[Dawnuss]

could someone help explain to me a daily breakdown of what you feed your chickens. including any treats and grit etc. would be much appreciated. 

[grinling]

I always have 2 staked flowerpots, 1 with grit, 1 with oyster shell.
I give mine layer pellets, BIL gives his layer mash in a hanging container. Water in another. Couple of handfuls of mixed corn in the afternoon.
Mine run around a garden all day, but if kept in then a cabbage or pears.

[ANHBUC]

Laying hens should have layers pellets available all day and should be there main food.  Grit and oyster shell should also be available  for digestion and good shell production respectively.  Clean water available all day.  Greens, sweetcorn and other treats should be just that, a treat so given sparingly and in late afternoon so they have mainly filled up on pellets.    

[Dawnuss]

thankyou  cor i swear getting my 3 dogs was no where near as mind boggling 

[Cluckyclaire]

  one month in and i worry every day are they eating enough/too much, one of mine is a total gannet the others a little more ladylike, I agree when we had dogs it was breakfast and dinner bakers complete done, but this site gives the best advice, mine have layers pelletsavailable all day in a hanging feeder (dont let pellets get wet in rain they spoil) and fresh water also in a hanging dispenser with apple cider vinegar or a clove of garlic every other day (this is good for their digestion apparently). I rarely give them treats as they are to bed by time i get back from work but they have shrub and conifer clippings in pen so they can scratch about for bugs and eat some leaves etc their main feed is the layers pellets as its balanced, they also have a pot of mixed poultry grit (soluble and insoluble) cable tied as they knocked the pot over within minutes when i first got them 

If they are free ranging and i need to get them in then its corn, they go crackers and will eat from your hand so gets them used to you

mine dont like cabbage or broccoli in the pen right now for some reason, they ran away from it  still a bit skittish, and still no eggs though they are Orpingtons so it may be a while yet (22 weeks old now), i think the main advice is that pellets are sufficient,  growers or layers pellets depending on age/purpose (to eat or for eggs)

if i have stated anything wrong am sure someone will help, all the best

[Dawnuss]

thanks cluckyclaire my dogs have a raw meat diet so i suppose that took time to get used to but now its second nature so fingers crossed with hens ile get there in the end lol 

[Tony H]

Hi layers pellets is the best and should be available all dat only give treats now and then   grit and oistershell also should be available at all times.

[chookboy]

I was always worried that our girls were not eating enough - they've had crumb and pellets - as I think (if i remember correctly & varies from girl to girl) a hen eats about 120g of pellets/crumb a day.
When we first got the first ex-batts, we had about 18 inches of snow, and the poor featherless souls had 1/2 of the garage with their new coop in it. We let them out for a couple of hours, but as they were used to being caged, they loved being in the warm with LOADS of space. They never ate 120g each, even then. Once the weather turned better, their coop moved to the garden with a 16 sq yd run attached - consumption of feed went down.
Now we have 6 girls and they free range in the garden (even though they have the large run!!) from about 6am (dawn) till 6pm (dusk) - a sack of pellets is lasting about 9-10 weeks for the 6 of them

Now its spring, OH brings sticky-willies for them every day, they often get beansprouts for 10p a bag grated raw swede; cabbage, sprouts and brocolli need to be cooked for our girls - they dont like them raw. Banana, grapes, fishing maggots, dried mealworms, scratch corn, etc...  They will eat just about anything you care to give them - rice, spaghetti, noodles, mashed potato, chips, fruit & peels (I find that they'll have a go at most things grated - maybe they think it's worms).

As long as they've got a dry supply of pellets/crumb, fresh water and some oyster shell & grit, they'll not go wrong - if they have access to loads of other stuff, they will eat less rations and drink less water - given the choice of bran-flakes in a bowl or a smorgasbord on the table, I know what I'd eat
Our girls (same as dogs) prefer to drink from a dirty puddle or flowerpot/bucket than the fresh water supplied to them.

@Dawnuss - our big springer is BARF fed - I know what you mean about when you start down that road, but now, we open the freezer, grab his portions of this & that- job done - & it's so much cheaper than commercial dog food. Getting to grips with feeding the girls I would say was easier than BARF.