Use good feed for higher yields of eggs (and meat)

If you want good harvests in terms of meat or eggs then it’s important to examine the food you are providing your hens. Here are some of the food varieties or types of feed you may consider mixing up for production impact and effect:

Choice between mash and pellets

The use of layer mash may have standard for many years, but you need to make sure that mash or pellets provides your hens with the essential nutrition for their health. Conventional feed is packed in bags weighing between 20 kg and 25 kg and may cost you between $10 and $15, depending on quality and your choice for those that have organic ingredients, if that’s what you want. Most livestock supply stores and pet shops, have ample stocks of layer feed.

The list of ingredients and content percentages of protein, ash, fiber, oils, and vitamins figures prominently in most high-quality feed available in the market. Certain feeds contain add-ons such as grit or oyster shell, a good source of calcium. If no calcium is added, you should consider adding it in the hens’ diet.

Beware, chooks have a tendency to be greedy, hens eat a lot, and you should be able determine how much they consume in a regular meal, and don’t feed them more.

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Galvanized bins are the ideal storage facility for feeds, which needs to be used up within three months from the date they are bought and stocked in.

Grit

Utmost consideration should be given in supplying or adding grit in the feed or providing your hens the direct access to a source. Stored in the fowl’s gizzard, grit is needed for the normal functioning of the hens’ digestive system. It helps them grind and breakdown the food they eat every day.

Corn isn’t required

Using corn maize as part of the hens’ diet may be considered optional, especially when have bought a mash that already provides a complete nutritional combination. You may include it in the feed as a once-in-a-while treat, for which hens often go for it like mad eaters.

High protein in chick crumble

Although the high-protein diet of chick crumb is usually given to chicks, there are periods in a hen’s life when this should be considerably added. When your hens are molting, or if the pen grounds can no longer provide natural worms and other protein-rich creatures during winter and long frosty weather, chick crumbs are recommended to keep the birds tip-top healthy.

Consider variety in diet

The best way to bring variety in your hens’ died is to provide treats every once in a while. This means that the frequency depends on occasion (when in your judgment their lays are commendable) and the time of the year. During summer and late spring, when grubs and green leaves are abundant, you may grant a few treats. Hens run the risk of becoming overweight, off laid, and out of condition if you spoil them with too much treats. When you offer them treats, dish them out late in the day after they had their routine fill of mash to ensure that they have ingested the essential nutrients already.

Chook Treats

Among the suggested, practical treats you may give are:

 Green, leafy vegetables, such as spinach, broccoli, kale, and lettuce, which help give good color to the yolk

Sweet corn can be chopped off into chunks from corn cob, popped onto a skewer, and then driven into the ground. A tricky treat such as this keeps your hens preoccupied for hours and prevents them from getting bored by their end-of-day routines.

Fruits, such as grapes and oranges, may as well do down with your own supply

Pasta (noodle leftovers) and rice

Bread (white should be avoided)

Potatoes (must always be cooked) and other root vegetables

Cake

Cheese

Porridge (particularly good in winter on those bitterly cold days)

Peanuts can be another good treat during winter. You may blitz your own consumable peanuts up in the blender, add a little butter, and dish them like a special blend

Live worms, which can be bought online

 Warning: Avoid meat and fish scraps as treats because they raise the risk of salmonella in the eggs.

Water

Up to 200ml of water per day is required for a hen, but this quantity on supply should be increased during the hotter periods of the year. Moreover, hens almost always need access to clean, fresh water. Dehydration easily kicks in and metabolism and affect their lays within a couple of hours they lacked water. Whenever possible, add a splash of poultry tonic to keep the hens in good mood and administer other treatments through water.

Essential things for a chicken coop

Building a house for your chickens can be fun. Chickens are susceptible to disease so it is best that you provide them a pen that has a solid roof. Hens like the feeling of safe, enclosed nesting areas, so giving this comfort will give you happy hens. The whole chicken pen should be a place where chickens can find comfort and security in it. You have to provide them water inside or outside their pens too. This is a very important factor that you have to consider.

Once you have given your chickens their needs then you can start adding elements so that can make your life a lot easier. Here are things that you have to take into consideration.

It is vital that you provide them automatic watering system. Chickens need access to fresh water and it is best that you provide them a water holder that holds a gallon of water. Locating it near a water spigot is ideal. You should also provide your brood chicks enough lighting so electricity is essential.

You should also provide them automatic food. You can utilize a dispenser that triggers food every day in a specific ration. There are food dispenser models you can find that hangs easily on the wall of the chicken pen. There are additional dispensers that dispense grit or oyster shell and this is useful too. This way, you can go out over the weekend for a vacation without worrying about your chickens starving. Also, hanging feeders tends to less messy with less waste.

Chicken pens must also be a safe place for your chickens. It should be completely enclosed with wire nettings so as to prevent predators from coming in and eating your chickens. Bury the chicken wire around the coop’s perimeter to prevent rodents tunneling in. moreover, the pen must provide protection to your chickens against strong winds and the heat of a hot sun. The coop should have a shaded part for their comfort. Read the rest of this entry

Must haves for your chicken coop

Just like humans, chickens are unique. Not all chickens are made equal and similarly, and so as their chicken coop. when you are out planning for a coop, there are factors that you have to take into consideration. You have to consider how many chicken you got, what the chickens are for, or if they are going to be pets, or some accommodations the chickens have, or on how you are going to get to their eggs.

Knowing all these things are very important and have it answered before you begin building your chicken coop. it is also important that the number of chickens that you keep is limited to your yard’s dimension. You can keep five, or even more but however the coop must be built in such a way that it can accommodate the amount of chickens you plan to have.

It is highly important that the chicken coop plans is sturdy enough or else your chickens can become stressed and pissed off when it comes to laying their eggs patterns. In cases where you are raising chickens just for the eggs, then you have to never interrupt their habits because this can distort their habits and in turn, deliver you eggs that are not of great quality.

There is basically three chicken shacks that you can build. You can choose either little, medium or big. You will then decide to build the coop in two alternative ways. The primary way is that you build it with an A-shaped roof as this kind of roof is decent and lasts for a bit longer. This too will allow rain and snow to run off the top. However, this type seems to be a bit expensive and will require you to need more wood.

Moreover, having an A-shaped roof for a chicken coop will permit your chickens not to hit the ceiling quite as much. A rook that is flatly build will collect more snow and rain and this somehow will cause the roof to collapse. To prevent this incident, ensure that you position it an angle that will ward off snow and rain itself.

Small coops are best when you have to keep two or three chickens. These coops may consist of a small fence enclosure with a small indoor area that allows sleeping two or three chickens. This is also less costly and is best for chickens as pets. Medium coops on the other hand are bigger compared to the latter and this houses at least five to ten chickens. It can be converted into an old shed or this can be made from nothing but they match the basic elements needed for chicken coop designs. Read the rest of this entry

Important things for a chicken coop

A chicken coop always has a chicken nest boxes that is basically fifteen inch wide and fifteen inch high. This varies too to a certain extent and you can fill the best boxes with straw or some padding down on the bottom so that the eggs won’t crack when they lay. Chickens share the same nest boxes so in cases where you more chickens, then it would be best that you give them more nest boxes in laying their eggs.

A two by four inch board works nicely as a roost. You can also utilize a tree branch that measure 3” to 6”. It is important that you place the roosts where the droppings are not blocking the way when you enter your coop so that you have to clean off your shoes. You may also want to consider positioning the roosts in such a way that you can clean the dropping easily. Chickens like roosting higher inside their coop during the night so it would be best if you positioned it four feet off the ground.

Chicken coops also need a chicken feeder inside. Farm stores have several nice collections of chicken feeders and water containers but then it can be expensive. You can make your own 5 gallon feeder and waterer by the use of two 5 gallon buckets that you can find in the bakery or deli section. A 5 gallon feeder will last about three weeks for a dozen of chickens.

Moreover, it is important that you have to have a waterer for your chicken coop. to obtain it, you need to drill one or two small holes about ¼ inch near the base of the bucket and drill it at about one inch up from the bottom of the bucket. The height or distance can vary from the bottom of the bucket but make sure the hole does not lie above the rim of the base.

You should also bear in mind that each chicken inside the coop must have a three to four square feet of space. It is recommended that you make it a little bigger than you need in case when you want to purchase more chickens later on. Read the rest of this entry