6. Feeding the Laying Hen
The hen is capable of eating a wide range of
foodstuffs. They like insects, worms, grass and other
vegetable matter, seeds and other sources of protein.
Their nutritional requirements however are very
specific and if not met, their egg production capacity
will be compromised. So although they may enjoy the
novelty of picking over vegetable scraps or scratching
up beetles and worms in the litter, these materials
alone will not meet their needs. They require a sound
base diet involving cereal grains, protein meals, added
minerals and vitamins and of course adequate water.
Water is very important and the hen is very sensitive
to an undersupply of water. Hence water should be
clean, cool and readily available at all times. If the
water supply is not mains water then it should be
checked for its mineral content as some bore water
sources can cause problems with egg shell quality
and wet litter.
The prime pillars of poultry nutrition are energy and
protein. Laying hens generally eat to fulfil their energy
needs so you need to ensure that the feed they are
supplied provides sufficient protein levels to meet
their needs.
Hens normally eat around 100 – 150 gms of feed
per day depending on the energy density of the
feed, their liveweight and the level of production.
The energy requirement is generally in the order
of 300kcals ME/day (or 1.25 MJ ME/day). This
needs to be complimented with around 18 – 20 gm
protein/day, which supplies adequate amounts of the
specific amino acids e.g. lysine (800 mg), methionine
(440 mg) etc, as well as the necessary minerals and
vitamins.
The shell of eggs is made up primarily of calcium
carbonate so the hen has a high requirement for
calcium. If any of the required nutrients fall short of
requirements the bird will either eat more feed trying
to compensate or will produce less. Delivering a well
formulated, consistent balanced diet is the key to
successful long term egg production.
The various layer diets in the EGGSTRA range are
designed to meet the known requirements under
a range of backyard circumstances. Several feed
adjuncts can be employed to assist the hen. These
include,