Our chickens live to eat. Our chickens love to eat. The question is what should they eat?

The righteous care for the needs of their animals,

Proverbs 12:10a

Ask a breeder what they feed their chickens and you'll get a lot of different answers! We all want shiny feathers, fertile hatching eggs, and healthy chickens. Now how do we get there? 

Sometimes supplements or vitamins are the answer and if you want to find out what would help, check out our supplements page.

We ask a lot of questions and try to glean from every source we can. Our current ration is the culmination of our "research" so far. Here is our mix:

• Blue Seal Breeder Pellets   - our main feed, always available or Nutrena Feather Fixer - especially during molting season for quick and healthy feather regrowth
• Black oil sunflower seeds - helps make feathers shiny
  
• Whole Oats - helps feather quality
  
• Bird Seed Mix - fed as a treat
• Fresh, clean water - sometimes with vitamins or probiotics
• Oyster shell - for strong egg shells
• Cat food - just a few pieces, especially during and after a molt
• Greens - when available

We only offer the breeder pellets and water all the time and use the rest to throw for a treat.

The week before a show, we mix it up a bit. We switch over to more scratch since it tends to make the chicken's poop more solid, especially toward the end of the week. We've also been told white rice does a nice job but be we have learned that it is a better option for before bath day since it can be quite a sticky mess (especially for birds with muffs.)

The day of the show, we feed our birds very little. A full crop can distort the bird's chest and mess up their type. At the same time, we don't want them so hungry that the poor things are frantically scratching through the litter for food instead of strutting their stuff for the judge.

We want our birds to be bright-eyed and alert for the judges.We don't want them to feel the way you do after a big Thanksgiving dinner when all you want to do is rest on the couch.We try to be attentive to our birds, watching them closely and following their cues.

I know we have a lot to learn but we've been happy with how this combination has maintained the condition of our birds and we've had a good hatch rate with our fertile eggs. Check out our experience with incubator hatching here.

We want our birds to be bright-eyed and alert for the judges.We don't want them to feel the way you do after a big Thanksgiving dinner when all you want to do is rest on the couch.We try to be attentive to our birds, watching them closely and following their cues.

I know we have a lot to learn but we've been happy with how this combination has maintained the condition of our birds and we've had a good hatch rate with our fertile eggs. Check out our experience with incubator hatching here.

What can we help you find? Search the website:

Never stop learning! Check out these helpful pages:

• 

  Abbreviations

  Find your Poultry Abbreviations here!

• 

  Everything To Know About Livestock Guardian Dogs

  Livestock Guardian Dogs will live with your flock, protecting them from potential threats with displays of aggression and, if necessary, attacks.

• 

  Line Breeding vs Blender Breedering

  I frequently get asked about bringing in new blood to their flock. These questions usually get asked by new breeders.

What's New Around Here?

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1. Original Elizabeth City Swap

   Information on the Original Elizabeth City Swap

2. Elk Mound Animal Swap

   Information on the Elk Mound Animal Swap

3. TX- Speckled Traditional Seramas

   My Traditional seramas are well taken care of and are selectively bred. I pair my birds for striping penciling speckling etc. You can contact me at 913-207-7254

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