

A chick’s diet will need to be high in protein, so it may be best to avoid fruit and vegetable treats during this period. Chicks require feed that contains about 20% protein, and most commercial starter chicken feed will be within a range of 16–22%. Upon receiving your chicks, you should first give them water and starter feed, which is a protein-dense feed designed to meet the dietary requirements of chicks. For simplification, however, this article will ignore free-range and highlight the different feeds based upon the growth stages of your chickens. When raising your chickens “free-range” (defined as those raised outdoors or with access to the outdoors), they will often forage for insects, seeds, and other things to supplement their diet. Commercial feed is divided into three basic categories: Chicken Feed Scheduleĭuring their lives, chickens will have different nutritional requirements. Leghorn hens will begin producing eggs when they are about twenty weeks old and will lay most efficiently until about eighty-five weeks. This stage lasts for about twelve weeks, whereby the chickens will reach adulthood-pullets grow into hens and cockerels grow into roosters. Young females are called pullets, while young males are called cockerels. The names of these birds depend on their sex. The infant stage lasts for about four weeks, in which they grow into young adults. (2–3 kg).Īfter hatching, a chicken is called a chick, which is a baby chicken covered in soft fluff.

Depending upon the breed, chickens can live anywhere from three to twelve years Leghorn chickens, however, have a life expectancy of about six years and will grow to about 4.5–6 lbs. We will quickly cover the average lifecycle of a chicken. Chickens raised for meat (broilers) have fat, broad bodies and rapid growth Cornish Cross is one such example. Leghorns have been selectively bred for mass egg production, and they are naturally lightweight, slim birds. You might consider raising these chickens for meat, but Leghorns are not an ideal breed for this. egg industry are Leghorns or Leghorn hybrids, which average 280 eggs per year. In fact, most egg-laying hens in the U.S. The chickens we supply are Leghorns, which are ideal egg layers.
#CUTEBABY CHICKENS HOW TO#
The following article will help you understand how to properly feed your chickens for optimal performance.Īlthough dietary needs of chickens will change depending upon their age, bear in mind that a varied diet will ensure that they are receiving proper nutrition. consumers are not familiar with farming or where their food comes from? By raising chickens, you are entering an exciting new world of understanding how our food is produced. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance) estimated that 72% of U.S. Did you know that a 2011 consumer survey conducted by USFRA (U.S.
