You ask: “We need advice from experienced poultry farmers - can chickens be given raw potatoes? This year we simply have an unprecedented harvest; I don’t remember that we got so many potatoes, although we planted them as usual. It would be good, but there are a lot of tubers spoiled by dry rot. They are not suitable for storage, and we simply won’t have time to eat them ourselves. So I thought, what if I rub them on the bird? Will it be eaten, and isn’t it harmful? Maybe it’s better to cook it after all?”
We answer: Natural vitamin supplements for chickens are garden crops. It is cheap, natural, and healthy for the bird. Pumpkin, zucchini, overgrown cucumbers, carrots are favorite delicacies of birds, but is it possible to give raw potatoes to chickens? On the one hand, the pulp of root vegetables is quite juicy, it diversifies the “dry” grain diet and should appeal to the bird. But will the raw product harm her digestive system? Let's figure it out.
How to give chickens potatoes during molting and at will
In the fall, chicken molting and potato harvesting often coincide. And since after sorting there are quite a lot of tubers left that are not suitable for storage, they can be used to make useful fertilizer
Although there are many conflicting stories about potatoes for chickens, and some claim that poisonous corned beef will harm the health of birds, in fact, potatoes are not that bad, but rather beneficial.
Potatoes are rich in nutrients and contain vitamin B6, which helps break down food for better absorption by the body. food into smaller pieces that are easily digested by the body. Thus, it increases energy and metabolism, which will come in handy during shedding. Warm mashed potatoes served on a cold morning will warm a bird that has lost some of its feathers. Potatoes also contain vitamin C to prevent respiratory diseases.
Potatoes contain the minerals zinc, phosphorus, and iron, which strengthen bones.
Potato fiber not only prevents constipation and promotes food digestion, but also helps satiate chickens, which means saving on feed.
As for the negative aspects, they are associated with the fact that the chickens are given either chips with salt, or spoiled tubers, or, out of ignorance, the tops are left for the birds to peck. As a result, the animals will have indigestion and runny droppings.
With the exception of the above, properly prepared fertilizer is a good option.
How to cook potatoes for chickens
The first way is lazy. Peel the tubers, boil in a bucket or bake in the oven with the peel. Then cut into pieces and offer to your pets.
The second method is for more vigilant owners who are prejudiced towards potatoes. Peel the tubers, cut into small pieces and place in a large saucepan. Pour in cold water without adding salt and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes without a lid.
Once the pieces have softened, drain and mash. There is no need to add milk - chickens are lactose intolerant. But you can add lean pieces of meat, again without salt and spices; it’s not for nothing that the ancestors of chickens were the formidable tyrannosaurs.
Cook as much as the chickens will eat at one time. Boiled potatoes should not be stored for longer than a day. If you are giving puree for the first time, add a little until the bird is full to understand the required volume.
How to make potato flour
Potato meal is sometimes added to chicken feed to reduce levels of harmful bacteria, and in organic poultry farming it is used as an alternative to antibiotics in poultry diets.
In industrial poultry farming, good results are also known, in terms of economy and health of broilers, when replacing corn in the diet with potato flour by 30%.
If you have a dehydrator, you can make this supplement yourself. 4 kg of potatoes will yield about a kilogram of flour.
Peel the potatoes, boil, mash and place in a dehydrator to dry for 12-20 hours. Then put through a blender and store in an airtight container.
Remember that when you introduce flour, the food will become dusty, so it should be moistened with water before serving.
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What can you feed broiler chickens - a review of healthy and unhealthy foods
For rapid growth and health, broilers need proper nutrition - all poultry farmers know this. In order to successfully raise meat poultry at home, the main thing is to take a responsible approach to menu planning. In this review, we will try to answer common questions from farmers, namely, can broilers be given peas, bread, boiled potatoes, grass and other additives. Let us consider in detail which products or supplements must be present in their menu.
Can laying hens be fed boiled potatoes?
We bought laying hens. They say that potatoes are not very good for them. So is it possible to give it boiled?
This vegetable can be given to laying hens when boiled. You should not offer only raw food, because it may be saturated with solanine, a toxic substance that forms after long-term storage. You can see this dangerous component in tubers with the naked eye. They immediately turn green because solanine accumulates under the skin of the potato. That is why, from January-February, it is not recommended to feed chickens potato peels. During heat treatment, the hazardous substance is destroyed. Therefore, boiled potatoes will be beneficial for laying hens. Poultry farmers advise introducing it into the diet from the 15th day of a chicken’s life. There should be no more than 100 grams of boiled vegetables per bird per day. It is also useful to add to wet mash.
Let us remember that chickens are omnivorous birds. Therefore, many novice poultry farmers are confident that they can be fed with leftovers from the owner’s table. But not all of our dishes and products will benefit laying hens. For example, fresh bread (black and white) is poorly digested by the stomachs of birds. It swells and becomes limp, disrupts digestion and forms lumps in the crop of birds. Stale baked goods without mold are the best alternative. For laying hens, they will serve as a valuable source of carbohydrates, which their stomachs can handle more easily. And fish will be useful to chickens as a source of calcium and increased egg production. Just don’t feed salted fish to the birds! It is enough to add such a product to wet mash twice a week.
As for red beets, they should be present in the diet of laying hens occasionally and in minimal quantities. The fact is that this vegetable has laxative properties. In addition, it colors the cloaca of chickens red, which leads to its pecking by other birds, that is, to cannibalism (this phenomenon is characteristic of chickens). An alternative to red beets is sugar beets. It is an excellent source of carbohydrates and fiber. The same function is performed by all cereals offered to birds.
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Broiler housing
If chickens were purchased away from home and were transported, they may begin to die. To avoid this, you need to prepare the premises for receiving young animals in advance, and also take care of what and how they will be fed.
Premises requirements
Chicken coops are mostly built from wood, brick or stone. Regardless of the material used in construction, the internal walls are plastered and whitewashed (it is not necessary to plaster the wood; you can cover it with a mixture of clay and flooring, and then whitewash it). The floor is also whitewashed to cover 1 square meter. meter, 1 kg of lime is enough.
In a well-made chicken coop:
The chicken coop must be equipped with a ventilation hole covered with a fine grille (otherwise predators may enter the room).
Attention! To raise 20-25 chickens, a room of 10-15 square meters is enough
Content options
It is very convenient when you can feed your pets with kitchen waste. There is a lot of bread and bread crusts left on the farm. You can feed them to broilers and many do so. Stale bread and bread crusts are soaked in water and given either on their own or added to the mash, which we have already mentioned several times today. The fact is that the yeast contained in bread contributes to the rapid gain of muscle mass in chickens. Bread is added to the diet from the fourth week, when the active growth phase begins. The main thing is to make sure that the birds do not get moldy bread.
Beneficial features
Potatoes lose most of their vitamins when exposed to heat treatment. But raw vegetable tubers contain many useful substances:
Potatoes, both boiled and raw, are a source of vegetable protein, which is necessary both for the full development of young animals and for increasing the egg productivity of laying hens.
Potatoes also contain minerals in easily digestible form: salts of phosphorus, potassium, sodium, chlorine, iron, magnesium, sulfur. All these elements are necessary for chickens to produce eggs normally.
The introduction of potatoes into the diet of laying hens helps replenish the bird's daily need for vitamin C by almost 100%, potassium by 50%, phosphorus by 15%, calcium by 3%.
Based on the chemical composition and listed properties of the vegetable, giving potatoes to chickens is not only possible, but also necessary.
Peas
Peas belong to the legume family. Legumes contain a much higher amount of protein compared to cereals. And this is important, because the need for fast-growing poultry for protein is much higher than the need for other breeds. Peas are considered one of the best high-protein plant foods. It is a source of the essential amino acid lysine.
Lysine is necessary for growth, tissue regeneration, for the production of antibodies, hormones, and enzymes. Peas are introduced into the diet of birds that are 10 days old. Since split peas are not readily eaten by chickens due to their specific taste and smell, they are not given very much - 10-12% of the total amount of dry food. It is also preferable to feed it as part of wet mash in crushed form.
In what form and how much to give
It is recommended that chickens include boiled potatoes in their daily diet. It does not contain as many vitamins and other beneficial substances as raw tubers. But the nutritional value of the vegetable in the form of proteins, carbohydrates and fats is preserved.
How much and how often to feed potatoes depends on the age of the bird:
Can be given to chickens up to 2-3 times a week as part of wet mash.
The potatoes are pre-sorted, discarding green specimens, washed and boiled with the peel for 15-20 minutes. Boiled tubers are crushed with a masher, bran, cake, grain and raw chopped vegetables that are available on the farm are added - carrots, pumpkin, zucchini, cucumbers, etc. The result is a tasty and nutritious mash for chickens.
It is allowed to give raw potato peelings, occasionally and in small quantities. The bird is reluctant to eat this product fresh, but really likes it boiled as part of mash.
Some poultry farmers prefer to give laying hens frozen potatoes, both raw and boiled. It is also useful for birds and completely harmless.
Application of compound feeds
Is it worth it or not? Owners of large farms talk about the convenience of using compound feed. It is recommended to select specific feeds designed for your type of poultry. For example, there are certain foods on sale today that increase egg production. If you are raising meat breeds, then the food should not contain components that reduce weight gain.
In terms of nutritional value and composition, ready-made food is in no way inferior to natural food. From 60 to 70% of the composition is oats, bran, millet and barley. 20-30% are corn and legumes. The food also includes berries, vegetables, vitamins and minerals, bone meal, milk powder and dried herbs.
Reviews from poultry farmers
We always give our chickens potatoes. There are a lot of small tubers left from the garden and all this is well eaten by living creatures. Potatoes give you fullness and help you save on feed.
I often add boiled potato peelings to the mashes of ducks and chickens. Sometimes the potatoes in the cellar freeze. I also don’t throw it away and feed it to the birds, sometimes boiled and sometimes raw, cutting it into small pieces.
According to my observations, birds are very reluctant to peck at raw potato peelings. Therefore, I do not transport the food, but immediately boil it and add it to food or table waste. The chickens eat this treat instantly.
Is it possible to give chickens fresh and salted cucumbers?
Is it possible to give raw and cooked meat to chickens: the experience of poultry farmers
Is it possible to give onions to laying hens and chickens?
Should chickens be given salt and how much?
How to give chickens eggshells to prevent them from pecking eggs
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Is it possible to give chickens salted lard?
You can give lard to birds. Only it should be unsalted. All salty foods are prohibited for chickens. ... Sausages (sausages, boiled sausages, wieners) are not healthy food for birds.
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Feeding chickens potatoes
Author: Chicken Ryaba
/ 26 Oct 2022 at 06:52
Good afternoon, experienced and novice poultry farmers! Practical aspects of using potatoes in the feed base of the chicken family. How to properly feed chickens potatoes and potato peelings? Potatoes for chickens: to boil or not to boil?
The main guarantor of good health and high productivity of any poultry is the use of feed mixtures balanced in all organic compounds and minerals.
Protein nutrition
What makes it special? What can and cannot be fed to chickens? Advice from experienced farmers often contains references to protein foods.
These include:
- buttermilk;
- milk;
- cottage cheese;
- serum;
- curdled milk;
- fish or meat waste;
- small fish;
- shellfish
To prepare chicken mash, cake and meal from agricultural crops are often taken. Small amphibians, chafers and worms can be used as a source of protein in the diet.
Are potatoes raw or boiled for chickens?
There are feeds that are used throughout the year. Firstly, it is grain, which accounts for the lion's share of the diet. Secondly, vegetables, which include potatoes, occupy the specific gravity in feed mixtures. We'll talk about the latter today.
Important point! Beginning poultry farmers often feed their birds scraps, which, according to veterinarians, pose a potential threat to the health of their feathered pets.
For poultry, regardless of age and gender, proteins, fats and carbohydrates are vitally important, used by the laying hen’s body to build egg components. It is important to provide productive laying hens with B vitamins, carotene, ascorbic acid, nicotinic acid, vitamin D and other biologically active substances.
All these elements are contained in potato tubers. Moreover, the food in question is a rich source of calcium, potassium, manganese, iron, chlorine, fluorine, zinc, copper, boron, vanadium, cobalt, nickel, sodium, starch and amino acids.
For example, the inclusion of potatoes in the chicken feed reduces the likelihood of infectious diseases, since the alkaline environment created by the feed has a detrimental effect on pathogenic microflora.
According to research results, it was found that potatoes are beneficial for laying hens and broilers! Normalizes metabolic processes and positively correlates with the blood count and the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. But we must understand that not all types of food are healthy.
Hercules
Hercules is hydrothermally treated oat flakes, mechanically peeled. And since it is not only possible, but also necessary to feed chickens with oats, this rule also applies to rolled oats.
The latter contains the main substances vital for chicken, micro- and macroelements. The amount of protein that is part of this cereal affects the growth of muscle mass. Hercules is also better than regular oats because in the hulled grain crop the fiber content is significantly reduced, thus facilitating and accelerating the process of assimilation of the product by the chicken body.
The dosage of rolled oats in the feed ration of chickens should be extremely clear and amount to no more than 10–20% of the total daily volume of food (grain elements in conjunction with plant elements).
Boiled potatoes for chickens
Of course, such food is a priority. It is easily digested and has a positive effect on the mucous membrane of the digestive tract and appetite. Boiled pieces of tubers are added to mash mixtures or fed separately.
Tubers with green skin contain solanine, a substance that causes poisoning and waste in poultry. Such a vegetable is rejected. By the way, this also applies to tubers with sprouts and rot. Size is not important.
An important point: normal development of bone tissue in young animals is ensured by fine gravel, lime, and shell rock. These supplements are fed on the walking area from separate feeders. Potato mash, supplemented with crushed chalk and bone meal, reduces the likelihood of bone problems.
Chickens begin to be accustomed to boiled potatoes at 11 days of age. The daily norm is 4 g. 21-30 day old chickens are given 10 g of feed daily. For 31-40 day old pullets, a 20 gram dose is recommended. By the way, 51-60-day-old birds of meat and egg breeds are given up to 50 g of potatoes.
Sand
Starting from the fifth day of life, mineral supplements are introduced into the diet of broilers. These include shell, chalk, bone meal, and fine gravel. As for sand, it is not recommended to give it to broilers. The problem is that if the birds get too fine sand, there may be a risk that it will simply clog the crop and cause obstruction. Therefore, instead of sand, most breeders choose fine gravel, the particle size of which is 2-5 mm. By pecking at individual grains of sand, the birds clean their gastrointestinal tract, and the food they eat is better ground.
Potato peels for chickens
Waste-free farming is good. But everything should be in moderation.
Firstly, you should not feed laying hens and broilers peelings, which is explained by the same solanine.
Secondly, vegetables exposed to the sun, which initiates the process of poison formation, are especially dangerous.
Let's look at the photo. Of course, peel to white pulp, boil the middle, and throw away the peeled greens!
What if for some reason you have to use potato peels? Of course, the emphasis must be placed on smooth, thick, without damage, putrefactive processes and dry cleaning. Such feed is introduced into mash. By the way, the main part of the nutrients in the tuber is under the skin.
But how many potatoes can you feed chickens per day? No more than 40 grams. If you don't want obesity to reduce egg production.
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Grass
Green feed is the most important component of the diet of your broilers. As noted above, you can start giving grass from 2-3 days of age. In addition to the beneficial nettle already mentioned today, dandelions, clover, and alfalfa are suitable for broilers. Fresh grass is crushed and given to young birds at the rate of 6 g per bird per day. Lettuce leaves (contain a large amount of iodine and other useful trace elements) and onion greens are also useful for young birds.
Onion greens are also given as a preventive measure for intestinal disorders in chickens. As they grow older, starting from 3 weeks of age, grass for growing broilers is no longer chopped, but given in bunches that can be hung from the cage or placed in feeders. It is very good if your birds have the opportunity to go for walks and peck various grass on their own. If you adopted broilers in winter or early spring, when there is no greenery on the street yet, you can use grass meal for feed.
It is given to chickens that have reached 5 days of age in an amount of no more than 3 g per bird, the dose can gradually be increased to 5 g. Too much grass meal is not given, due to the fact that it contains a large amount compared to fresh herbs fiber. It, in turn, is difficult to digest by the digestive system of a young bird.
Is it possible to feed chickens potatoes?
The main food for birds is crushed grain and mixed feed. True, such products do not contain all the beneficial substances that laying hens need. Poultry farmers recommend using vegetables as additional feed. Potatoes are rich in minerals and carbohydrates. It can be given to chickens starting from 15-20 days of life.
Raw tubers
It is not recommended to feed raw potatoes to birds. This is very heavy and rough food, it is slowly digested and poorly absorbed. After eating raw potatoes, laying hens may experience vomiting or diarrhea.
Fresh potatoes are poorly broken down in the digestive tract and can lead to atony of the goiter and stomach.
Boiled potatoes
Rejected small tubers can be used as bird feed. Before giving potatoes to laying hens, they need to be washed and boiled. Boiled potatoes are easily digested by the bird's stomach. True, it needs to be introduced into the chickens’ diet gradually.
Chickens at 15-20 days of life are first given 5-10 grams of boiled potatoes. By the age of one month, the dosage is increased. The norm for an adult laying hen is 40-50 grams per day. It is not recommended to give larger amounts of this food.
When feeding, the emphasis is not on volume, but on variety. The more vegetables and grains are included in the daily diet of laying hens, the better. Usually boiled potatoes are mashed, mixed feed, crushed grains or bone and fish meal are added. True, chickens are more willing to eat whole boiled tubers.
Potato peelings
What to pay special attention to
In some cases, you can notice how the chicken pecks at the foam. This material does not have any beneficial properties, and on the contrary, is even dangerous for laying hens. Regular use of polyvinyl chloride can lead to blockage of the goiter. Therefore, if it has been noticed that a laying hen is eating polystyrene foam, the material should be covered with something protective.
Another, no less common habit in chickens is feather plucking, which may be due to the following reasons:
- insufficient feeding: lack of vitamins, microelements and proteins;
- There is not enough space in the chicken coop: chickens have developed a habit of pecking and nibbling. Therefore, with a small volume of the chicken coop and a large number of individuals, there will not be enough space;
- hazing: old hens in some cases do not respond well to the introduction of new laying hens. Therefore, it is easier to move in gradually;
- bright lighting: in strong light, when the feather cover of chickens is insufficient, the veins are visible. Other chickens begin to think that this is food and begin to peck. To even out this, the lighting should not be very bright.
Chickens with restless behavior and not very good appearance should immediately arouse suspicion from the farmer
What impact can it have?
Boiled potatoes enrich the diet of broilers with vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and carbohydrates. Once inside, potatoes work like an alkali: the acidic environment in which most pathogenic bacteria and fungi develop is neutralized. Potatoes improve the functioning of the digestive system, normalize metabolism, and improve immunity.
Boiled tubers should be given to laying hens every day. Birds fed on such food gain weight faster, get sick less, and lay eggs better.
Potatoes are considered an essential component in the diet of chickens in winter.
Cottage cheese
Fermented milk products are extremely important for proper feeding of chickens. Cottage cheese contains a large amount of protein, calcium and vitamin D, which are essential for strong bones. Cottage cheese is given literally from 1-2 days of life. It is mixed with a boiled egg, chopped herbs, corn grits or millet. As a rule, chickens eat it willingly and with appetite.
Cottage cheese is not the only fermented milk product that is beneficial for broilers. Many breeders advise adding yogurt to the diet as well. Mashes are made from curdled milk or whey, and they are also simply poured into drinking bowls instead of water. Fermented milk products are practically a building material for the gastrointestinal microflora of the younger generation of cockerels and laying hens. Thanks to it, the correct acid-base environment is formed in the stomach and intestines, which occurs due to the “population” of it with beneficial lacto- and bidiphobacteria.
Advantages and disadvantages of including potatoes in the diet
This vegetable is considered a low-calorie product. 100 grams of potatoes contain only 77 kilocalories. Potatoes contain the most carbohydrates (almost 85 percent). Protein is only 10.5 percent. This vegetable is not rich in vitamins. Root vegetables contain some vitamin C and B. But potatoes are rich in macro- and microelements.
The vegetable is recommended to be included in the diet of birds with rickets, joint diseases, pecking, and calcium deficiency. Potassium is highest in potatoes. This macroelement normalizes metabolism, improves the functioning of the nervous, muscular, and vascular systems. The calcium, phosphorus, and silicon present in the composition go towards the formation of bone and muscle tissue.
Potatoes are considered an alkaline food. It reduces acidity and normalizes digestion. If you feed chickens boiled potatoes, they gain weight faster and become larger. Laying hens increase egg production.
What kind of potatoes should you not feed chickens?
Fodder potato varieties are used to feed laying hens. They have a higher content of protein, minerals and carbohydrates that are beneficial for birds. True, if there is no fodder, the chickens can be given food potatoes, that is, those that people eat.
The bird is fed tubers that are unsuitable for seed purposes. Usually small or injured root crops are used as chicken feed. The potatoes must be washed, rotten tubers are discarded, and then boiled in a sufficient amount of water, otherwise a paste will form.
You should not feed your chickens sprouted potatoes. Glycoalkaloids are formed in potato sprouts, which affect the liver and nervous system of laying hens, and sometimes lead to their death. Sprouted potatoes can be used as bird feed after removing all the sprouts.
Laying hens are not given potato tops, unripe and young green tubers. Ripe potatoes can be fed to chickens, but only boiled. Potatoes that have been stored in the cellar for a long time have minimal levels of solanine. This vegetable is best suited for bird feed.
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