filling up every day. Ours is cleaned and refilled twice a week in hot weather less often in cool.