In some cities, hearing chickens clucking and scratching is becoming commonplace, because more people are raising a few chickens in their own backyards. According to the New York Times, the current recession is one motivator for this trend, but some people raise chickens to make sure they're getting truly organic eggs and meat. To raise healthy chickens, you need to provide them with high-quality food.
Chickens' Nutritional Needs
Veterinarian David D. Frame is an extension poultry specialist for the Utah State University Cooperative Extension (USUCE). In his publication "Principles of Feeding Small Flocks of Chickens at Home," he writes that chickens need five different types of nutrients to lead healthy, productive lives.
Carbohydrates from foods like corn, wheat, sorghum and other grains provide chickens with energy. Proteins supply amino acids; foods that contain proteins include soybean, canola, fish meal,and meat products. Fats also supply energy, and are derived from vegetable oil, tallow and blended fat products. Minerals that chickens need come from salt, calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate, oyster shell and limestone. Vitamins come from commercial feed blends and other foods.
Commercial vs. Homemade Chicken Feed
Dr. Frame recommends that you feed your chickens a high-quality commercial chicken feed, because chickens will eat till they've consumed enough food to give them energy for a day. At that point, the chickens will stop eating, even if they haven't gotten enough of the other nutrients they require, like proteins and fats.
Manufacturers of commercial chicken feeds take this into account when they formulate their products. "Even with increasing feed stuff prices," Dr. Frame writes, "it is much more productive in the long run to feed your chickens high-quality commercial feeds rather than skimping on cost or concocting homemade recipes."
Ranging Free
That said, Cheryl Long, editor-in-chief of Mother Earth News, contends that chickens that are allowed to forage produce better eggs. "Tests conducted by Mother Earth News found that, compared to the standard values reported by the USDA for commercial eggs, hens raised on pasture produced eggs with two-thirds more vitamin A, twice the omega-3 fatty acids, three times more vitamin E and seven times more beta carotene," she notes.
"The tests also showed that pastured eggs had one-third less cholesterol and a quarter of the saturated fat. In addition, fresh eggs from pastured hens taste better and provide more 'lift' in baked goods," Long writes. Thus, letting your chickens out to graze on your lawn can improve the taste and nutritional value of their eggs.
The Chicken Vs. the Egg
Frame concurs that letting chickens forage for bugs and green plants won't hurt them, but he cautions you to "always provide them access to the appropriate type of formulated balanced feed as well. Totally 'free-ranged' poultry will rarely be able to consume a proper balance and quantity of nutrients necessary for maximum capable rate of meat and egg production," he concludes.
Mix It Up
Thus, to ensure you'll get the most flavorful and nutritious eggs while making sure your chickens get proper nutrition themselves, it's probably wise to feed them good commercial chicken feed as well as letting them scratch up food for themselves.
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