Chicken Food Habits
by Jon Porter
Of course! Chickens develop bad food habits, just like we do. Now I’m not saying that we humans have a lot in common with our feathered friends, but we do share at least some similarities in habit forming tendencies. For example, it has been my observation that chickens will get used to eating low quality (even mildly toxic) food. Once this poor diet takes root, it seems that chickens or humans will not readily change to a healthier diet. Telling your chickens to eat their vegetables is not likely to have much effect on them. Did it work with your kids? How easy is it for you to change your diet? Chickens will eat and crave low vitality foods that include genetically modified grains, high fructose corn syrup, aspartame, soy products, monosodiumglutamate (MSG), pasteurized milk and all manner of bummer things that are common to highly packaged foods.
Make no mistake, what you feed your chickens has much to do with their health and the nourishment that their eggs will provide for you. So, if you are trying to upgrade your chickens from some chemical formula similar to dry Similac (imitation mom’s milk) and leftover junk food, to a vibrant highly nutritive diet, might I suggest some thoughts on how to do that and also, how to maintain a healthier diet for your fine feathered friends.
May you and your chickens have a healthy life!
Here are some good books on raising poultry, and they won’t cost you a dime - freely down-loadable:
by Jon Porter
Of course! Chickens develop bad food habits, just like we do. Now I’m not saying that we humans have a lot in common with our feathered friends, but we do share at least some similarities in habit forming tendencies. For example, it has been my observation that chickens will get used to eating low quality (even mildly toxic) food. Once this poor diet takes root, it seems that chickens or humans will not readily change to a healthier diet. Telling your chickens to eat their vegetables is not likely to have much effect on them. Did it work with your kids? How easy is it for you to change your diet? Chickens will eat and crave low vitality foods that include genetically modified grains, high fructose corn syrup, aspartame, soy products, monosodiumglutamate (MSG), pasteurized milk and all manner of bummer things that are common to highly packaged foods.
Make no mistake, what you feed your chickens has much to do with their health and the nourishment that their eggs will provide for you. So, if you are trying to upgrade your chickens from some chemical formula similar to dry Similac (imitation mom’s milk) and leftover junk food, to a vibrant highly nutritive diet, might I suggest some thoughts on how to do that and also, how to maintain a healthier diet for your fine feathered friends.
- Keep a bowl of sprouted grains in their coop. These are highly nutritive live food. Be patient, they will eventually learn to love them. I have an article on sprouting for chickens available on my website. At least 2/3 of my chickens diet is sprouted grains and these birds are healthy and happy. Incidentally, the cost for feeding chickens is substantially reduced.
- Provide greens for them even in the winter. You can do this by letting the sprouts green-up by exposing them to light for a day after they have sprouted. Also, left over salad or microgreens are healthy for them. Even if they don’t eat them at first, as with our little ones, be patient.
- Add a 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar per gallon of their water which at the very least aids digestion. This is a good idea no matter what else you feed them.
- Try not to give them the remains of your junk food or otherwise highly processed foods. They are harmful to the chickens just as they are harmful to us.
- Avoid given avocados to your birds. Avocados are reported to be potentially fatal to poultry. The jury is still out on this one. I have read and heard mixed information concerning the avocado issue.
- Let birds free range whenever good pasture is available. I let them into my garden area in April and May before planting, and also at the end of the season after harvest. They eat the slugs, snails, aphids, and other bugs as well as weeds. They till and fertilize the garden soil - nice! I use raised beds and create mini hoop houses over them using #9 wire and bird netting. That way, I can continue using the chickens for pest and weed control even after planting. A paleolithic diet for chickens! This is a true win-win situation. By the way, there is no such thing as a vegetarian chicken. If there is a bug anywhere near them, they will find it and eat.
- I keep a bowl of oyster shell in their coop. Egg layers do need the calcium that oyster shell provides. I mix in kelp and Azomite for added nutrition and minerals. The kelp and minerals (you could certainly use a different source for minerals other than Azomite) can be added into the feed or sprouts alternatively - just so they get it into their system.
- I still give them the added choice of a commercial feed, but they rarely eat it. Once they transition to a healthier diet, they do not seem to crave the commercial feed. At least, that is my experience.
- During the growing season, I give my chickens the highly nutritious broad leaf weeds - the ones that are considered weeds to lawn purists - such as dandelions, lambs quarter, comfrey, and many others. I talk more about this in my article “Wake Up and Smell the Poultry” which is on my website www.PorterLearningCenter.Weebly.com.
May you and your chickens have a healthy life!
Here are some good books on raising poultry, and they won’t cost you a dime - freely down-loadable:
- Practical Poultry Production (1920) - This book is a favorite of mine. It is interesting to see how folks raised poultry nearly 100 years ago - very instructive! http://archive.org/details/cu31924003186354 or http://www.onread.com/book/Practical-poultry-production-365066/ or http://ebookbrowse.com/practical-poultry-production-pdf-d275734184.
- Small-Scale Chicken Production (2006) http://journeytoforever.org/farm_library/AD4.pdf.