Jack

Feeding your chickens a complete and balanced diet is essential if they are to stay healthy!

In addition to a good quality poultry pellet a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables should also be given daily such as bok choy silverbeet spinach endive chickweed cabbage vegetable peels and fruit (e.g. banana). Also table foods such as wholemeal rice rolled oats cooked pasta beans bread and legumes can be offered as well occasionally. SWILL FEEDING IS BANNED IN AUSTRALIA. DON'T FEED FOOD SCRAPS THAT CONTAIN ANIMAL MATTER.

Chickens are extremely sociable animals and must be kept in numbers of two or greater. Monitor the chickens to ensure dominant birds are not excluding weaker or younger birds which may need to be fed separately.

Provide access to garden plants including pulled weeds (beware and avoid any poisonous plants). A weed lawn instead of a monoculture lawn is recommended for free range hens.

Do not feed rhubarb avocado chocolate onion garlic citrus fruits or lawn mower clippings as these can become mouldy quickly and mouldy food can make chickens very sick.