GREENS Green vegetables and plants are a source of vitamins and can contribute carotenoid pigments for yolk colour. Hens that are allowed to free range in the garden will happily graze on plants and you can provide leafy greens as treats. Greens must always be viewed as a supplementary food source however, as they will not provide the balance of nutrients a healthy chicken requires. KITCHEN SCRAPS Contrary to conventional wisdom, chickens will not survive on vegetable scraps alone! In fact, feeding your flock too often from the scraps bin can result in nutrient dilution, where the lower nutrient content of the scraps ‘dilutes’ the good stuff obtained from quality feed sources. This in turn can compromise your hen’s health. Veggie scraps should therefore only be given as an occasional treat for your hens – turn the rest into compost. Take extra care to avoid access to mouldy or ‘off’ feed, such as old damp stored grain or mouldy bread. These can contain toxins that can affect the health and performance of laying hens. HARD GRIT Grit is generally described as small, insoluble stones of approximately 3mm (1/8”) in diameter. Hens don’t have teeth, so they use these small stones to grind their feed in the gizzard. This is why you need to give them grit when you feed them coarse grains like wheat, or any other foodstuff which needs to be broken down. THE CHOOK BOOK | 55