For those who are thinking about raising chickens for themselves there are many different things to think about. There are factors such as where you will keep them, what types of chickens you’re going to raise and even how many you are going to have.

Raising Chickens

One of the biggest things to think about when Raising Chickens is the chicken feed that you will use.

There are, after all, a great deal of options to choose from and a great deal of reasons to select between those different options.

Chicken Feed

Chicken Feed

Raising chickens that are going to be used for eggs will need a different type of feed than chickens that are simply pets. When you want to raise chickens for eggs you’re going to need them to be stronger and healthier than ever because they need to have healthy eggs. Eggs that are cracked and broken before you even get them are not much use to you.  You’re also going to want to make sure that the feed you are giving them is organic or at least lower in pesticides and byproducts. This ensures that any eggs that a chicken hatches are healthier as well. They will also be better for your entire family to eat.

Homemade Chicken Feed

One of the healthiest options you can provide for raising chickens is to give them completely organic feed. The only way to truly do this is with homemade chicken feed. What you will need is a small garden whether it’s a fruit orchard or a vegetable garden. A fruit orchard will have bugs that your chickens can easily graze on. On the other hand a vegetable garden provides a different type of food as does mulched grass clippings, hay or even oats. All of these are completely homemade and can be made completely organic so your chickens and their eggs are organic as well.

Healthy Store-Bought Options

If you are not so sure about growing your own chicken scraps you can purchase grain at a store. In just about any pet store or hardware store you’ll find different brands and types of chicken feed for raising chickens for eggs. You want to make sure that you watch out for GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms) in the feed. Those GMO’s cause health problems in your chickens which then cause health problems for you. This means you want to look for the right type of feed with absolutely no GMO’s. Instead, you want to purchase feed that is made of all natural ingredients.

Store-bought chicken feed should contain whole corn, white wheat, red wheat, hulled barley, sunflower seeds, split peas, lentils, sesame seeds, flax seeds and other healthy, organic ingredients. These also include millet, kamut, amaranth seeds and quinoa. Your chickens will eat just about anything and everything but that doesn’t mean you should feed them those things. Try to follow a healthy and organic diet for your birds and definitely don’t try to cut corners in this department. Chicken feed is a crucial part of raising chickens so make sure you’re spending what you need to get quality feed.

Buying Chicken Feed

When you purchase chicken food you have several different options. You have the ability to purchase pre-made chicken feed with as many of these ingredients as possible and as few pesticides as possible. On the other hand you could purchase the ingredients that we’ve listed above and use them to mix up your own feed for raising chickens. Once again it’s important to spend the money necessary to give them the proper feed. With proper feed you’ll have quality eggs every single day. Without that feed however, you’ll possibly have not so great eggs and not so healthy chickens as well.  Despite the fact that you’re keeping them for eggs, it’s not pleasant to see these lovely creatures suffer.

As a chicken owner there is definitely much to be done and much to look out for. Raising chickens to be healthy and happy can be hard work but it doesn’t have to be as hard as you may think. What you need is to look at your chicken feed and determine how healthy it truly is. Whether you grow your own chicken feed, mix your own or purchase it premade from the store you’ll want to make sure there are no GMO’s, no pesticides and no unhealthy additives in your chicken feed. Keeping chickens can be fun and it can most definitely be rewarding if you are careful to do it right.

 

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