What to feed laying hen should be top priority as ballock - laying hens must be feed aright to achieve their potential . When their dietary motive are gather , laying chickens supply homegrown eggs that are far tastier and more nutritious than typical store egg .
What to Feed Laying Hens When They Start To Lay Eggs
As female chicks approach laying years at five to six months of age , depending on the breed , their alimentation and dietetical needs variety because their body focus on laying eggs rather than grow . right nutrition is also helpful to check that hen that are laying don’tstop eggs layingThey do n’t require as much protein , but they need much higher levels of calcium , which is necessary for hen to produce eggshells , along with phosphorus and vitamin D.
Commercially available bed ration are design to provide optimal nutrition for repose biddy , and all feed betray in the U.S. must have a nutrition recording label . So when purchasing provender , interpret the labelto verify it ’s specifically a stratum ration and that it ply protein levels of 16 to 18 pct . Additionally , the share of Ca should be in the 3.5 to 4.5 percent range while the level of Lucifer should be 0.4 percent or higher . immature hens may be started on layer rations at about 18 weeks of age , or when the first egg arrives , whichever comes first .
A basic layer ration that contains appropriate amounts of protein , calcium and Lucifer should provide passable nutrition for egg - producing hens and be the most economical choice . Suppliers also pop the question more expensive feeds that contain extra vitamins and mineral or are specialized in some way . There are provender with vitamin or omega-3 enhancing add-on , as well as innate , soy - free , non - GMO , organic and others . choose among these higher - price rations is a personal selection based on your chicken - hold on end .
Food Budget
Feed price vary widely depending upon the type of bed feed — basic , organic , and so on — and the region you live in . Pelleted provender are considered more economic than crumbles ( aka broken pellets ) because grownup bird ravage few pellet . Where I live in Northeastern Ohio , a 50 - pound sign bag of innate layer pellets is about $ 15 . It ’s recommend that lay hens have complimentary - pick access to feed , and on average , you may carry them to consume about 1/4 pounding per day .
Given the parameters listed antecedently , a pound of feed costs 30 centime ( $ 15/50 = .30 ) and 1/4 pounding costs 7.5 cent ( .30 x .25 = .075 ) . That stand for it would cost about 53 cents ( .075 x 7 = .525 ) to feed a biddy for a week . If that biddy put down six testis per week , then it would be $ 1.06 ( .53 x 2 = $ 1.06 ) in feed for a dozen egg . This demonstrates how sparing dwelling - produce eggs can be and one reason lay hens have become so pop .
Supplement Selections
In addition to free - choice rations , egg - layers should have constant access to unclouded body of water , oyster shellsand grit , if they are eat anything other than commercial rations . testicle are principally made up of piss , so H2O is critical to a laying hen . Just a few hour without water can leave in reduced egg production .
Although bed rations contain spare atomic number 20 , it ’s a practiced estimation to offer up oyster shield or atomic number 20 gumption . Top - producing hen may need more calcium than what is in the feed and will self - regulate the amount of extra calcium they deplete . If you are feeding supplemental food for thought or hens are scrounge , then they need grit , too . The only mechanism crybaby have for grinding food into piece little enough to digest is grit .
It takes just a few canonical elements to control that lay hens receive an optimal diet . The reward for meeting their nutritional requirements are felicitous hen that put up homegrown , wholesome and delicious testicle .
