[Azzdodd]

I've been buying rolled barley & wheat for the pigs for a while now & the other day I ran out of layers so filled my hens feeder with wheat they all ate it an seem to be laying exactly them same....is there a way I can substitute some of the expensive layers with £3 a bag wheat? All my hens are laying breeds

[NicandChic]

My ducks and chickens get a mix of layers pellets & mixed corn twice a day, all lay good eggs (they are free range)

[devonlad]

ours primarily are on layers pellets and a handful of mixed corn. they live permanently in a run but it is very large with trees and long grass patches so lots to scratch about for.we use pellets over mash as the site is windy and we either had mash everywhere or we watered it down and it left a terrible mess. I've never looked in detail but believe that by giving them layers pellets we ensure they are getting everything they need. the corn is a bit of a treat plus we spread it around to give them something to find throughout the day.in winter we up the corn a bit believing it helps keep them warm. additionally they get odds and sods of scraps particularly cooked pasta, melon seeds and peel and other bits of fruit. we did used to boil up odd bits of veg peelings and make a mash. they never touched it so we stopped. many slugs and snails also are regularly thrown over the fence to them

[twizzel]

Mine are on layers pellets with a bit of rolled barley- if I run out of layers pellets and just feed straight barley their egg production halves (or in the case of this week we went from 14 eggs on Monday, to 2 on Tuesday and none on Wed and Thurs  out of 21 laying hens at the end of their 2nd and 3rd years). Must not forget to go feed shopping again 

[Louise Gaunt]

Mine have layers pellets plus corn in the evening. They are in a large, grassy enclosure so lots to scratch at, and they get overgrown courgette, past it's best sweetcorn and any left over cooked vegetables. They are all laying well and haven't started to moult yet.

[Stereo]

Our love the courgettes that have gone too far as well. I only feed mixed corn in the winter as a treat and to put a bit of fat on their bones, hopefully providing energy for feather growth. Other than that, they have a big run and layers pellets.

I have all sorts of mad ideas for the future. Rotting log piles and compost for bugs. Lettuce and other herbs in a raised bed with mesh over the top so they can get the top growth but not destroy the plant and hopefully drop some fertiliser in as well.  Also wild flowers around the pens to encourage insects as they love to chase them.

[clydesdaleclopper]

Just wheat on it's own wouldn't give them everything they need but it could certainly replace some of the layer's pellets. Have you thought about sprouting or fermenting it?

[Porterlauren]

I feed mine a mix, it has corn, wheat, barley, some beans, all kinds of things, and then the right vits and minerals added, a long with grit. Fed to ducks, geese, chickens and any other bird passing through. Probably works out at about £5 for 25 kilos.

[Mammyshaz]

I'm another who feeds layers pellets, with mixed corn as an afternoon treat. They are in a medium fenced area with lots of trunk and branch cuttings for next years fire so lots of bugs too. They also get any garden fruit or veg that doesnt hit the mark for our plate.

[JTFarms]

I feed my hens a nonGMO  fine textured mash feed made by a local  mill he uses soybean meal,corn. molasses  wheat,oystersells  and the a mix of vitamins and minerals that chickens need. I pay 15.00 USD  for 50 pound sack  plus I feed all my garden scraps ton the chickens also

[chrismahon]

Best way to stop your hens laying is to feed them wheat only. The protein is only 8 -10% and they need 15% to lay. We use a wheat only diet when treating a prolapse.

[shygirl]

wheat is the traditional feed for hens, often fed in afternoon, with layers fed in morning.

[goosepimple]

I'm with Porterlauren, mixed grain and they get black sunflower seeds and raisins/sultanas as a treat, I hate layers pellets, cardboard and they go all mush if its wet out.  Ours lay brilliantly and live long lives, they're not fat, eggs are amazing.
 
Our geese and ducks get the grain too, it's easy they all have the same and layers pellets would be problematic for ducks and ducklings.
 
They only have short wee lives, be nice to them 
 
PS Don't give a stuff who thinks I'm soppy 

[chrismahon]

Sunflower seeds are a good way to boost the protein in a diet, particularly when they need extra for feathering. Our neighbour feeds his wheat and sunflower seeds. They are bored with that diet though, so when confined they just stop eating very much and stop laying. They have to be confined in a run for several months a year because the foxes use the surrounding crops as cover for daytime raids.

[Fowlman]

I feed wheat, maize, peas and rolled barley and yes they lay eggs   believe it or not chickens also laid eggs before commercial feed companies came along.