There are many reasons why individuals choose to raise chicken. Whether they are meat chickens or egg layers, they are relatively easy to care for, require little space, and can end up adding to your idea of self-sufficiency. Chickens are a great way to show children responsibility of caring for animals, they supply you with a good source of protein, and can even be profitable on a large scale. When looking for any Chicken feed for sale, it is important to know that you want something that is going to supply your chickens with the vitamins that they need at a price that you can afford.
The Cost
Chickens are great at hunting for bugs and they love to eat vegetable scraps. However, this is not enough to sustain the diet of your hens and roosters. Although chickens will supply you with meat and eggs for your own daily diet, if you are looking to make a profit, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, chicken feed continues to go up in price while the cost for chicken products continues to go down for consumers. Suppliers need to juggle what kind of feed is going to be best for their chickens, while at the same time noting the balance of what goes into maintaining and feeding a chicken versus the money that you will get back out per bird.
The Quality
Chickens eat a variety of things, but they do require an ample amount of nutrients to remain healthy. There are a variety of feeds available, including whole grains, organic, and other mixes. The important thing to note about quality is what kind of vitamin and minerals that are added. Hens require more calcium than roosters, so it is important to keep this in mind. If your chicken feed does not supply an added amount of nutrients, a supplement may be required. Chicken feed is easy to store, but consumers need to be watchful of toxicity because certain feeds on the market can do more harm than good.
Toxicity
Keeping your feed dry during the rainy season is important, and so is keeping it safe from predators. The feed that chickens consume can become toxic if contaminants become mixed with it somehow. Regardless if it is mash, pellets, crumbles or scratch grain, purchasing chicken feed from reputable suppliers is important to ensure that your chickens will remain healthy for the season. Some individuals will purchase feed without doing the proper research, only to find that they end up dealing with a bigger problem for something that could have been avoided.
For the life and vitality of your chickens, it is important to keep in mind that feed is one of the biggest things that you need to pay attention to other than housing. If you want healthy chickens, you need to feed them with a good food source. Chickens can be a great addition to any household farm and are worth the investment if you take care to supply them with the nutrients that they need to grow and produce.
