Interactive lesson

Feeding hens through the year, step by step

Interactive lesson: feed for each stage of life, grain, water and oyster shell, a run that feeds, greens from the garden, summer heat, the moult and winter feeding.

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The whole lesson as text

1. Feed for each stage

At every stage of life a hen needs a different feed.

Chicks: starter — From day one to 6–8 weeks, chicks eat starter crumbs, roughly 20–22 % protein. They don't need extra calcium.
Pullets: their own feed — From week 8 to roughly week 18, pullets eat growers' pellets, 15–17 % protein and little calcium. Layers' feed gives them too much calcium for the kidneys.
Layers and oyster shell — From the first egg, change to layers' pellets or mash, 16–18 % protein and roughly 3.5–4 % calcium. Oyster shell goes on the side, in its own pot.
Change over 5–7 days — When you change feed, mix old and new for 5–7 days. A sudden change of feed can cut laying for a while.

Why: Ready-made feeds from farm stores are made for exactly these stages of life. A laying hen eats roughly 110–130 g of feed a day (4–4½ oz). Grain alone isn't enough, because maize has about half the protein a layer needs.

Ready-made feed is the simplest and is balanced. Your own mix is cheaper if you have the land, but the commonest mistake is too little protein and calcium.
Don't give raw soya: use only heat-treated soya meal or toasted soya.

2. Feed, grain, water and calcium

The rhythm of the day: feed in the morning, grain in the afternoon, water and oyster shell always.

Morning feed and a look — While you pour the feed, watch the hens for 2–3 minutes. A hen fluffed up in a corner with eyes closed is ill until proven otherwise: separate her.
A handful of grain — In the afternoon, scatter a handful of mixed corn per hen on the run. The hens scratch and come back to the hen house by themselves in the evening.
Clean water in the shade — Count 0.3 L of water per hen a day, up to double in summer. A hen without water stops laying within a day or two.
Oyster shell and grit apart — Keep oyster shell or limestone grit and small stones in separate pots. Don't give your own eggshells back to the hens: they go to the compost.

Why: In the morning hens eat their protein while they're hungry. Grain is like cake for hens: good, but it mustn't be the main meal. No water, no eggs, and an eggshell is almost pure calcium carbonate.

For 10 hens, count roughly 10–15 minutes of work a day.
Thin and soft shells mean too little calcium, too little vitamin D in winter, heat or an old hen.