What do chickens eat and how do they eat it?

Answer 1

A chicken should always have food and water available. They are not like dogs, therefore they know when they are full. A chickens beak is made of a substance called keratin which is like the substance that human fingernails are made of. A chicken should have a good amount of protein in their diet, they get this from certain insects and earthworms. They will also need some source of calcium, that is if you are raising hens for egg production. But if you chose to let your chickens free-range then they will find all the calcium they need by eating hard-shelled insects. If you do not chose to let your chickens free-range, you can feed them oyster shell. Just be sure to place it in a separate container then their regular food. Chickens will also eat a tiny rock called grit, which is fed to chickens simple because chickens do not have any teeth. Everything that chickens consume goes through the gizzard, grit is stored in the gizzard and grinds food up so that it is digestible. You should also store grit in a separate container then the other food. They will eat it as needed. Sometimes chickens will find their own grit themselves by eating tiny rocks, but we cant always depend on their finding. Also, chickens do not have a sense of smell or a good sense of taste, therefore they go by texture. There are also attracted to the color red and shiny things, which is why their feeder and waterer containers are often red or shiny.