Country chickens find much of their own food as they forage, but backyard birds usually run short of energy, so a little grain each evening keeps them growing and laying. Birds kept in a shed need a complete feed for their age. Feed is the biggest cost of raising chickens — TANUVAS puts it at 60–75% of the total (TANUVAS, TANUVAS) — so feed well, but waste nothing.
Foraging plus extra feed
- Backyards hold a "natural food base": fallen grain, insects, earthworms, kitchen waste and green grass (ICAR-DPR). Birds also eat termites, ants and greens (TANUVAS).
- Left to forage, chickens spend 50–90% of the day eating greens, and TANUVAS says foraging is best for country chickens even when they get a full feed (TANUVAS).
- Foraging birds usually find enough protein but not enough energy, so give cereals such as bajra, ragi, jowar or broken rice, mixed with an equal part of rice polish or bran, preferably in the evening (ICAR-DPR).
- How much: about 20–30 g of grain per bird each evening (ICAR-DPR). Sources vary from 10–20 g (ICAR-DPR) to 30–40 g of mixed feed (TANUVAS): the less the backyard offers, the more you give.
- Do not overfeed young hens kept for eggs: ICAR-DPR keeps Vanaraja pullets at 2.2–2.5 kg and Gramapriya at 1.6–1.8 kg at 6–6.5 months, because extra weight cuts egg numbers (ICAR-DPR, ICAR-DPR).
Feed by age
For birds kept in a shed, TANUVAS gives these amounts of balanced feed (TANUVAS):
| Stage | Feed | Per bird per day |
|---|---|---|
| Chicks, 0–8 weeks | Chick feed: more protein, little fibre | 10–30 g |
| Growers, 9–22 weeks | Grower feed: less protein, more fibre | 40–60 g |
| Laying hens, from 23 weeks | Layer feed with more calcium | 90–110 g |
- Split the day's feed into 2–3 meals (TANUVAS). Change from one feed to another slowly, and in summer feed in the cool hours (TANUVAS).
- Meat birds on full feed in a shed reach 1.1–1.3 kg in 3–4 months on 3.5–4 kg of feed (TANUVAS).
- With only a few birds, grinding your own feed rarely pays: join neighbours and have a feed maker mix it, or buy feed made for your birds' age (TANUVAS). TANUVAS veterinary college feed mills sell feed for country chickens (TANUVAS).
- For chicks' first feed, see Brooding country chicks: heat, feed, first 6 weeks.
A home-mix example
ICAR-DPR's simple mix for chicks in their first 6 weeks, by weight (ICAR-DPR):
| Ingredient | Parts in 100 |
|---|---|
| Grain: maize, bajra, jowar, ragi or broken rice | 50 |
| Rice bran, wheat bran or de-oiled rice bran | 20 |
| Oil cake or meal: soybean, groundnut, sunflower, gingelly or linseed | 28 |
| Vitamin and mineral mixture | 2 |
- Grind the grain coarsely, not to a fine powder (ICAR-DPR).
- If maize is dear, ragi, cumbu or cholam can replace up to half of it (TNAU).
- You can buy bran from farmers near you.
- TANUVAS uses separate mixes for growers and laying hens; its layer mixes add 4–5 parts of shell grit per 100 (TANUVAS, TANUVAS).
Greens, azolla and insects
- Give greens such as CO-4 grass, velimasal (hedge lucerne), moringa, agathi and keerai (TANUVAS). Greens cut feed costs and reduce pecking (TANUVAS).
- After foraging, give chopped greens and vegetables and kitchen leftovers (TANUVAS). No official amount exists for greens or kitchen waste.
- Azolla is rich in protein, about 25% (TANUVAS study), and can be fed fresh or shade-dried (TANUVAS). In a TANUVAS trial on 12 farms in Vellore district, country chickens given 50 g of azolla a day from 6 to 12 weeks of age grew significantly heavier than birds without it, and none died (TANUVAS study).
- To grow azolla, dig a pit 7 × 3 × 1 ft, line it with a silpaulin sheet, spread 10–15 kg of sieved garden soil and fill half a foot of water. Add 300–500 g of azolla to start, mix in 1–2 kg of cow dung slurry every week and top up the water (TANUVAS study). Find azolla to start from in farmers' ads.
- Termites are a village protein feed, and pot-reared termites cost little (TANUVAS). Give them after the feed or grain, never to chicks (TANUVAS).
Shell grit for laying hens
- Laying hens need calcium for eggshells: 2.5–3.5% of their feed. Too little brings lameness, fewer eggs and eggs without shells (TANUVAS).
- Feeding rice alone is a common cause of shell-less eggs (TANUVAS).
- If shells are thin or missing, give shell grit or limestone powder: 3–4 g per bird a day, says ICAR-DPR (ICAR-DPR); TANUVAS advises at least 5–8 g of broken shell (TANUVAS).
- Shells get thinner in summer: keep shell grit in trays where hens can always reach it (TNAU).
Clean water
- A farm of 250 birds needs at least 60–75 litres of drinking water a day — about 24–30 litres per 100 birds — plus about 1 litre per bird a day for washing drinkers (TNAU). For chicks, see water for chicks.
- Give clean water every morning before the birds go out (ICAR-DPR), and keep clean, cool water in front of them all day (TANUVAS).
- Wash drinkers every day (TANUVAS); in summer, add 20–30% more drinkers (TNAU).
- Have the farm water tested: birds should drink water fit for people. Clean water pipes and tanks every month (TNAU).
- Find feeders and drinkers in farmers' ads, and see how many you need.
Mouldy feed and storage
- Never give mouldy, caked or lumpy feed: damp feed grows mould that makes poisons (TNAU).
- Use well-dried, mould-free ingredients (TANUVAS); TNAU says feed should hold no more than 11% moisture (TNAU).
- Groundnut cake often carries mould poisons, so have it tested before use; oily rice bran should not be stored for long (TANUVAS).
- Store bags on wooden planks, off the floor and away from the walls, in a dry, airy room (TNAU), where rats and bandicoots cannot reach (TANUVAS).
- Make feed as you need it instead of storing it for long, and have it tested at a feed lab for nutrients and mould (TANUVAS). In Tamil Nadu, the Animal Husbandry Department runs a poultry feed and water lab at Palladam, Tiruppur district (TN Animal Husbandry).
Common mistakes
- Feeding rice alone, so hens lay shell-less eggs.
- No evening grain for backyard birds when forage is thin.
- Overfeeding young hens kept for eggs.
- Changing the feed suddenly.
- Giving mouldy or caked feed, or storing bags on the floor.
Frequently asked questions
How much feed does a country chicken need a day?
Backyard birds: about 20–30 g of grain each evening, with foraging. In a shed: chicks 10–30 g, growers 40–60 g and laying hens 90–110 g of balanced feed a day.
Can country chickens live on foraging alone?
They find much of their food, especially protein, but usually run short of energy. Give grain each evening, and more when forage is poor.
Is azolla good for chickens?
In a TANUVAS trial, 50 g a day from 6 to 12 weeks of age made country chickens heavier, with no deaths. Give it fresh or shade-dried.
Why do my hens lay eggs without shells?
Usually too little calcium, often from feeding rice alone. Give shell grit or limestone powder and keep some in a tray, especially in summer.
Next
Plan space and feeders with Country chicken housing: shelter, space and litter, and protect your flock with Country chicken health: vaccination schedule and deworming. For feed costs, see Country chicken farming costs and income: a worked example. To add birds to your flock, see chickens for sale near you.
