Raising chickens to sell eggs is a popular way for people to supplement their income. Not only can eggs be sold, but also the meat of the chicken can be sold as well. However, if you are looking to raise chickens for both egg production and meat production then it will take more time and effort on your part. This article discusses how you can fatten up your chickens so that they produce higher-quality eggs and meat!
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Nutritional Needs of Laying Hens
As we’ve already learned, it is also essential to make sure that the food you provide your chickens contains enough protein. In addition to a sufficient protein and carbohydrate content, the chicken feed should contain essential fatty acids and a balanced mixture of minerals. These ensure good shell development and prevent malnutrition. Since the individual need for lime in chickens can vary depending on age, laying performance, and metabolism, lime in the form of lime grit or shell lime should always be offered in a separate container – e.g. in a bowl – for free disposal, even when feeding a complete diet. Chickens can actually obtain all of their required nutrients from plants (or insects), however, they need meat or animal products for certain key essentials like Vitamin B12 and other important minerals. The good news is that if you know how much extra protein each chicken has to eat per day in order to become fatter, then this means that you will be able to roughly determine what type of feeds are optimal for them as well! You should never feed chickens with anything too high in calories because underfeeding leads to poor feather quality, dead chickens and even cannibalism. If you are not sure about how much protein your chickens need per day then it is best to always consult with a veterinarian or other experts on the matter of chicken nutrition instead of just winging it!
Proper Feeding of Dual-purpose Chickens
Proper feeding is important for all chickens, but it’s especially essential when you want to fatten them up.
- Make sure your chickens have plenty of healthy vegetables and grains available at all times.
- Add some protein sources, such as meat or fish scraps if possible.
- Don’t feed your chickens too much protein.
- Provide some chicken scratch or other cereal grain to make sure they receive the nutrients they need.
- Give them as much freshwater as possible, and keep their waterers clean at all times.
Proper feeding of dual-purpose chickens will help ensure a large healthy bird. Chickens are opportunistic eaters and if food is available, they’ll continue to eat as much as possible until full or their next meal comes around. This can lead to weight gain in the birds but also results in variable feed intake from day to day which makes it difficult for farmers to plan how much feed should be purchased at any given time.
Because of the relatively high number of eggs laid per year, classic laying feed mixtures with a protein content of 16.5 to 19 percent with a supplement of green feed are recommended for female dual-purpose poultry. Increased energy requirements can be met with generous dosages of feed portions. Here, too, additional grit or shell lime should be offered for free disposal to cover individual requirements.
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These Nutrients Need Broilers and Meat Breeds
Especially the young chickens grow very fast at first and need a lot of energy as well as proteins from the feed during this time. As they get older, you can reduce the fat and energy content of the feed somewhat, e.g. by adding a small proportion of grain mix, because meat breeds then tend to become fatty. For this reason, a good fattening feed contains over 20 percent readily bioavailable protein (colloquially protein) with low-fat content.
Keep in mind that meat chicken breeds will also eat more than just layer pellets and mash: they need a lot of extra protein and carbohydrates to keep growing at their optimal rate – do not provide these nutrients from sources such as fruits or vegetables because nutrient levels may be off-balance for broilers which could cause problems with growth rates.
