[Connor]

As its getting cold now i might start to give my chickens mixed grain!

What are the benefits of the grain and how will i give it to them mix it with there feed or put it in a separate bowl or bucket?

[shygirl]

in my opinion mixed  grain is the favourite feed to give the hens. its not as balanced as layers pellets but better than plain wheat as the maize will give the eggs a good colour. if they are getting layers in the morning and can free range then it will be a treat they will love.
we always threw our grain down on clean ground so the hens can peck away at it. it doesn't get ruined if the ground is wet whereas layers is always fed from a feeder as it will go mushy/mouldy if wet.

[Fowlman]

My birds free range and i feed wheat through spring/summer/autumn and winter i feed wheat and maize and when really cold they get cod liver oil on it. This practice i have done for many years, everything else they need they find foraging.


 Forgot to mention plus any veg or fruit that i have spare.

[HesterF]

I give pellets in the morning - making sure the feeders are all full - and then mixed grin about an hour before bedtime. I throw some down for the chickens but also put some in their feeders (partly because many are sharing with ducks or geese who prefer it in a bowl),

H

[Steph Hen]

Mine get mixed wheat, barley and triticale. They are free range, and also do well picking up oil seed rape that eggs spilt. Young birds get chick crumb or growers.

 I have some birds in a shed. They are young at the moment so get growers, plus grains, but later I will invest in either more growers or layers pellets as they don't have access to all the greens and bugs and dirt that the others do, and it seems doubtful to me that three grains and some oyster she'll give all that a chicken needs to thrive. If there were thick snow for weeks I would also think about pellets for the others on the same basis.

[Bionic]

Mine free range and apart from that they are fed entirely on mixed grain, with a bit of bread when I go out to feed the ducks.
Lovely yellow yolks and the chickens seem to be very healthy.

[shygirl]

what is triticale?

if they are in a shed/barn - what out when they start laying - mine became egg-eaters when they were kept in a barn as they didn't use the nest boxes properly. never had the problem with outdoor birds.

[Marches Farmer]

Triticale is a hybrid grain - wheat + rye.  Egg eating sometimes means the hens are bored - once it starts it's difficult to stop (the pot is a good solution).  We once bought expensive plastic nest boxes but found the hens preferred to lay inside an old tyre/a water butt on its side/a cardboard box or, indeed, anywhere else. 

[Steph Hen]

I would rather they were outside, but the fox is getting closer and closer, and I've still not trapped it yet!

I think there's 7, These are my best breeding stock for next year, they have about 8x12 feet I think and perches and a bit they can roost on. I'm too worried to leave them all outside although there's the dog to dissuade the fox, and TOUCH WOOD I've not lost any yet...

[shygirl]

yes, guard the best ones with your life