• From hatch day to 8 weeks of age  a chick will need to be feed on a protein-rich chick crumble (chick starter). Chick Starter usually contains a crude protein percentage of around 20%. Make sure the proteins are from naturally occurring ruminant proteins (blood, meat and bone meal). Most chick starters contain a coccidiostat at low levels which helps to avoid coccidiosis which can be fatal.
• Between 8 and 18 weeks when pullets are growing we recommend keeping them on the high protein chick crumble to grow good, strong birds. The other option is to move them over onto a grower pellet (less protein no added calcium, no coccidiostat)
• As soon as your pullets get close to or start to lay (point of lay) they require layers pellets. Stick with a premium, high quality pellet with a crude protein percentage of 17-19% and naturally occurring ruminant proteins. Look for meat and bone meal and blood meal on the label. Your hens will also need daily access to grit. Treats are fine, as long as they are not offered frequently that the hens fail to eat their share of pellets. Hens that have free-range access to grass (fresh greens) will be in chicken heaven.

Do Hens Eat the Same Food All Year Round?

Chickens moult each year, and will usually eat more food during this process, to ensure their bodies have all the protein they need to grow a new set of feathers. Hens do not lay when they’re moulting as the protein demand is exceptionally high and protein goes into feather growth rather than egg production. Hens usually eat more during cold weather too, to fuel their metabolisms and stay warm. Free-range hens also tend not to find as many treats in the garden during the winter, as the insect population is at low ebb and the grass is no longer growing. You can add a little more food each day during these periods. You will soon know if you are giving them too much or too little, by noting the amount of pellets left in the feeder each evening. However, the hens produce fewer eggs in the winter, so all in all the amount of protein-rich pellets required does not differ significantly from season to season. Again, the key detail is to ensure a regular supply of food. In the summer, if your hens appear to be eating very little, it may be because they are finding too many good things on their foraging trips in the garden. This can be a problem if the wild food they are filling up on doesn’t provide the right balance of nutrients. You might want to confine a hen to the coop if she doesn’t seem to eat enough layer pellets. That way, she will be forced to eat the good stuff rather than the garden treats.