#please yall im begging those feathery babies deserve better food than just

[shadybeanie]

Let's talk chickens, yall. If all you feed your chickens is commercial feed, they will be unhealthy and your hens will not lay well. There is not enough nutrients in commercial feed to meet the daily requirements that chickens need to be healthy, let alone be healthy and produce eggs.

Let me explain it this way. When someone who has a period starves themselves, more likely than not somewhere down the line of starving themself, they will either stop having or will have a smaller/shorter/spottier period. That is because severely restricting the number of calories you consume can stop the production of hormones needed for ovulation, which causes the period to be absent.

Not enough calories = less or no eggs

Ideally you should let your chickens run free range on top of having grain set out for them, so they can get the nutrients they need themselves. However, if you cannot let them free range, here are some things you can add into their diet to help meet those nutrient and calorie needs:

Vegetable peels, bananas, apple, berries, carrot, bok choy, silver beet, spinach, cabbage or broccoli. Forage or grain crops such as sunflowers, dent corn, alfalfa, clover, sorghum, amaranth and buckwheat are also good, as they are high in protein and fiber.

HOWEVER-Hens should never be fed food scraps that contain anything high in fat or salt, and do not feed them foods that are rancid or spoiled. Specific types of food that hens should not be fed include raw potato, avocado, chocolate, onion, garlic, citrus fruits, and uncooked rice or beans.

*** If you are unsure about whether a type of food is safe to feed your hens it is best to check first with an expert.

Make sure your chickens (not just hens!) Have plenty of grit- ground up shells, stones or gravel, especially if they do not have access to an outdoor area with dirt or grass, is necessary to their health. It helps them to digest their food.

Without it, it can cause them to get Sour Crop- When a chicken eats, the food goes down into the crop for storage and later digestion. If the food cannot be processed due to lack of grit, the food will start to rot and your chicken will develop a sour crop. Holding the grit in the gizzard is essential to process and derive nutrition from the food.