You Are What You Eat

JANICE HOUGHTON-WALLACE looks at how feed relates to fitness in poultry.

- Janice Houghton-Wallace

Like other livestock, chickens and other species of poultry will have more vitality, enjoy better health and be more productive if they are fed a balanced and suitable diet. Inadequate or insufficient feed leads to a lack of development.

Keeping poultry fit by feeding them a correct ration for their age is much easier than it used to be as commercially bagged feeds are available for the different age ranges and species. Formulated feeds contain all the nutrients needed to grow muscle, bone, internal organs, fat, feathers and produce eggs. These will be in the form of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, mineral and vitamins. The protein levels will be higher in the crumb form for day-old chicks onwards and decrease in the grower, layer and breeders rations as the birds develop. Layer and breeder rations will also contain extra calcium to prepare the birds for egg production.

Pelleted feed is given in the morning as this is easy to digest, then grain, in the form of wheat is fed in the afternoon as this takes longer to digest and will provide for the birds overnight. Kibbled maize is included in some mixed corn feed and birds do love it but it’s a warming feed and better fed during the winter months.