This can be especially important for example in a laying hen to produce good quality eggshells. Grit can also act as a source of important minerals such as calcium and magnesium. Some commercial feed mixes already contain grit, usually in the form of milled oyster shells. Small chicks do not need grit and chick crumbs usually do not contain grit (we discuss this in more detail in the chick section below). This will stay in the gizzard (a chicken’s stomach) and help to grind down food particles into smaller, more easily digestible pieces. Since chickens don’t have teeth (I’ve heard that hen’s teeth are quite hard to come by), they usually ingest small pebbles or other indigestible hard material. So before you scrap the idea of feeding eggs, just consider the tremendous health benefits it has for your silkies. Cooked eggs are easily picked up and swallowed and cooking prevents salmonella contamination and potentially sick birds. So no, your Silkies are not cannibals because they eat chicken eggs, it simply fits like a puzzle piece to fill a gap in a Silkie chicken’s diet by providing them with a complete amino acid profile as well as important B vitamins needed to grow and produce eggs. Chickens will naturally often consume the contents and shell of eggs that broke. Eggshells can act as an excellent grit and a source of calcium. If silkies are kept in a coop exclusively, it will be u to you to provide them with all the components of a varied healthy diet.Ī note on feeding eggs as this is something that will be mentioned a few times in this article and can be somewhat controversial: I am a proponent of feeding chickens cooked egg as a treat every so often as it is an easily accessible, incredibly high-quality source of protein and vital nutrients. This way, they will naturally seek out the extra greenery, grit, and insects they need. Ideally, Silkies must be allowed time to free range in your backyard. For one, silkies will have some difficulty picking up and swallowing the large layer pellets and if you decide to go the commercial mix route, it will be worth spending roughly 2% extra on the short cut layer pellets. There are few things to keep in mind that makes feeding Silkies slightly different from feeding other chicken breeds. What and how to feed your backyard Silkies Read on to find out exactly what a balanced silkie diet looks like as well as what you can give as treats and what supplements they need. It can be quite daunting to be faced by the wide variety of chicken feed available on the market and you might be wondering whether your silkies need something in addition to the usual chicken feed. Allowing your silkies time to free-range will ensure that they get a good amount of grit to aid digestion as well as extra protein. These can usually be bought from a feed store but there are some recipes available to make your own Silkie feed. Silkie hens usually start laying around 5 months old and at this stage a layer feed higher in calcium would be ideal. Silkie chicks, for example, need a chick starter up to 8 -10 weeks of age which is higher in protein compared to usual chicken feed. The main thing to consider when feeding silkies is the amount of protein and grit they need in different life stages. Even if given a complete feed, silkies will seek out fresh plant material and insects while free-ranging. Silkies enjoy having a very varied diet and will spend a large portion of their time foraging.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |