Chickens are known as our yard waste cleaner. They will eat kitchen waste, grain, and ready-made feed that can be purchased at the store. However, the nutrients they need must be properly balanced. Laying hens need high levels of calcium, while broilers need more protein. Change and supplement your chicken feed as it grows and develops.
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Part 1 of 4: Feeding Chicks
Step 1. Do not give the chicks any feed for the first hour after they hatch
Wait after they are a day old before starting to feed them normally.
Step 2. Give baby chicks a mixture of 3.5 liters of water with a quarter cup of sugar and can also add a teaspoon of teramicin
Teramycin is an antibiotic used to treat infections caused by bacteria.
Step 3. Purchase a special chick feed (starter feed or starter ration) from a farm shop
This feed should contain a 20 percent protein mix, which is higher than the levels required for adult chicken feed. Feed starter rations from one day to eight weeks of age.
Step 4. You may need to purchase a starter ration containing the drug if your chickens have had cochdiosis before
If they have been vaccinated, you can use a regular starter ration.
Step 5. Prepare about 14 kg of starter ration to feed 10 chicks for six weeks
Part 2 of 4: Feeding the Growing Chickens
Step 1. Change the starter ration to a growth feed (grower feed) which you can buy from a farm store when the chicks are 8 to 10 weeks old
The protein content contained in this feed should be around 16 percent. Poultry raised as broilers can be provided with up to 20 percent protein in their grower rations.
Step 2. Start feeding small kitchen litter when your chicks are 10 weeks old or older
The cut should be really small, as it will replace some of the nutrition of the grower's ration for the day.
Step 3. Place a small bowl of gravel near the feeder
Gravel helps the chicken to digest the vegetables and fruits that are given. As with ready-made feed, it is usually made in such a way that it can be digested without the help of gravel.
Step 4. Do not give your chickens any layer feed (layer feed) before they are 18 weeks old
Calcium contained can damage the kidneys and shorten the life of chickens.
Step 5. Remember that chickens only eat during the day
Cover any remaining feed to protect it from pests at night.
Part 3 of 4: Feeding Layers
Step 1. Start feeding your laying hens with layer rations when they are 20 weeks old
You can also feed it multipurpose feed; but layer rations contain up to 2 percent more protein and higher levels of calcium for better eggshell formation. You will need 8 to 11 kg of feed per week for 10 chickens.
You can buy layer rations in the form of pellets, powder (like bran) or crumbs
Step 2. Provide an additional source of calcium in a bowl
Shellfish or mashed eggshells can increase calcium, but don't mix them directly with layer rations.
Step 3. Occasionally give your laying hens additional feed each week to supplement their diet
The healthiest supplementary foods are mealworms (meatworm beetle larvae or commonly called "hongkong caterpillars"), pumpkin fruit and pumpkin seeds. Do not forget to always provide a bowl of gravel to help digestion.
Step 4. Supplement your chicken's diet with mixed feed in winter
Chickens will eat more when it's cold. Mixed feed is made from ground corn, oats, wheat, and other grains. Mixed feed should be given in limited quantities and not given at all in the summer.
Step 5. Do not feed your chickens acidic fruits, salty foods, rhubarb, chocolate, onions, garlic, grass clippings, raw nuts, avocado seeds or skins, raw eggs, sugar, candy and raw potato skins
These ingredients are toxic to chickens.
Step 6. Leave your chickens free to forage in your yard
A lawn full of grass and tender young plants will add nutrients to the chickens. However, a lawn with pesticide sprayed grass or a lawn with just one type of grass can actually hinder nutrients that should be obtained from other food sources.
Part 4 of 4: Feeding Broiler Chickens
Step 1. Purchase a broiler-only starter ration for your broilers until they are 6 weeks old
This feed is different from the layer ration because it has a protein content of 20 to 24 percent.
You will need a special broiler starter ration of 14 to 23 kg for 10 chicks
Step 2. Purchase broiler-only finisher pellets to feed your chicks from 6 weeks of age until they are ready for slaughter
The protein content in this feed is 16 to 20 percent. You will need 7 to 9 kg of finisher pellets for 10 chickens.
Step 3. Consider feeding your broilers both day and night
Some types of poultry that are raised for slaughter will be fed day and night, with lights placed in the feeder to attract them to eat more. You can do this before the chickens are ready to be cut.
