Aussies love to have a few chickens in their backyards, just like they love to eat sausages and play cricket. You need to feed your feathered friends the right way to get those beautiful eggs with golden yolks and keep them happy. It’s not enough to just throw some scraps over the fence to feed the chickens. You need to give them a balanced diet that keeps them healthy, helps them lay eggs, and makes them feel good overall. This guide will explain everything you need to know, from how to pick the right feed to how to avoid major mistakes.

What makes up a healthy chook diet?

Chickens need a balanced mix of nutrients to stay healthy, just like we do. A laying hen needs a careful mix of protein, carbs, fats, vitamins, and minerals to stay healthy. The key to keeping your flock healthy and getting eggs every morning is to get this balance right.

The main things of their diet plan are:

• Protein: Protein is essential for growth, feather development, and, most importantly, making eggs. The diet of laying hens should have 16 to 18 percent protein.
• Carbohydrates and Fats:  These provide your chickens with the energy they need to do things like scratch around the yard, take dust baths, and look for food.
• Calcium:  This is something that laying hens need. It’s the main thing that makes up eggshells. If you don’t provide your hens enough calcium, they will lay eggs with soft shells or no shells at all. This can even be bad for their health.
• Vitamins and Minerals: A wide range of vitamins and minerals are needed for many things, such as the immune system, bone health, and the colour of the yolk.

Choosing the best commercial feed

A commercial feed is the easiest way to ensure your chickens get all the vitamins and minerals they need. Scientists have made these feeds so that they give a balanced diet. When you go to your neighbourhood hardware or stock feed store, you’ll find a few different choices. If you want more information about feeding the chooks guide then visit Canberra Magazine.

Different kinds of chook feed

• Mash: Mash is a feed that has been ground very finely and not processed. It can be a little messy, and sometimes the chooks will only eat their favourite parts, which can make their diet unbalanced. To cut down on waste, it is often mixed with a little water to make a damp crumble.
• Pellets: Pellets are small, bite-sized pieces of mash that have been pressed together. This is a great choice because each pellet has all the nutrients it needs. It stops selective feeding and makes less of a mess.
• Crumbles: Crumbles are basically pellets that have been broken up into smaller pieces. It’s a good middle ground choice that people often use for younger chickens (pullets) or birds that have trouble with bigger pellets.

Food for different stages of life

The nutritional needs of chickens change as they get older.

• Chick Starter (0-8 weeks): This is a high-protein feed (about 20–24%) that helps young chicks grow quickly. There are medicated versions that can help keep young birds from getting coccidiosis, a common and serious intestinal disease.
• Grower/Pullet Developer (8-18 weeks): As your chicks grow up into awkward teenagers, they need less protein. A grower feed has 14–16% protein and less calcium than a layer feed because the chickens aren’t laying eggs yet.
• Layer Feed (18+ weeks): It’s time to switch to layer feed when your hens start laying eggs. This has about 16–18% protein and, most importantly, a lot of calcium to help make strong eggshells.

What to do with kitchen scraps and garden treats

One of the best things about having chickens in your backyard is that they can turn your leftovers into eggs. But scraps should be thought of as treats, not the main course. The 90/10 rule is a good rule of thumb: 90% of their food should be a complete layer feed, and only 10% should be scraps and other treats.

Safe treats for your chooks

Most fruits and vegetables are great, healthy snacks. Your flock will love:

• Silverbeet, spinach, and lettuce are all leafy greens.
• Grains that have been cooked, like rice and pasta (in moderation)
• Porridge without sugar
• Peels from carrots, pumpkins, and zucchinis
• Remove the seeds from berries, melon, and apples.

Foods to avoid feeding your chickens

Chickens are tough, but some foods are bad for them or poisonous. Do not ever give your chickens:

• Avocado: The skin and pit are very poisonous.
• Onion and garlic:  Eating a lot of them can make you anaemic.
• Raw or dried beans: They have a poison in them that kills birds.
• Chocolate or sugary sweets: Chocolate or other sugary treats are bad for you and can upset your stomach.
• Mouldy or rotten food:  Don’t feed your chickens mouldy or rotten food. They won’t eat it either.
• Raw potato peels: Peels of raw potatoes can be poisonous, especially if they are green.

Foraging and roaming free in the backyard of an Aussie

Letting your chickens run around in the backyard is great for their mental and physical health. It lets them do things that come naturally to them, like scratching for bugs, eating fresh greens, and bathing in dust.

While foraging, they will add to their diet with:

• Worms, slugs, and bugs
• Weeds and new grass
• Seeds that have dropped from plants

Keep in mind that foraging is not a proper diet; it is just a way to get extra food. Even the most dedicated free-range chickens need to have access to a good layer feed to make sure they provide all the nutrients they need, especially calcium. Also, pay attention to what you have in your garden. Ensure the area around your garden plants is safe, because some of them can be poisonous.

The importance of grit and shell grit

There are two types of “grit” that are often talked about when it comes to chicken health. Both are very important.

Insoluble Grit: Chickens don’t have teeth, so they can’t eat grit. Instead, they keep small, hard stones and sand in their gizzard, which is a muscular grinder that breaks down their food. If your chickens are free-ranging, they will probably find enough grit on their own. If they are kept in a run, you will need to give them a small bowl of store-bought grit or coarse sand.

Soluble Grit (Shell Grit): It is usually made from crushed oyster shells or limestone. It is a pure calcium supplement that dissolves in the hen’s body and is used right away to make eggshells. Put this in a separate container from their main feed so that each hen can get what she needs.

Don’t forget that chickens drink clean, fresh water.

Water is the most essential part of a chicken’s health. A chicken’s body is more than 60% water, and an egg is about 75% water. A hen can get dehydrated very quickly, especially in the hot Australian summer. If she doesn’t have water for even a few hours, she won’t lay eggs for days.

Always ensure your chickens can get to clean, fresh water. Every day, clean the water container to keep algae and bacteria from growing. You should check the water several times a day to make sure it hasn’t run out or been tipped over. On hot days, add some ice blocks to the water to keep it cool.

 Things you should not do when feeding

Getting your feeding schedule right will save you a lot of trouble later on. Some common mistakes that new chicken owners make are:

1. Relying too heavily on scraps: The biggest mistake is relying too much on scraps. Kitchen scraps aren’t good for you and can cause health problems, deficiencies, and a drop in egg production.
2. Forgetting shell grit: Calcium is in layer feed, but it’s not always enough. It is essential to give separate shell grit to make eggshells strong.
3. Letting feed get wet or stale: Mould can grow on wet feed, which can make your chickens sick. Put out only enough food for one day, and ensure the feeders are safe from the rain.
4. Not providing enough feeder space: If there isn’t enough room, the more timid chickens will get pushed out and won’t get enough food. Ensure that all of your birds can eat at the same time without any trouble.

If you give your backyard flock a balanced diet, fresh water, and the right supplements, they will live a long, healthy, and productive life. Your hard work will pay off in the form of fresh, tasty eggs and the pleasure of watching your happy chickens roam around the garden.