How much feed does a laying hen need per day: daily ration and calculation of the norm

In order to achieve maximum egg production of a particular breed of chickens, you need to clearly know how much feed you need to give a laying hen per day. From a properly composed, taking into account the age and physiological characteristics of the bird, the diet depends on its growth and development, productivity, resistance to various diseases and adverse environmental factors.

Types of feeding for laying hens

Depending on the physical properties (moisture, flowability), caloric content of the nutrient mixtures used, three types of feeding of laying hens are distinguished: dry, wet and combined.

Dry

With this type of feeding, the basis of the diet of laying hens is specialized dry crumbly feed for different ages. The consumption of compound feed per 1 adult laying hen ranges from 110-120 grams in summer to 150-160 grams in the cold season.

Wet

With this type of feeding, the diet consists of such nutrient mixtures and feeds as:

1. Wet mash from coarsely ground grain, crushed green herbal mass, root crops. To add juiciness to the mash, in addition to succulent feed, they also add reverse, broths prepared by boiling large bones.
2. Juicy food - various root crops (beets, potatoes, carrots), cabbage. In order to improve digestibility and reduce the risk of digestive problems in chickens, these feeds are pre-boiled or finely chopped.
3. Grain - barley, wheat, triticale. Approximately 2/3 of the grain is given to the bird in a dry form and only 1/3 - in sprouted.
4. Grain waste - bagasse, fine grain.

The main part of the nutrients with this type of feeding (about 40% of the daily requirement) is given in the form of wet mash 2 times a day.

Combined

With the combined type of feeding, the daily ration of laying hens consists of 75% loose feed and 25% wet mash. Compound feed is fed throughout the day using automatic feeders. Wet mixers are given to the bird 2 times a day, at strictly defined hours.

Layer needs

For normal growth and development, laying hens need carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals.

Carbohydrates

For normal growth and development, the carbohydrate content in feed should be 70-75% of their weight. The content of crude fiber with such a large amount of carbohydrates should not exceed 5-6%.

Proteins

The requirement of laying hens for proteins and amino acids depends on their age:

1. For chicks and youngsters under 20 weeks of age, feed should have a crude protein content of 17%;
2. Adult birds between 10 and 15 months of age use feeds containing 16% crude protein.
3. For laying hens over 15 months old, feed with a protein content of no more than 14%.

Fats

Average fat content for laying hens should be between 3-5%.

Vitamins

For the full development and growth of layers, vitamins of two main groups are needed:

• fat soluble - A (retinol), D (calciferol), E (tocopherol);
• water soluble - B vitamins (B₁, B_2, B_3, B 4, _B5_{, B}6_{, B}12 _Bc _),H,C.

The bird's need for vitamins is replenished by adding special synthetic preparations to the feed.

Minerals

Calcium and phosphorus are necessary for laying hens to form a large egg with a strong shell. These elements are introduced into compound feed in the form of chalk, limestone, shell rock.

Calcium requirement per hen is calculated using the following formula:

• Ca=C×2.251×0.5;
• where Ca is the need for calcium, grams/head;
• 2,251 - the amount of calcium in grams needed to produce 1 egg;
• 0.5 - correction factor.

Of the trace elements, the bird also needs manganese, zinc, copper, iron, cob alt, iodine, selenium. They are introduced into animal feed in the form of special mineral supplements.

How do nutritional rates depend on the age of the chicken?

In order for the feeding to be balanced, a correctly physiologically based calculation of the daily ration is necessary, taking into account the age of the bird.

For chickens

There are two age groups of chicks - from 1 to 7 weeks and from 8 to 20 weeks.

1-7 weeks

Chickens of this age are fed frequently (every 2 hours), but in small portions, which include barley and corn grits, low-fat cottage cheese, hard-boiled egg yolk. Also, from the first days, chickens begin to give a green mass of alfalfa, clover or nettle. Daily feed consumption per chick in the first 5 days should not exceed 13-15 grams.

Up to 30 days of age, grain chickens are given only in crushed and steamed form. At the same time, despite the fact that one little laying hen eats very little grain at this age, feed crushed in this way is an obligatory component of the chicken diet.

Starting from a week of age, mineral supplements containing calcium and phosphorus are introduced into the diet - chalk, shells, shells.

8-20 weeks

From 8 weeks of age, chicks should have the following diet:

• grain - 65 grams;
• millet - 10 grams;
• rye bran - 10 grams;
• hydrolytic yeast - 3.5 grams;
• flour from finely ground bones - 3.5 grams;
• lime materials - 1.5-2.0 grams;
• rock s alt - 0.5 grams.

At this age, the chicken also eats well a wet mash of steamed and chopped grains, green mass, skim.

For adult chickens

Adult chickens are divided into two age categories - 20-45 weeks and over 45 weeks.

20-45 weeks

The daily feed intake for adult chickens of this age group is about 190 grams of feed per 1 head. At the same time, the main part of the diet is crushed grain (about 60 grams), boiled potatoes - 50 grams. Chalk, shells, yeast, bone meal, root crops are also added to the feed.

After 45 weeks

For chickens older than 45 weeks, the same diet is left as for the previous age category, increasing only the amount of grain and root crops by 10-15 grams.

How to give homemade food and how much you need per day

Nutritious compound feed can not only be purchased, but also made at minimal cost at home.

To prepare 1 kilogram of homemade balanced compound feed for laying hens you need:

• 560 grams of crushed grain;
• 200 grams of millet;
• 100 grams of cake;
• 100 grams of wheat bran;
• 40 grams of bone meal.

They give such home-made compound feed to adult laying hens 3-4 times a day, while pouring it into automatic feeders.

The consequences of overfeeding and malnutrition

Feeding of laying hens should be balanced and rationed. Overfeeding, like underfeeding, has its own negative consequences for the bird.

Thus, insufficient feed leads to a decrease in growth rate, susceptibility of chickens and adult birds to various diseases, a significant decrease in egg production and resistance of chickens to negative environmental factors.

Feeding too much tends to make birds overweight and reduce egg production.

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