How much feed does a chicken eat per day. Feeding rate for laying hens per day

19.12.2019

The most common purpose of keeping and breeding laying hens is egg production for personal use and sale. It should be noted that such an occupation as poultry farming is one of the simple occupations that is completely suitable for most people. On average, one laying hen brings about 280-300 eggs per year. Thanks to this number, many breeders will need to choose the right breed, as well as create all the conditions for a bird for high productivity.

Keeping chickens does not require large financial costs and efforts from the owners. In addition, you do not need a lot of knowledge to breed them. Poultry farming is within the power of any person who has at least a small plot of free land. Naturally, to obtain a large number of eggs, you will need to adhere to certain rules, which will be discussed in this material.

Advantages of laying hens

Experienced farmers say that breeding any bird is very profitable. Such an occupation can become not only additional income, but also the main source of funds. With proper care and maintenance, chickens can fully pay for themselves in about a year, and possibly even in 7-8 months. In the case when the chicken coop is already on the site, then you will need to invest a little money in the business. How much, of course, depends on the breed of chickens and on the cost of feed in certain regions, but on average it is about 300-400 dollars.

All costs for breeding and maintenance, as a rule, fall on food. After all, it is the feeding of birds that contributes to high productivity. In this regard, each breeder will need to know exactly how much one bird consumes per day. Knowing such costs, it will be possible to calculate the costs per laying hen for a month or a year. The purchase of chickens will also not bring a lot of costs, since one laying hen, namely the young, costs about 1-2 dollars. And food will go for about 20 cents a day. The most expensive when breeding chickens is the purchase and feeding of minerals and vitamins.

You should know that it is not necessary to buy food, it is recommended to save on the production of food for layers, which you can do yourself at home. In addition, birds will consume it more readily than purchased feed.

Before you get acquainted with how much laying hens eat per day, you need to clarify what exactly can be included in the diet of birds so that productivity is at its maximum. high level. Firstly, nutrition and diet directly depends on how many days or months the bird is, and secondly, the diet is also made up of the conditions of detention, as well as the financial capabilities of the breeder. An important factor in the nutrition of chickens is the period of molting of birds and the period of the year. But, despite all the nuances, feeding must be carried out constantly, efficiently and better always at the same time.

To prepare food for laying hens with your own hands, you will need to use the following products:

Be sure to include all the elements in the composition, such as protein, which is abundant in dairy products and in fish flour. You should also use the correct fats found in millet and corn. Potatoes contain many healthy carbohydrates for chickens.
Root vegetables should be given as vitamins. An excellent source is carrots, pumpkins, and dandelions and nettles can be used from grass.
As a vegetable feed, you can use cake and root crops.
Mineral feed can be replaced with chalk, bone meal, egg shells and shells.

It is very important when feeding in the winter to give the birds enough minerals. Since it is in winter and with the onset of cold weather that laying hens require a large number of useful elements.

To increase productivity and egg production, you should use this recipe for feed at home: take yeast in an amount of 25 grams and put them in 1.5 liters of boiling water. Then completely dissolve them and pour them into a kilogram of flour feed. After that, you should mix all the ingredients and leave for several hours in a dark, warm place. After a certain time, such a dish can be given to birds as a top dressing. It should be added to the main diet, but not more than 20 grams per day per individual. But it has been noticed that not all breeds of chickens want to eat such top dressing. Therefore, you should try on different livestock.

Norm per head per day

Many bird breeders are interested in the rate of feed intake per bird per day. If you correctly calculate and choose a diet, you can get not only a large number of eggs, but also their largest sizes.

There are a couple of common dietary mistakes:

When the chicken is malnourished;
When the chicken overeats.

Both of these factors negatively affect the birds, in addition, these factors can kill the bird. For example, feathers will begin to fall out, appetite will cease to appear, and so on. In this regard, it is necessary to correctly calculate the amount of feed per day. For this, there is a special consumption rate, in which there will be a sufficient amount of all the useful elements that the chicken should absorb.

Thus, in order to feed one individual for a whole year, it will be necessary to use about 40 kg of feed and about 15 kg of a variety of grass and greenery. One chicken should receive about 300 kcal per day. In addition, the rate of consumption of dry food should be 100 grams twice a day.

Eggs in birds appear at night, and therefore the last feeding in the evening should be better than in the daytime, and as for winter, even more so. In order to grow productive and healthy laying hens, they will need to give them about 30% of the germinated grain in its raw form. In order not to accidentally reduce the productivity of birds, bitter and salty food should not be included in the diet.

Like any organism, chickens need water. On the day it should not be less than 300 ml per individual. It is better for novice breeders to feed birds with ready-made food, since all important elements are already included in their composition, and the correct dosage of elements is also calculated. But the usual compound feed looks like this:

Wheat - from 10 to 15% in the composition;
Corn - from 40 to 45;
Barley, meal and peas, as a rule, within 8-9% of the total composition;
Yeast, and various flours, 5-6% each;
Calcium - 8%;
Table salt from 0.2 to 0.4%.

Birds do not digest all the food that enters their body. In this regard, it is recommended to add small stones or quartz sand to the diet. With their help, food will be absorbed and digested faster. At the same time, chickens consume such additives with great pleasure.

diet

As already known, in order to obtain maximum productivity, it is necessary to feed chickens with quality food and in the right quantity. Chickens eat about 60% of the food that contains carbohydrates. The rest is protein. When using purchased compound feed, the composition also contains proteins, fats and fiber. If the diet of birds consists exclusively of purchased food, then about 75 grams should be given to laying hens per day. But as the reviews say, the consumption of such feed can be reduced to 50 grams per individual.

If homemade food is used as the main diet, or ordinary grain with additives is used instead, then the calculation will look like this:

The main part should consist of wheat and corn, 70 grams each;
About 50 grams need barley;
No more than 25 grams of oats, wheat bran and cake;
About 40 grams of millet;
10 grams of flour from the bones.

You can also use another composition, the calculation of which looks a little different:

Boiled potatoes - 100 grams;
Various grains - 50 grams;
Wet mash - 30 grams;
Cake and flour 10 grams each;
Chalk - 5 grams;
Bone meal - 2 grams;
Salt - 0.5 grams.

In addition to nutrition, do not forget about water. Moreover, its consumption will not affect finances, but it will allow the birds to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Laying hens eat not only compound feed, but also wet food. Wet are different mixers. To prepare such a dish, you must use:

Various cereals;
Cake or meal;
Bran;
Crushed vegetables.

During the summer period. To reduce the consumption of feed and money, respectively, you can make mash with the addition of grass, cabbage and carrots. Mixers are recommended to be fed to laying hens 3-4 times a day. Breeders also advise making it in fish broth. Be sure the diet of laying hens should have greens, herbs, vegetables and fruits.

top dressing

To grow a healthy and productive laying hen, a large amount of calcium in the body of the bird will be required. With it, the egg shell will be very strong, in addition, the feather cover of birds will be excellent. In the finished feed, of course, there is calcium, but it is quite small, in connection with this, farmers need to add it. The biggest sources of calcium are shells, bones, and eggshells. These substances are best mixed with the main food, but can also be given in separate feeders. There is no norm for calcium intake, the bird itself regulates how much it needs to eat. In this regard, you should not worry about the calculation of such an additive.

The main purpose of breeding and keeping chickens is the production of eggs for their further sale. Poultry farming is not the most difficult occupation, and it fully justifies all the wishes of poultry farmers. The average productivity of a chicken is 300 eggs per year. It is for the sake of such a quantity that one should choose the right breed of chickens and provide them with favorable care.

Benefits of breeding laying hens

Experts say that breeding birds is a very profitable occupation. It pays for itself completely. Proper Care, excellent sales of products will help to make a profit in 8-12 months. If you already have a chicken coop ready, then start poultry farming somewhere with $ 350. Spending is mainly related to their feeding, but the productivity of birds depends on it. Therefore, you should know how much food an individual consumes per day, per month, per year. Continuing to consider the costs, we can say that it will take 100-200 dollars to purchase hundreds of hens (1-2 dollars for one baby). Feeding one baby per day accounts for about 0.2 dollars. Vitamin supplements will be expensive (about $100).

It's important! Material costs for feed can be reduced if you make it yourself, chickens eat it even more actively than purchased. Of course, do not forget about registration farming, paying taxes, bills, advertising companies. It is very difficult for a breeder who breeds chickens at home to compete with a huge poultry farm. But after all, the demand for pure ecological products is growing every day, so such a poultry farm should not get in your way. (Producing a high-quality and useful product, you have the right to set an appropriate price for it).

Before you start talking about the amount of food that a chicken eats per day, you need to find out what the laying hen needs to be fed so that she gives a lot of eggs and has good feathers. Feeding depends on the age of the birds, their content, the amount of material resources, the molting period, the seasons. But in all these cases, it must be regular and of high quality. As already mentioned, it is not necessary to buy very expensive food, because you can make it yourself. It consists of the following components:

proteins (most of them in fishmeal, dairy products);
vitamins of groups A, B, D (carrot, pumpkin, oats, dandelion and nettle);
the right fats (millet and corn);
vegetable feed (root crop, cake);
useful additives (fodder chalk, crushed bones, as they contain a large amount of calcium, and small shells);
carbohydrates (starch and fiber).

Of particular importance are mineral supplements in winter, because during the cold season, chickens need a lot of vitamins.

Recommendation! You can use this composition for better egg production: 25-35 grams of fresh yeast is put in boiling water (1.5 l), after which the resulting liquid is poured into one kilogram of flour feed. Then the mass must be mixed and put in a warm place. After 5-10 hours, such top dressing is poured into normal food (20 grams / per 1 bird per day). True, some chickens do not eat such a composition. Why? Unknown.

The table shows the ingredients for making your own feed, based on a hundred laying hens in one day.

How much feed does a bird need per day

This is a question that worries everyone. A properly and carefully selected diet helps to get excellent large eggs with rich yolks.

There are two sides to malnutrition: the first is malnutrition; the second is overfeeding. Both sides are harmful and, in general, bad for the chicken, and can lead to disastrous consequences (feathers fall out, poor appetite etc). That is why it is necessary to rationally calculate the daily feed intake, nutrients and a vitamin in order to know how much the chicken eats per day. For 1 bird per year, approximately 40 kg of feed and about 14 kg of various greens are needed. The diet of egg laying hens is 280-330 kcal per day.

The chicken eats twice a day, 100 grams of dry food. Eggs in the laying hen begin to form at night, so in the evening it needs to be fed more intensively than during the day. Even more so in winter. For the acquisition of vitamins by the body, chickens eat one third of the germinated grain raw. It is not recommended to give bitter and salty foods to individuals, as they have a bad effect on bird productivity. The amount of fluid per day is 300 ml.

Farmers who have recently started poultry farming are advised to give ready-made feed to laying hens, since everything is already optimally calculated and distributed in them. The composition of the standard feed:

wheat grain - 10-15%
corn grain - 40-45%;
barley - 8-9%;
meal - 8-9%;
peas - 8-9%;
fodder yeast, fish, herbal and meat and bone meal - 5-6% each;
additional calcium - 7-8%;
salt - 0.2-0.4%.

Chickens can not absorb all the products that enter their body, so it is recommended to add gastroliths (small pebbles, quartz sand) to food. They help food to be digested and processed faster. They eat them willingly, as if knowing that the substances are good for them.

Approximate diet of laying hens

Everyone knows that productivity depends on the nature and quantity of feed. The chicken eats about 60-70% of feed containing carbohydrates. The remaining 30-40% is protein. Nutritional value of purchased feed: proteins - 16-20%, fats 2-5%, fiber - 5-7%. If food is provided only with such feeds, then the daily norm of egg hens is 70-75 grams, however, some breeders claim that 50 grams is enough for their laying hens. But the meat representative eats about 100 grams.

If chickens eat homemade food, or grain with additives, then the nutritional norm consists of:

oats - 18-25 g;
barley - 45-50 g;
corn grain - 65-70 g;
wheat grain - 65-70 g;
millet - 35-40 g;
wheat bran - 20-25 g;
cake - 20-25 g;
fish or bone meal - 5-10 g.

There is another diet option:

grain - 50-55 g;
wet mash - 25-30 g;
boiled potatoes - 100 g;
cake - 7-10 g;
bone meal - 10 g;
crushed chalk - 3-5 g;
crushed bone - 2 g;
salt - 0.5 g.

In addition, the bird should receive daily clean and fresh water, which keeps their feathers and health.

The laying hen eats not only dry, but also wet food. So the last feeds include various mixers with the composition:

cereals;
meal or cake;
wheat bran;
chopped vegetables.

In the warm season, you can add grass, chopped cabbage, beets, carrots to the mash. The amount of feeding the bird with mash is 3-4 r. per day, it all depends on pecking. It is recommended to cook it in fish broth, in which case the chickens will peck food instantly.
A variety of fruits and vegetables, fresh grass, and greens are a must-have for laying hens.

If you have a case when the chicken has not yet fully formed, but has already begun to lay eggs, then you need to add foods with high energy value to your food.

Feed additives for laying hens: 1st place is occupied by calcium. This component is necessary for the bird to form a strong shell. The feathers are also in excellent condition. V prepared feed calcium is available, but in insufficient quantities, so it must be given in the form of a vitamin. The main sources of calcium are shells, bones and shells. Feeding calcium is mixed with the main feed or given separately. The question is ripening - how much to give it so that the chicken does not suddenly become lethargic or, on the contrary, too active? The answer is very simple and easy - the chicken eats as much calcium as it needs. Regularly monitor the well-being of the birds so that they do not feel bad, feathers do not fall out. After all, how and how much they eat food is the main indicator of chicken health.

Styrofoam - benefit or harm?

Most farmers and private owners often observe that their laying hens, having found polystyrene in the yard, eat it willingly. Consequently, logical questions arise - is it possible to give it to birds? Why? Isn't it bad for the health of the chicken, does it affect the feathers? How bad is it to eat? Will her productivity stop her? First you need to find out what is foam. So, Styrofoam is a material that is used to wrap a variety of things to protect them from damage, but the laying hen eats it with joy - and this is very bad. After all, it does not contain anything useful or vital. The mistake of many breeders is to use it in a chicken coop for additional insulation. And the chickens, seeing him, immediately eat him. Why do they do it? Maybe they think that this is foam - is it food or their feathers? Unknown.

Styrofoam contains polyurethane, silicon, organic resin and other harmful chemicals. elements that are not just inedible, but very harmful. Although many experts cannot say with 100% certainty whether they get into the chicken and her eggs. And even though the chicken would happily eat it, foam should be refrained from, because her health is more important. Another reason for the rejection of this material is the blockage of the goiter. Often, breeders note that after eating polystyrene, their pets began to eat poorly, feathers fell out, became less active, and there was a complete disgust for the food that lies under their paws. The reason for this is that the hens eat foam, which does not let other food into the body. This can be fatal, which is why styrofoam is strictly prohibited for chickens. However, the birds do not stop there, there are chickens that use their shit as food. Experts say that this is due to the lack of elements necessary for birds. Maybe their own shit is better for them than any additives?

Of course, each poultry farmer decides for himself how to feed his pets and how much food to give them. But you should be aware that the feed should be rich in vitamins, and not in chemicals (such as foam), which negatively affect the body of the chicken.

Laying hens are quite unpretentious to the conditions of their breeding. Keeping them is easier and cheaper than broilers. Particular attention should be paid to proper feeding as a way to get really tasty and selected products. It is necessary to feed this type of poultry, focusing on the breed, age, molting period, season. In any case, the diet should be balanced in terms of saturation with proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, and also plentiful enough, but not excessive. This article will discuss some of the subtleties of feeding them from birth and throughout the entire production period that the farmer needs to know in order to obtain high-quality egg products.

How much feed does a laying hen need per day?

The laying hen should be fed 3-4 times a day, preferably always at the same time. In this case, the bird gets used to a certain routine, which has a positive effect on its productivity. For some breeds (P11, Rhode Island, Plymouth Rock, New Hampshire, Welsumer, Australorp), fasting days can be carried out from time to time, since these layers are more prone to gaining excess weight than others, which has a detrimental effect on egg production. The average feeding rate is 120–170 g per chicken per day.

Important! It should be remembered that the drinking regime of birds of the egg direction should be observed. Hens of high-yielding breeds of water require more than low-yielding ones. The daily water intake is 220 g. This indicator varies depending on the weight of the bird and the mineral composition of the feed (a diet rich in potassium, calcium and phosphorus salts increases fluid intake).

The table below gives the approximate amount of feed a laying hen eats per day:

Making a diet

The ideal diet meets the following requirements:

meeting the needs of laying hens in nutrients;
security the right indicators egg production;
minimizing the budget and ensuring maximum profitability of egg production.

When planning a diet, consider age features birds. Chickens have a very high growth potential, and therefore their protein and energy requirements are somewhat different.

For chickens

Immediately after the birth of the chicken, it enters a completely different habitat and begins to grow at a rapid pace, which is why it is so important that it is not yet mature enough digestive system worked harmoniously. The intestines are just beginning to adapt to the digestion of nutrients, and chicks should not be given roughage that is difficult to digest.

Important! The widespread opinion about the benefits of worms as a live food rich in protein is erroneous. In no case should chickens be allowed to eat worms, as they can become infected with helminths, which leads to a serious illness and even death of the future laying hen. In addition, helminths can also enter egg products through the shell.

The first time a newborn needs to be fed (first of all, corn grits, and then boiled yolk mixed with semolina) 12 hours after hatching. During the next week, feed every 2 hours, then reduce the frequency to 7 times a day. Gradually, fresh chopped nettles and green onions, grated boiled carrots and potatoes, wheat groats, as well as additives such as fish fat(0.1 g per day), bone meal, chalk. To ensure the norm of calcium, pureed cottage cheese and kefir are given. Drinking water should be warm (30 ° C), boiled. After a month and a half, whole grains can be included in the diet.
From 3 months of age (but based more on sufficient body weight than on age), chickens are transferred to a normal diet. At the same time, young animals are fed more often than adult chickens, 4-5 times a day.

For chickens

In the morning (the first time quite early, about 6 o'clock), laying hens are fed with small portions of sprouted wheat, crushed grain mash (preferably in fish broth). Most feed (60%) is given to hens in the afternoon, as it is at this time that the process of egg formation begins. At lunchtime and evening feeding, the bird should receive boiled vegetables, bran, compound feed, minced fish, meat waste and, of course, cereals.
As for the latter, diversity is very important here. Shouldn't interfere different types, it is better to offer laying hens something new every day: wheat, barley, oats, corn, triticale (wheat-rye mixture).

Did you know? The most egg-laying breed is the Broken Brown. They produce about 300–320 eggs per year, and quite large ones (up to 65 g). These birds are distinguished by a calm disposition, friendliness and stress resistance.

Features of feeding in winter

The cold season is a difficult period for farmers. Short daylight hours, a decrease in the number of walks, the lack of fresh greenery cannot but affect the productivity of laying hens. Dried nettles, vitamin hay from herbs (clover, alfalfa), brooms from linden leaves, birch leaves should be prepared in advance.
In winter, it is recommended to include rowan berries and chopped needles, fish and meat and bone meal, as well as pumpkin and carrots as a source of carotene, and beets (rich in nitrogenous compounds) in the diet. Do not forget about dairy products as a source of calcium. Be sure to stock up on gravel pebbles, which contribute to the efficient digestion of feed.

Modern industry offers various additives, which are also actively used in the winter.

Vitamin supplements for laying hens

The mineral and vitamin composition of feeds depends on their type, the type of soil on which they grow, the technology of harvesting and storage. Highest value for egg productivity they have vitamins A, D, E, K and group B. Often in the diet of laying hens there is a deficiency of useful substances, which can be replenished with the help of special additives that are introduced into the body both in the form of injections and added to feed and water. Vitamins usually account for 2-3% of the cost of the diet.
The vitamin complexes Microvit Blend, Sel Plex, Ryabushka, Soitra have proven themselves well. When choosing, you should pay attention to the packaging, which should indicate the purpose of this vitamin premix specifically for egg breeds of chickens.

As additional additives give dry seaweed(to strengthen the shell), add Apple vinegar in drinking water (for general tone) and fish oil (as a source of vitamin D).

What is forbidden to feed laying hens?

Owners of small family farms and household plots often consider the omnivorous nature of chickens to be a very good and beneficial quality for themselves. This bird (with the exception of some crosses, for example, the Hungarian giant and the Hercules), is indeed as unpretentious in nutrition as, for example, cattle, in particular, dairy cows. However, for the healthy growth of laying hens and obtaining high-quality egg products, you need to know what kind of food chickens are strictly forbidden to eat.

These include:

milk (not digested properly due to lack of necessary enzymes and causes bowel disease);
cheese, sausages, smoked fish (too fatty and salty foods);
alcohol (chicken liver is not able to process it);
sweets (the pancreas of laying hens does not produce enough insulin);
green potatoes (very toxic);
fresh white bread (swells in the intestines, it is better to give dried, ideally black);
a large number of apples and pears (hard to digest);
too hard food (potato peels, watermelon peels, citrus peels, large pieces of vegetables);
stale, fermented, sour foods;
the leftovers of the owners' food (usually heavily seasoned with spices and cooked in a large amount of oil, which is harmful to the digestion of laying hens).

Video: What not to feed chickens

In addition to the already mentioned need to comply with the regime and the obligatory use of only fresh products by laying hens, there are some more nuances and features that farmers should be aware of:

In chickens, feathers are periodically shed - the so-called molt. This process requires large energy costs, since it normally happens in late autumn, against the background of beriberi. During this period, special attention should be paid to the nutrition of laying hens and their receipt of all useful substances.
Grass, leaves and pine needles should be collected away from highways polluted with harmful exhausts.
The quality of the litter is great importance for chicken performance. Too damp bedding is a great breeding ground for harmful bacteria. It is necessary to monitor the humidity of the air in the chicken coop, as well as the concentration of minerals in drinking water and feed (too much salt in the diet leads to overuse water and, as a result, liquid manure and deterioration of sanitary conditions).
Excess salt in the diet and water also negatively affects the quality of the eggshell, making it brittle.
To get a bright yolk, beautiful color, you need to add corn, marigold flowers and other yellow pigments of plant origin to the diet of birds.

Summing up, it should be noted that there are three fundamental points in the content of laying hens: a comfortable temperature regime, good illumination of the chicken coop and high-quality, well-chosen food. If you follow these rather simple rules, you can achieve maximum egg production throughout the year.

One of the main conditions for the productivity of chickens is proper nutrition. The frequency and quality of feeding allow you to adjust the egg production of birds. If the diet is correct, then the feathered laying hens will produce a regular crop of eggs, regardless of the season. If the farm has breeds that rush all year round, proper and nutritious nutrition will help increase productivity and improve the quality of the product.

About proper nutrition

Poultry farmers need to know what correct mode nutrition and what rate of feeding laying hens at home is considered correct. Farmers recommend feeding the birds 2-3 times a day. Portions should contain the necessary set of trace elements and vitamins. For high-quality egg production, it is important for laying hens that calcium is present in the food. With a sufficient content of this component in the feed, the eggs will have a thick and durable shell.

In order to maintain the daily feeding rate of laying hens, it is recommended to purchase ready-made compound feeds that are designed to meet the needs of birds. Feed purchased in prepared form contains the necessary set of useful components. However, this does not mean that birds should not eat greens, grass and fresh vegetables. To ensure nutritional value at home, it is very important to supplement the daily diet with pumpkin, cabbage, fresh or dried grass.

Farmers should be aware that an insufficiently fortified and balanced diet will lead to the following consequences:

Poor egg quality.
Sickness in birds.
Early mortality of birds.

About the variety of feed

The daily diet of laying hens should include three types of food:

Moistened steamed food.
Dry food.
Combined.

The poultry farmer prepares steamed feed for laying hens at home. For cooking, you will need herbal flour, mashed potatoes, chopped pumpkin, other root crops, cereals, cake. To diversify the food and saturate it with vitamins, finely chopped greens are added to the food. Although the last ingredient is recommended to be given to the birds in its original form. The birds themselves will choose the right greens to taste.

A wet mash is kneaded with whey or pure water. In order for the pets to have time to eat the food, a small amount is made at one time. If you immediately knead a lot of wet food, the chickens will not peck the entire volume, and the food will turn sour.

Dry food for birds - compound feed. The norm of feeding laying hens with compound feed per day should not exceed 130 grams per individual. Compound feeds should include finely ground food and whole grains. in winter this species food should contain protein supplements in the amount of 1/3 of the total weight of the feed.

About the choice of food

To get a high yield of eggs, it is important to provide laying hens with good nutrition.

The daily ration table should look like this:

Half a gram of salt.
One gram of bone meal.
Five grams of shells.
Three grams of chalk.
20-25 grams of bran.
Ten grams of corn.
Forty grams of barley.
50 g of wheat.
One gram of special additive to increase egg production.

The table below shows what should be the feeding rate for layers by season.

In order for laying hens to better assimilate greens, it must be finely chopped and added to feed. Be sure to install bowls with gravel, chalk and sand in the chicken coop. Drinking bowls should be installed nearby so that the bird does not feel thirsty. A little potassium permanganate should be added to the water. This will help to disinfect the liquid and protect the bird from disease. The drinking solution should have a slightly pinkish tint.

About additives

To get the maximum number of eggs at home, laying hens need to add calcium to their food. This component is necessary for the normal growth and development of birds, as well as for the formation of a strong shell on eggs. In order not to buy calcium supplements, at home you can mix ground egg shells into the mash. But, you should not add this component in excess. A large number of calcium will lead to a drop in productivity and a decrease in appetite.

Feeding rates for laying hens are indicated in the table. But, besides this, birds should receive vitamins, amino acids and premixes. Plus, they add meat, fish products to food, soybean meal, meat and bone meal. In summer, laying hens are released to pastures where juicy grass grows.

About correct compilation daily allowance feed for laying hens, a farmer with many years of experience in keeping birds will tell in the video.

At the end

An important condition for obtaining high productivity of chickens is proper, balanced nutrition. Be sure food for birds should include vitamins, minerals, amino acids. The health and egg production of laying hens depends on the variety of feeds. This must be remembered by poultry farmers, and put into practice from the first days of the life of the chicks.

Summer residents and peasants breed laying hens to provide the family with fresh eggs. high the nutritional value eggs provides a constant demand for this useful product.

The productivity of laying hens depends on the conditions of keeping, the completeness of the diet, and the quality of the feed.

Many are interested in the question: how to feed chickens so that egg production is stable throughout the year?

diet
For good egg production and high nutritional value of eggs, include certain types of feed in the diet of chickens.

Mineral feed
Provide laying hens:
calcium;
phosphorus;
chlorine;
sodium;
iron.

Maintain the strength of the shell.
Mineral feed is chalk, shells, limestone, feed phosphates, table salt. Grind them well. Mineral additives are mixed with grain, added to a wet mash.

Protein
Protein is a building material for the body of chickens. Proteins are provided by feed of plant and animal origin.
Plant proteins are found in:
legumes;
meal and cake;
yeast;
nettle flour.

Animal proteins are found in:
whole and skim milk;
cottage cheese;
fish and meat and bone meal.

Tip: Do not overfeed egg breeds with fishmeal. Eggs may acquire an unpleasant aftertaste.

Vitamin
Replenish the supply of vitamins, increase immunity and the percentage of safety of chickens.
grated carrots;
fresh greens in summer and dry hay in winter;
tops;
herbal and coniferous flour.

rich in carbohydrates
This group of foods includes cereals and vegetables.
Cereals:
wheat;
oats;
barley;
millet;
sorghum;
corn.

Vegetables
Vegetable crops:
potato;
roots.

A real delicacy, to which all chickens are indifferent - gourds.

Norms
Approximate feeding rate for laying hens in the warm season:
cereals - 50g;
a mixture of cereals and their processing waste (barley, oats, bran) - 50g;
vegetables (carrots, beets, rutabaga) - 30g;
crushed shells, chalk - 2g
meat and bone, fish meal - 2g;
meat waste, cake - up to 15g;
table salt - 0.5 g.

In households, the diet of laying hens consists of mixtures of: grain, grass, kitchen waste and products that are offered to laying hens separately: cottage cheese, curdled milk, vegetables, legumes, potato trimmings, pieces of melons and watermelons. Every day, birds should receive all kinds of feed.
It is advisable to partially replace fish or meat meal with earthworms. The ideal option is to specially breed them on your farm. Some owners give chickens grape snails. They are rich in proteins.
How to diversify the diet? In the warm season, let the chickens free-range in the paddock. They themselves will be able to pinch the grass, find worms, larvae, beetles. Be sure to scatter eggshells, fresh grass, watermelon pieces. The more varied the feed, the higher the productivity of laying hens will be.
Advice: medium-sized gravel or river sand will help improve digestion.

Laying hens mode
The egg production of the breed depends on how often to feed the bird. 150g per hen per day will suffice. You can not overfeed the bird. Excess weight also reduces egg production. Chickens rushing about at an empty feeder are no good.
Most owners feed the bird in the morning and evening. If the chickens have nowhere to walk and look for food on their own, provide three feedings a day.
If there is a pen of a large area, laying hens can be fed in the morning. In this case, you must be sure that the chickens have something to profit from in the open area.

Feeding in winter
The main rule - food in the cold should be plentiful.
dry the hay;
stock up on coniferous and grass flour;
prepare root vegetables and cabbage.

Feed your hens twice a day. Make sure you have morning and evening meals.
In the morning, give warm soft food:
wet mash;
boiled potatoes;
vegetable mixture;
food waste;
fish broth;
porridge;
cottage cheese, skimmed milk.

Be sure to add vitamin feed, fishmeal, chalk, shell dust, table salt, herbal mixtures to a wet mash.
Evening diet:
dry grain or dry grain mixtures with the addition of bran, corn waste, barley cake.
During the day, give chickens worms. Indulge them with cabbage leaves and grass hanging on the walls of the chicken coop. In winter, there is a catastrophic lack of fresh greenery. Beet or pumpkin will successfully replace green fodder.
Don't forget about vitamins. Great benefit bring zucchini and seeds from them. Be sure to give carrots. It contains carotene, which stimulates activity and readiness to lay eggs. Potatoes contain starch. In the body of the chicken, it turns into sucrose and maintains energy balance.
Calcium deficiency is easy to spot. The egg shell becomes soft to the touch, thin and fragile. You may not be eating enough fishmeal, chalk, or meat and bone waste. Spread crushed chalk all over the chicken coop. The chicken will eat as much as it needs.
In winter, the role of germinated grain increases. It's easy to prepare:
soak corn or barley in warm water;
in a warm room (from + 23C to + 27C), they lay out the grain and make sure that it is constantly wet;
sprouts appear on the 3-4th day;
food rich in proteins and vitamins is ready.

How to increase egg production in winter? Perform feed yeasting:
take 30 g of fresh, quality yeast. Dilute them in 1.5 liters of warm water. This amount will enrich 1 kg of flour feed with vitamins;
dissolve yeast in water, mix with flour mixture;
soak up to 9 hours in heat.

After that, add the gruel to the wet mash. For 1 head, from 15 to 20 g of vitamin feed will be required.
Approximate feeding ration for 1 laying hen in winter: