What's the natural food for chickens?

    Just wondering what the natural diet of chickens would be if people didn't give them mash or pellets?  Been thinking about trying to give them a less processed, more organic type of food and wanted a few ideas. I'm aware that they really like certain plants etc but would they get all the nutrients they need from that kind of thing?

They were originally jungle fowl, so would have eaten whatever they picked up from the forest floors, greenery, rotting fruits, seeds etc.

However in those days, they probably didn't live for very long and egg laying was more sporadic than now, as the modern poultry food has all the nutrients in it that they need to keep them happy and healthy and laying!

You can mix your own feed, but you have to be careful to include all the nutrients they need!

From what I've read (so don't take it as gospel) I think that anyone who has fed a grain diet to their chickens seem to have quite a few acres available for them to roam and forage which supplements their diet.  Those who have tried a grain diet with chickens in runs have then experienced egg problems.

I agree, it is not natural for birds to lay upwards of 250 eggs a year so the birds cannot get the nutrients needed.

Jungle fowl lay 5-6 eggs per clutch in the wild.