8 Nutritional Needs of Layer Chickens at Every Stage of the Cycle

Layer chickens are raised for their eggs. When egg demand and egg prices go up, layer farmers can turn a decent profit. Even so, raising layer chickens is far from easy, because it takes the right tips and techniques to keep the hens productive and laying quality eggs. If the eggs are poor, many customers will be disappointed and won't come back to buy from you. That is why it matters so much to keep your hens productive. One way to do that is to meet the nutritional needs of your layer chickens. Here are the nutrients chickens need at each stage:

Also read How to Store Chicken Eggs After Collecting Them from the Coop

Starter

The starter stage covers day-old chicks (DOC). At this point the chicks are still very weak and need help to survive. Besides giving them a sugar solution, it is essential to provide 8 nutrients during the DOC stage. The success of your farm depends on how well you raise these DOC. If many of the chicks die, the farm will fail, because only a few will survive to lay eggs. One thing that helps DOC survive is meeting their nutritional needs.

Starter birds need more water and energy than birds in the grower and layer stages. For layer chicks, crude protein should not be given too often, because their digestive organs are not yet fully developed. Other nutritional needs of layer chickens include crude fiber, crude fat, calcium, ash and phosphorus.

Grower

Grower chickens are birds in their growth phase. During this stage they need more energy than in the layer stage. They also need more crude protein than starter birds, because their digestion is better developed. Another nutrient the feed must supply is calcium; without enough of it, the birds develop bone problems. Other nutrients the farmer has to provide include phosphorus, ash, crude fat and more.

Also read How to Spot Fresh Eggs from Quality Layer Hens

Pre-Layer

This is the stage just before the hens start laying. During this period you need to pay close attention to their nutrition so that they lay quality eggs once they reach the layer stage. Birds at this stage need more nutrients than growers. Broadly, they need the same nutrients as in the previous stage, but a few are required in larger amounts: ash, calcium and phosphorus.

Layer

By this stage the hens are ready for egg production. This is when you will see whether their nutritional needs were properly met in the earlier stages. If the hens lay plenty of eggs of normal or even larger size, the nutrients you provided were absorbed well. In the layer stage, the birds need the same nutrients as in the pre-layer stage, but more calcium, ash and crude fat.

Also read 7 Features of an Ideal Layer Chicken Coop for Higher Productivity

Pay close attention to your chickens' nutrition. Hard work always pays off: when you get the nutrition right, the results won't disappoint. But if you believe you have met your layer chickens' nutritional needs and the results are still disappointing, you need to figure out what is going wrong on your farm.