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Chicken nutrition
I
n the same way that is would not be recommended
to feed kitten food to senior cats or puppy food to Abstract
elderly dogs, hens require different food through- The growing popularity of hen keeping has resulted in an ever growing hen feed
out their lives. Essentially hen food is divided into: industry. The days of backyard hens living off a handful of grain or kitchen scraps
ll Baby chick crumbs or mash have long gone and the responsible chicken keeper is now faced with a bewilder-
ll Grower pellets or mash ing array of different feeds and often no idea which to choose.
ll Layers crumb mash or pellets
ll Specialised feeds for bantams/fancy hens and
Key words: commercial, growth, nutrition, pellets, supplements
cockerels
ll Medicated feeds.
This article will concentrate on the nutritional ll Fibre 4.50%
needs of the commercial laying hen and backyard ll Ash 6.0%
ex commercial hens. Commercial broiler birds have ll Methionine 0.36%.
their own particular requirements. While poultry grower feed differs slightly:
For the first 6 to 8 weeks of life chicks are fed on ll Oil 3.5%
chick crumb or mash. Rearing diets are designed to ll Protein 16.0%
meet the nutrient requirements of a growing bird, ll Fibre 4.5%
which develops in a sequential fashion, with the ll Ash 5.5%
respiratory and digestive systems being primary, fol- ll Methionine 0.30% (BOCM Pauls, 2015).
lowed by skeletal growth, feather, muscle and fat. The contents of layer’s feed is outlined in the Nutri-
The growth rate of a layer type pullet (a pullet bred tional content section below.
specifically for the egg laying industry as opposed to Birds are classed as growers between 9 weeks and
a broiler pullet which reaches maturity and slaugh- 20 weeks and typically begin to lay at 21 weeks until
ter weight between 5 and 7 weeks of age) is relatively 72 weeks.
slow and therefore the diets are of medium energy As a general rule farmers feed crumb or mash to
density, with a falling protein content through the chicks and later to adult hens rather than pellets.
series of starter to grower diets, which reflect the in- Hens take longer to eat crumb than pellets and are
creasing feed consumption capacity and decreasing therefore occupied for a longer period of the day.
rate of daily gain of hens (Figure 1). Chicks find the size of the crumb easier to eat.
As the bird reaches maturity, skeletal growth In a commercial setting the feed is provided ad-lib.
should be completed with particular development Feed intake is influenced by the ingredients, presen-
of the medullary bones which hold a reserve pool of tation (pellets, crumbs, mash, grain and free range
calcium for the bird to draw on and replenish for egg material), taste and nutritive value, the breed, age
shell deposition in the hours when she is not feeding. and sex of the stock and environmental factors (Pat-
Precocious layer type breeds reach sexual maturity tison, 2008). Each manufacturer provides a feeding
prior to their attainment of mature bodyweight and guide on their individual product.
so at the onset of lay, the bird requires a diet that will
deliver sufficient nutrient, particularly energy (calo- Nutritional content
ries), to support both body growth and egg produc- Ingredients vary from manufacturer to manufacturer
tion. A couple of months into lay body growth should but most commercially produced feed will contain
plateau and the mature hen can then be fed a diet
a little lower in energy to support a persistent laying
cycle (Fothergill, 2015) (Table 1). Gaynor Davies RVN Head of Operations British
Typical content for chick starter feed is: Hen Welfare Trust, South Molton, Devon EX36
ll Oil 3.5% 4RF, UK
ll Protein 18.0%
Ash
Ash is the mineral part of the diet. Hens need calci-
um, cobalt, iron, chlorine, copper, magnesium, man-
ganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, sulphur and
zinc. Ash is vital for maintaining strong bones and
egg shell.
Conclusion ment their egg laying capacity will lessen but their
A commercial hen is designed by nature to be an egg nutritional needs still need to be met. Just because a
laying machine. In order for her to produce tasty eggs hen has finished her egg laying days, does not mean
with strong shells she needs the correct balance of her diet should suffer. VN
nutrients in her diet. As more hens live into retire-
Conflict of interest: none.
References
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VLA) (2014)Backyard poul- html#/60/ blog/2013/dec/18/feeding- tion
communication
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surveillance/diseases/back- t h e ra n ge r. co. u k / Ne w s / ber, 2015) a h c o m p e n d i u m . c o. u k / DJ (2008) Poultry Dis-
yard-poultry-guidance.pdf Reducing-feather-peck- Daniels T (2008) Feeding e l a n co _ a n i m a l _ h e a l t h / eases (Sixth Edition).
(accessed 30th December, ing-An-objective-assess- Chickens.https://poultry- f lubenvet_5_acu-_w_w_
Elsevier. http://www.sci-
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BOCM Pauls (2015)Historical e n s - f a q / fe e d i n g - c h i c k- feeding_stuff/-40185.html
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data Stimmulate Free Range Cawthray A (2013) Feeding ens-what-feed-chickens/ (accessed 17th December,
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