Feeding Chickens - What should I feed my chickens?

The most popular and convenient chicken feed for fully grown chickens that are capable of laying are fed layers pellets ad-lib. Layers mash can also be fed to chickens dry or slightly moist. Even better is giving the food scraps to them mixed with water (or milk) and layers mash to make a moist (but not wet or sloppy) crumbly mixture. Food scraps are an excellent way for providing hens with a varied diet however it is advisable to limit these to no more than 25% of their diet since they do need the correct balance in their diet and it is easy to fatten them up unintentionally which will slow down or stop them laying. Ex-battery hens are only fed dry mash so if you are taking on some ex-battery girls, they will need to make a gradual transition.

Mixed corn can be given as a treat from time to time but do not overdo it and certainly do not feed this ad-lib. Wheat has only 10% protein content which is insufficient for the hens to produce eggs from.
Greens should be given daily that can include things like cabbage, cauliflower leaves, spinach, grass clods (yes, include the mud as they will get minerals and grit out of these as well as the odd insect or worm), grass clippings, dandelions and other greens around the garden. Fruit can be given as a treat - grapes and strawberries are particularly entertaining as they run off with them around the run being chased by others!
Mixed grit should be freely available at all times, as chickens do not have teeth they use grit in their gizzard to grind down their food. Oyster shell grit should be included in the mix as this contains a lot of calcium that hens need to produce eggs.

Fresh clean drinking water is a must - OK so this isn't food but it's amazing how many people don't give their birds fresh water. Hens need to drink lots of water to produce eggs and more so in the summer months. If they run out of water they will dehydrate quickly and go off lay so don't forget to provide them with this.