Diet

Chickens that roam free mostly find food for themselves. They use much of their body to do so.

Picking worms from the ground is easy for chickens because of their sharp beak. Grubs and other little insects from the ground can be eaten by chickens. Chickens don’t have teeth so they can only eat smaller pieces of foods. Chickens kept mostly in a coop need to be fed grit to help them digest their food.

Their claws help also help them pick out their food from the ground. Chickens tear out weeds and gently dig for something to eat. Many farmers take advantage of this and make sure they tear out weeds that are in the way of what the farmer needs to get to. Then he/she doesn’t have to.

Chickens that mostly live in a coop or kept inside a run, eat some other foods too. They will eat grain, seeds, fruit, other vegetation, or insects. Chickens aren’t very picky when choosing what to eat so just giving them some leftovers from lunch is a very nice treat.

It’s very important for chickens to get enough calcium. A good amount of calcium for a hen will lead to healthy newborn chicks or yummy eggs, which leads to a happy farmer. The calcium helps for a harder egg shell.