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WHAT DO I NEED TO FEED MY BIRDS FOR A HEALTHY AND PRODUCTIVE LIFE?

This advice is for domestic free range conditions whether fully ranging out around a field or orchard or in houses and runs for their protection.

Feeding is probably one of the most vital factors in poultry and waterfowl keeping. Birds these days are bred and selected to live well using good proprietary feeds. These provide good quality protein; vitamins; minerals etc. If you feed differently you can affect the egg numbers and often the health of your birds dramatically.
Many times I am phoned regarding birds that are not laying particularly well and the main reason is often the feeding regime. The birds are being fed a mix of layers feed and corn or even wheat and mixed corn alone.

The golden rule for chickens is that they should get layers meal or pellets ad lib, but alone. This is a carefully prepared diet for the birds and what their diet should mainly consist of. What they get around a garden or paddock is entertainment and useful but not enough to support good egg laying production. Feeding scraps is now frowned upon by the powers that be, for sensible food safety reasons. Grain can be useful in very small quantities and fed only in the afternoon.
Hens may well prefer the corn feed but if this becomes the main part of the diet then the protein levels that the bird is getting declines and her ability to be a good producer is compromised. This is especially important in young birds coming into lay - this is a time of maturation and a lack of all the best nutrition can slow down the onset of lay and produce birds that are poorer in general.
Most free ranging birds do not need an 18% feed like the more intensive units - the bugs; grubs; seeds and also scraps fed in the afternoon will supplement the usual free range, smallholders layers meal or pellets which is 16% protein.

Also important is the number of feeders - just because a feeder has feed in it does not mean that all birds are feeding adequately. If you have a lot of birds the meeker ones may be being prevented from accessing it. If you have more than 20 birds have 2 feeders rather than one large one and extrapolate that for higher numbers of birds.

The quality of the feed is also important - almost all feed these days is GM free but there are some organic feed merchants nowadays too if you want it.

Feed must be fed indoors only
if feed gets wet it will go mouldy very quickly and this can cause botulism which shows up as LIMBER NECK where the head of the bird is twisted back.
Bad feed is also less likely to be eaten so the birds can go hungry although feed is present.
It is poor practice for poultry to share their feed with wild birds as the latter carry quite a diseases which can infect your birds.
Scattering feed outside is also the reason rats get attracted to poultry runs. It is fine to give the afternoon wheat as a scatter as long as its only enough that can be cleared completely within 10 minutes. Less than one ounce per bird. The layers ration must be available at all times so the best solution is to use a proper feeder inside the house.

-1 : Laying birds : Proprietary mixes for laying birds come in two types - pellets and mash (usually around 16% protein). They are very similar in consituents, and the same in nutritional values, simply a different form of presentation. Mash - or meal as it is also called - is fed dry as well. This feed should be fed ad lib - that is always available. The best way is in a hopper feeder hanging up at their head height so they cannot get at it with their feet and scratch it all over the place. Once a week make sure they finish up before replenishing so you know there is no foul food at the bottom and then refill.
In the afternoon they can have a wheat feed (around 1 ounce per bird) - well scattered over the ground preferably away from the house to encourage useful ranging. This is a good time to direct them to that weedy patch you want them to dig up for you. Do not feed wheat or scraps in the morning as the birds will fill up on it and not eat enough layers feed to be able to lay well. If you have a run that the birds are allowed out of during the day then the wheat feed can be a good way to get them back into it for the evening. This can allow you to go out kowing the birds are safe if you are not going to be there to shut them in at dusk. A secure run with the house means that you can shut them in on your return and prevent them from considering trees as an alternative or getting munched by a passing predator while you are out enjoying yourself!!

Feeding wheat alone is certainly insufficient - some people feel that they are being organic or old fashioned in the way - this is not necessarily the case - if the wheat you get is organic then the chances are you can get organic layers meal too so feed it. Wheat alone is not enough for keeping your birds healthy - it is a bare maintenance diet [only about 10% protein] and if the birds are a productive strain they may get nutritionally stressed trying to produce eggs and so start to take minerals and protein from their own body to compensate. This is not healthy.
The other very important things when you get new birds is to feed what their previous home has been feeding to start with. Make any changes gradually.

It is not necessary to feed a higher - 18% protein to good layers - the extra 2% tends to be fishmeal and can result in that fishy taste some eggs have. If your birds are on good range then they will top up themselves on the natural bugs and grubs around.

Whether or not you need to provide grit depends on what your natural soil is like. The best plan is to offer it (in an old baking dish with holes in to let any rain through) outside and if they take it keep it replenished. If they don't then they are getting enough from the soil.
In cold weather it is a good idea to increase the amount of wheat in the evenings and maybe even add maize to the afternoon feed to help the birds stay warm and keep up their body condition

- 2 : Breeding Birds If you are seriously breeding your birds then there are specialist feeds. These have a better protein and mineral mix for higher fertility and hatchability. Again they are fed ad lib in the same way as the layers. You can get specific feeds for breeding chickens and for breeding ducks. I would suggest that pullets are put on this after they have been laying for a few months - the first eggs are not good enough for hatching and it allows the birds to complete their development. Some breeders have used dried cat food in small amounts to pep up breeding stock.

- 3 : Non Productive adults If you have birds as just pets or a collection of cockerels or older birds that are laying only a few eggs you can increase the amount of corn - wheat in proportion as long as they are active. Birds tend to eat grain in preference to the layers so by offering a mixture you can reduce the quantity of meal and so the cost of your feed bill. Just what the condition of the birds - they can get over fat - and this may lead to premature death as they only have little insides and any fat deposits will obstruct their organs quite easily.
Most duck breeds these days are not particularly good layers and once they have finished laying for the year can go over to a mainly wheat diet.

- 4 : Chicks : These are best fed on the proprietary chick crumbs. They are very susceptible to bugs when they are young and most feeds have a good antibiotic in the right concentration to protect them against coccidiosis which is a major chick killer even in the best kept bird unit. Again this is fed ad lib - we use egg trays for the first week - 10 days until they are big enough to get over a long chick feeder [Discard the tray every couple of days and use a fresh one]. Check 3 -4 times a day to make sure they have not run out especially if you have quite a number. Fresh clean water is also absolutely vital.
This feed is used up until they are 6 weeks old when they go on to Growers in a gradula transition. It contains all they need. We don't find they need a grit but you can offer fine grit which they may use.

- 5 : Ducklings : Don't feed ducklings medicated chick crumbs unless you really cannot get anything else. They eat a lot more than chicks and so can end up getting too high a dose of the antibiotic which can be lethal. There are proprietary waterfowl starter pellets which are great - or unmedicated chick crumbs.
If you only have a few ducklings to rear we have had very good results using a cereal based dog food such as Chappie. This is mashed into a shallow saucer with a little water when they are very young - it makes a terrible mess but they love it. As they get older they can have bigger chunks - with a bowl of water beside, working up to the time when you just take both ends off the tin and let them at it!!!! - plenty of newspaper and clean shavings at the ready:~)) Mega mess but chunky ducklings.

- 7 : Growers : Again there are proprietary waterfowl and chicken growers pellets - we have had good success with using the chicken one for both - and it is usually cheaper as long as it is unmedicated for the waterfowl. We have not found a need for the memdicated grower pellets but if there are commercial units in your area you may find that young birds out on range are more susceptible to air borne bugs. As always it should be fed ad lib from around 6-7 weeks in the chicks - changing over gradually in that week from crumbs. Well advanced ducklings can change at around 4-5 weeks. You continue with growers until the chicks are around 14 weeks in the hybrids and commercial first crosses such as Black Rocks; 16 weeks for the pure breeds as they are slower maturing; and about 9 weeks for the ducks. After this they go on to layers feeds - as [1]
Some people use wheat alone at the later part of this stage - we do not agree with this as it is this stage that the main development is happening inside. The nutrition they get now is what fundamentally affects them for life. All the internal organs are completing development and the egg laying mechanism is getting created. Any shortages will be drawn from the animal itself and must have a long term detriment. The wheat alone seems to have been to delay laying but I have found no evidence yet that it does so [unless a reader to this knows different] and well bred birds will be genetically programmed to get on with laying and any short fall in diet could adversely affect there development as they try to finish growing and start laying without a balanced diet. It may be that in days gone by the quality of feed grains was a lot better than is available to normal poultry keepers now so they could get away with it.

- 8 : Water : Fresh water is vital - if the drinkers are not filled with fresh water at least once a day some birds will not drink much. Also important is for there to be enough drinkers for the less dominant birds to drink. Every drinker should be spotlessly clean - bugs can quickly develop in dirty drinkers and cause no end of problems. Most flocks will have a strong pecking order and the boss hens can prevent others from getting to drinkers. It is vital in cold weather to make sure there is plenty of unfrozen water. As a high proportion of an egg is water if the birds are not getting enough they will not make many eggs.

Tim and Jill Bowis
Kintaline Mill Farm, Benderloch, OBAN Argyll PA37 1QS Scotland
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