What to feed your chickens so they lay eggs year round.

Becky shows you what she feeds her chickens so they lay eggs all year long. She talks about what laying mash to buy, oats, bread, and whole corn vs cracked corn. Becky also talks about how important it is to keep the chicken water clean.

[bartzable]

Hey Becky,

We've had chickens for 15 years and every year our chickens would stop laying during the winter months. We watched your video and gave your tips a try. Now our chickens are laying so well and the egg production is out of this world. Thanks for the tips!

[erinowl]

Thank you so much for the video. 
I've been raising chickens for 50 years and love your comments.
One thing my Grandfather taught me about whole grains was the TIMING.
(especially in cold weather)
He told me NEVER let your birds go to roost for the night  without a FULL CROP of WHOLE GRAINS. It takes them ALL NIGHT to digest and they keep themselves WARM during those cold nights from those whole grains. And they have ENERGY all night so they wake up ready to lay and scavenge.
And, he told me to toss them a LITTLE bit of whole grains in the morning to "prime" them to go off scavenging with "attitude".
(imagine yourself off on a day trek on an empty stomach, or in bed for the night with an empty belly)
The modern mashes are a great main food as you say, but those whole grains are essential to keep them warm, in good health, full of ENERGY, and laying. 
Many backpackers, winter hikers and campers advise that the only way to stay warm all night is to eat a heavy evening meal. It "kicks in" in the middle of the night just when your energy is depleted and the night is coldest and you sleep well all night - toasty and warm. 
He also said that when it is time for them to moult (grow their new feathers for the year) to be SURE to feed them OATS - they make HARD, HEALTHY,  SHINY FEATHERS. (This works for ALL species - whatever time they are moulting)
Filling my birds crops with whole grains before bedtime and giving them a small amount as soon as they come off the roost in the morning, and giving oats at moulting has given my DECADES of happy, healthy, laying birds of all species - ducks, turkeys, geese and chickens.
AND - while you DEMONSTRATED this element, you didn't mention it. I think it is SO important to add LOVE. CLEARLY you are doing that when you toss the bread and grains to your flock. Caring for our flocks CANNOT be a CHORE. It has to be a symbiotic labor of LOVE. You are as HAPPY to see them as they are to see you. HAPPINESS is ESSENTIAL. 
It's affirming to see you do the same things with your flock that I was taught to do with mine by my Grandfather. 
Thanks for being cheerful in your videos - and POLITE. 
Best wishes to you and yours.

[onlythebest]

Hi, I’m 13 and after begging for years I finally got CHICKENS! any way today was the biggest moment of my chickens owner life. My untamable well summer chicken ATE OUT MY HAND. ( my bantam moderngames always eat out my hand) And then another thing happened, my little chicken ( Vera wing) jumped on my shoulder all of a sudden then my other little chicken am and sat on my knee!!! 👍🏻🤩🙏🏻😂🐓😬

[cjboac]

In the winter I always add oats & corn to my feed along with oyster shell, aragonite or crushed used & dried egg shells for calcium. Oats really help keep their bodies warm. In the summer I don’t push the oats. Also lots of clean water. During the day my chickens free range & put themselves to bed in coup; I just lock the door with a latch to keep other critters out during night. Unlatch it in the morning. Their health is superb, feathers bright & they lay everyday. I also give them mealworms/dried fly larvae for treats & greens from my garden. And….lots of lovin’! 👍❣️

[christopherpandorf]

My wife and I started keeping chickens 3yrs ago. We started getting eggs the 1st yr then it went down to almost nothing we were searching the web for different ideas when I stumbled upon your video! We started about 9 months ago to feed them the mash and cracked corn and I told my wife you said whole corn she said the feed store said theres no difference well there was no difference with the egg production either we tried this for 3 months nothing then I convinced my wife to try the whole corn and BOOM! now they are laying one egg a day each we have 25 hens one rooster. Also lately through winter the same production! Thank you so much Becky! Amazing! Anyone and I've read some of the comments which actually swayed me at first who says it doesn't work or isn't true is either lying or jealous. God bless you!

[energyquicksand]

Becky,
Thank you for sharing this information. After watching this video a few months ago I purchased a bag of whole corn along with my normal layer mix. I was totally amazed when my birds began laying within a week of beginning to feed extra whole corn. I've only kept chickens since retiring five years ago and they have never laid in the winter. So refreshing to get real info instead of the all too common 'click bait'...Again, Thanks.

[jewishroyalty]

Plus Becky I LOVE how you make me feel like I could totally run a Farm. Like that feeling of freedom that overcomes you for a second is so liberating and motivating.

[donerkebab]

This is actually so crazy... I LOVE how she ditched her old life for a new one in the outdoors, building her own home herself!! That's my DREAM one day! And same as my father's, I hope he can do it one day. It just makes so much more sense to save up your money and start an almost self-sustainable life like this! WOW!

[fordn]

I have been raising chickens for 40+ years, am a licensed Poultry Technician and trained in Livestock Feeds and Feeding. The comment about cracked corn is incorrect. Cracked corn is not processed corn but rather whole kernel corn that has passed through a roller mill to “crack” the seed coat. This is essential for monogastric (pigs & horses) and ruminants (cows & goats) as they cannot break down the seed coat. Cracking corn for poultry increases rate of gain for production birds and helps layers get a larger portion in the free range system due to the increased volume. Cracked corn retains all the nutrients and oils as whole kernel just in a smaller size.

[TT-kgli]

I’m in south Texas where it’s very hot and humid. I feed crushed ice to my girls early afternoon and they love it. I keep apples, cucumbers and celery cut up in the frig to feed to them as well. Oh and I freeze the skin I cut off of pineapple and give to them - love it! I’m a first year mamma to hens and I love them.
Enjoy your videos and I formation you share.

[ShawnWideman]

Becky, you're awesome and my girlfriend and I are at the point where we are now packing up our city lives and we have a 32ft trailer on 2 acres and this is how we are starting our homesteading lifestyle. We will be semi off-grid, using some electricity in the beginning.
You are an inspiration to us and I commend you on what you have accomplished thus rock!!!
We are subbed. Thanks for your awesome, down to earth approach to your v logging. Kudos to you girl!!!!

[artistmama]

You forgot the greens. They need stuff like kale, swiss chard, spinach, and collard greens every day during the growing season. This provides much needed calcium in addition to other power nutrients. You will never have a chicken laying a soft-shelled egg if you feed her greens.

[matsje]

I also have kept milk goats and given some of the milk from the morning to the chickens, still warm. I had to put it in a dark bowl or they couldn't see the milk in it. They loved it. During the winters in Minnesota, a little extra sunflower seeds (unhulled) and just a bit of ground meat with fat (no pork) seemed to help them along too. I would also open up a pumpkin or some other squash from time to time and let them clean that up as well. I am currently checking into sprouting grass-like seeds and giving that to them for fresh green stuff.

[esperanzamarie]

Our chickens hadnt laid eggs in over a year, after research and watching this video we changed our feed to everything in this video and not joking within the same week yes one week pur chickens were back to laying beautiful big eggs...thank you Becky! It had been so long since we had our hens laying. This feed routine does work and DE! Try it.

[artislife]

I have chickens and recently found Becky on here. I'm confused why there are so many thumbs down for these videos??? Why the hate for her? I like her!!!

[angelad]

I started following these instructions after seeing your Video and within a week or 2 we started getting at least 5 eggs a day from 12 hens (just started laying) today we got 9 eggs.

[MichelleTennantMA]

Thanks Becky! Our chickens just started laying in winter. They love the oats and bread you suggested, but when they wouldn't eat the whole corn, we simply cooked the hard corn we got from the feed supply store. We also feed organic layer pellets and a flock block with various nutrition. But they didn't start laying again until the oats and whole corn. Interesting! Thanks for your channel.

[ronaldscott]

If you decide to scrub out your waterer, use baking soda. It's just abrasive enough to clean well and is non-toxic.

[asarg]

best ideas was moving far away from the city life lol, now being in Missouri out in the country with thousands of acres of forest all around my home, i build my own home also 4 yrs ago, log cabin style i built all my cabinets, flooring, walls ceiling all wood...so your right getting away was the best plan ever...now im getting ready for my 50 Buffs and 6 road island reds coming in April...can't wait to get started...I enjoy your videos and grea helpful ideas and hints....talk to ya soon...cheers

[hijabimama]

I think you're right, good nutrition is key. My girls lay all year too, 6 hen, 6 eggs a day every day, unless one goes broody. My hens get chicken food, they steal dog food, if you walk outside with a banana, say goodbye to your banana because a hen will fly at your face and bite it. They get all our leftovers from cutting vegetables and fruits, they love watermelon. Stale bread, heck I've seen my husband give them leftover pasta and I tell him not too but he just says, why not they love it! The only time we stopped getting eggs was after a really nasty storm. I think they were all a bit traumatized but eventually started laying again.