While feed requirements vary with type and age of bird, all birds need a constant source of water. Water is necessary for growth, reproduction, regulation of body temperature, and digestion. The live weight of a chicken is 57% water, and a commercial egg layer producing 250 eggs per year will consume 180 pounds of water and 80 to 90 pounds of feed. (And a hen will drink more water than a rooster.) Chickens deprived of water for even one day will go into a partial molt.
Until eight weeks of age, egg-type chickens should be fed an 18% protein starter mash. From eight to 12 weeks, they need a 16% grower ration or starter blend using 60% protein starter, 20% corn and 20% oats. From 12 to 20 weeks, they require a 14% protein pullet developer or half mash, a quarter ground corn and a quarter ground oats.
Meat-type chickens need only a starter mash containing 20 to 22% protein if they are to be slaughtered at eight weeks. If raised to be slaughtered at 14 to 16 weeks, they should be fed a grower mash from eight to 12 weeks. If grower mash is unavailable, starter mash can be diluted by a third with ground corn or half corn and half wheat to make a 15 to 17% protein ration. From 12 weeks until slaughter, the birds should be fed finishing mash, or half starter and half ground corn.
General-purpose birds need 18 to 20% starter until eight weeks of age; 15 to 17% grower (or blends) until 14 weeks of age; and 14 to 16% grower ration (or blends) until 14 weeks of age; and 14 to 16% grower ration (or blends) until maturity.
Chickens also need grit, which remains in the gizzard and assists with grinding up the food. It can be gravel, sand, or similar items that can withstand the pressures of the gizzard, which can reach several hundred pounds per square inch.
Calcium is required to form firm-shelled eggs. Eggshells can provide this mineral (cook them to destroy any organisms, then pulverize them so the hens don’t get any ideas about eating their own eggs!), as can oyster shell or ground limestone. And don’t forget the sunlight (vitamin D) so they can utilize that calcium.
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