Kaytee Laying Hen Diet
So, Can Chickens Eat Cantaloupe? AKA: Muskmelon. A lot of small agriculturalists save money by using table scraps. People love to produce their food. Although most people live in cities and towns, the idea of producing and growing our food is exciting and enticing. However, it is hard to know the exact process to have the best outcome. When it comes to raising chickens, how do you know what to feed them? How do you know the best diet for a chicken to produce the most eggs? Also, there are many chicken feeds on the market, but could you get away by feeding your chickens fruit and vegetable scraps?
Here are a few tips when it comes to feeding your chickens.
In short, chickens can definitely eat cantaloupe. It is essential to be sure that the cantaloupe is not super rotted. Chickens are relatively picky about the health of the cantaloupe. A lot of small agriculturalists feed their chickens cantaloupe rinds to eat and excess melon seeds that their family is not eating. This is totally normal and not a bad idea. So if you have chickens and some excess melon seeds sitting around, go ahead and feed it to your chickens.
A Healthy Diet for Chickens
Although cantaloupe is an excellent addition to eat in a chickens diet, it should not be a chicken’s entire diet. A chicken needs a well-rounded diet to have a healthy body and feathers. Along with that, they need to have a healthy diet to have strong shells. Most people who are getting chickens are looking for egg producers. So it is important that their food has plenty of calcium. A chickens diet needs to be well rounded in order to be healthy and be reliable egg producers.
The Things Chickens Shouldn’t Eat
There really isn’t much that a chicken won’t try, and there really isn’t much that a chicken shouldn’t eat. A chicken shouldn’t have onions or chocolate. Chocolate? There are many reasons to now share your chocolate with your chickens. The main reason is that it is toxic to chickens. Similar to how it is toxic to dogs, it is just difficult for chickens to process the chocolate. Onions also contain poisonous properties that chickens have a hard time processing. So keep your onions and your chocolate far from your chickens.
What about Meats?
Most think of chickens as omnivores however you may be shocked to find out that chickens actually have some carnivore traits. Did you know that there have been instances of people who have died while caring for their chickens? And the chickens have eaten them before people have found them. Along with that, there is often bone meal and other types of meats in chicken food. Surprisingly, this is good for the chickens. Eggshells are predominantly calcium. So to help chickens have strong eggshells, chickens must have extra calcium in their diet, which often comes from meat.
Water, Water, Water
Just like how the human body utilizes water to stay healthy, so does a chicken’s body. So it is essential to help your chickens be healthy by providing clean water. If it is wintertime, you need to get a heater for the water trough so that it doesn’t freeze. This way, your chickens will always have clean, healthy water available.
Along with that, adding acid to the water can help balance the PH in the chicken’s gut. This helps keep the chickens healthier, which will, in turn, help the chickens produce more eggs with sturdier shells.
Personalities
So chickens have interesting personalities. Some chickens will be the head of the flock and will actually injure and try to kill smaller chickens. It is the epitome of the survival of the fittest. So it is vital to keep an eye on the dynamics of the chicken house. Separate those chickens that are attempting to take over.
There will also be some chickens who attempt to brood. Brooding is when they will try to sit on eggs to hatch chicks. It is essential to maintain a watchful eye on where chickens are sitting. A hen that is brooding will stay in one place for a long time. Her body warmth is what helps the chicks hatch. Also, they will look run down because they are neglecting themselves while they are trying to care for their babies. If they are doing this, you just have to move them and take the eggs. Some hens will do this even if the eggs are unfertilized.
It is also essential to consider the personalities of your chickens when it comes to feeding. If you have a few stronger and more prominent personalities in your chicken flock, then you need to be sure to provide enough feed so that all the chickens get enough to eat. And be sure to have enough feeders so that one or two chickens don’t overwhelm the feeders. It can be super unhealthy for the smaller chickens because they will not be able to fight for the food. So be sure you have adequate feed and feeders to feed your herd.
Roosters. Sexing a chicken is somewhat tricky. So as a chick grows into a chicken, you may come to realize that they are actually not a hen. They are a rooster. A rooster will have a larger comb on the head and a larger gobble. And the most obvious sign that its a rooster will be the loud cock a doodle doo that they will do after hitting chicken puberty. If you plan on having chicks, then keep a few roosters for breeding. If not, then sell or eat your roosters.
A Healthy Living Environment
Chickens need a healthy place to live in. They need an area that has straw or other bedding that they can burrow into to place their eggs. And they need an area just to get up out of the mud and muck. Occasionally, you need to clean out your chicken brooders and chicken house. This is important to be sure that your chickens are healthy and keep illnesses out of your chicken house. Few diseases can be detrimental to a chicken flock. One way to combat these illnesses is through cleanliness.
Provide Dirt?
Chickens need to have an area of dry dirt. No matter the season. So it is essential to provide dry dirt. Chickens utilize the dirt to roll in. Similar to a dog. It is a way that they clean themselves and is also just a daily activity for them. Provide dry dirt and bedding to help keep your chickens clean and healthy.
How about Corn
Manna Pro 7-Grain Ultimate Chicken Scratch
When it comes to helping your child have a happy and healthy life, make sure that there is plenty of corn in their diet. Corn is filled with fat and other healthy vitamins and minerals that help your chickens stay healthy. Most chicken feeds contain a proper amount of corn. So although it is okay to feed your chicken table scraps of fruits and vegetables, a well-rounded chicken diet will also contain bagged chicken feed for a perfect diet.
Free Grazing
Another simple way to help your chickens get a well-rounded diet is to let them free range. Chickens love to eat bugs and grass. So a little freedom from their chicken coop every day is the perfect option for a bit of variety to their diet. Most yards have an adequate variety of grasses and bugs. A freedom trip on the daily from the coop will help give some additional variety to a chickens diet. Chickens are professionals at foraging for food. They are very good at looking and finding a variety of feed in their natural setting. However, because not all areas of the world have a well rounded enough diet for chickens, it is crucial to feed bagged feed as well.
Food Varieties Based on Purpose
There are many different types of chickens, and they have different purposes. Some breeds of chickens are great for eating. Some breeds of chickens are great for laying eggs. So on so forth. So you will need to adjust the feed you are giving based on the purpose of the chicken. If you have laying chickens, those that are for laying eggs, you will want to give a higher calcium diet. But pullet chickens that are intended for eating will need more protein to ensure muscle and meat growth. However, no matter the chicken, they will always enjoy a little table scraps of fruits and vegetables, especially melon skins.
In Conclusion
Obviously, chickens can eat cantaloupe skins is not a big deal. Chickens enjoy a great addition of table scraps of fruits and vegetables to their diet. However, it is more important to be sure that your chickens have a well-rounded diet. So adding in bagged feed and corn to the diet is very important to be sure that your chickens are healthy.
Below is a Pinterest friendly photo…. so you can pin it to your Chicken Board!!
