Key takeaways
- A complete, age-appropriate feed should make up about 90 percent of the daily diet - starter for chicks, grower for pullets, and a roughly 16 percent protein layer feed for hens - with treats and scraps as a small extra.
- Switch to layer feed around 18 to 20 weeks or at first egg; its higher calcium (about 2.5 to 3.5 percent) is harmful to young non-laying birds and can damage developing kidneys.
- Grit and oyster shell do different jobs: grit is hard stone that grinds food in the gizzard, while free-choice oyster shell supplies calcium for strong shells - oyster shell is too soft to work as grit.
- Keep treats and scraps to what the flock finishes in 15 to 20 minutes, never feed toxic foods like avocado, chocolate, or raw beans, and always provide clean, fresh water.
Quick answer: Feed backyard chickens a complete, age-appropriate feed as the foundation of every day — starter for chicks, grower for pullets, and a roughly 16% protein layer feed for hens. Offer grit and free-choice oyster shell, keep clean water always available, and treat scraps, treats and foraging as small extras (about 10% of the diet), never the main meal.
I grew up on my family's organic farm with hens underfoot, and the single question I'm asked most is also the simplest to get wrong: what should I actually be putting in the feeder every day? The good news is that feeding a healthy backyard flock isn't complicated once you understand the foundation. I'm a lifelong keeper, not a vet, so everything here leans on guidance from poultry extension programs — and I'll always tell you when to call a professional. Let's build a daily diet your birds will thrive on.
What should make up most of a chicken's daily diet?
A complete, commercially balanced feed should make up around 90% of the daily diet, offered free-choice so birds eat to appetite. A complete feed is a ration formulated to deliver the protein, energy, vitamins and minerals chickens need in the right proportions. Chickens are clever at adjusting how much they eat to meet their energy needs, so the easiest, most reliable approach is to keep that feed available and let your birds regulate themselves.
A practical rule I live by: complete feed should make up around 90% of the daily diet, with treats, scraps and foraging filling the remaining sliver. A typical full-grown hen eats roughly a quarter pound of feed per day (about 3 pounds a week for a 6-pound hen), though that rises in cold weather and falls in summer heat. If treats start crowding out the feeder, your hens' nutrition — and their eggs — will suffer.
How should I feed chicks, pullets and layers differently?
Match the feed to the bird's age: high-protein starter for chicks, a lower-calcium grower for pullets, and higher-calcium layer feed once hens begin laying. A bird's needs change dramatically as she grows, and the protein and calcium levels in her feed need to change with her. Buying the wrong stage of feed is one of the most common beginner mistakes — if you're just getting started, my beginner's guide to backyard chickens walks through the whole first year. Here's the simple version, with figures drawn from poultry extension guidance:
| Life stage | Feed type | Approx. protein | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chick (0–6 weeks) | Starter | ~18–20% | Higher protein for rapid early growth. |
| Grower / pullet (6–18 weeks) | Grower / developer | ~15–18% | Lower calcium than layer feed — important for developing kidneys. |
| Layer (18+ weeks / at first egg) | Layer feed | ~16% (at least 14%) | Higher calcium (about 2.5–3.5%) built in for eggshells. |
The most important takeaway here is about calcium and timing. Layer feed carries roughly 2.5–3.5% calcium for eggshell production, but growing chickens need only around 1.2%. Feeding high-calcium layer feed to young, non-laying birds can over-supply calcium and, according to extension sources, may contribute to kidney damage. So switch to layer feed around 18–20 weeks or when the first eggs appear — not before. If you keep a mixed-age flock, an all-flock or grower feed plus free-choice oyster shell is a safer way to feed everyone at once.
What's the difference between grit and oyster shell?
Grit is hard stone the gizzard uses to grind food, while oyster shell is a calcium source for eggshells, and one cannot replace the other. These two supplements get confused constantly, but they do completely different jobs.
Grit is small, hard stone. Because chickens have no teeth, they swallow grit into the gizzard, where it grinds whole grains, seeds and tough forage so the bird can digest them. Hens with access to the ground often pick up enough small stones on their own, but offering commercial grit (sold in chick and hen sizes) is cheap insurance — especially for birds eating scratch, whole grains or lots of foraged greens. Fine gravel works as a substitute.
Oyster shell is a calcium source for strong eggshells. Complete layer feed already contains calcium, but high-producing hens sometimes need a little extra, which is why I keep crushed oyster shell in a small separate dish, offered free-choice. Each hen takes what her body needs and leaves the rest. Oyster shell is too soft to grind food, so it does not replace grit. Thin or easily cracked shells are your cue to make sure oyster shell is available. If you want darker, richer yolks alongside good shells, I dig into the nutrition side in how to get darker egg yolks naturally.
How many treats and scraps are too many?
Offer no more scratch grains and table scraps than your flock can finish in about 15 to 20 minutes, so treats stay garnish rather than dinner. Treats and kitchen scraps are one of the joys of keeping chickens — and one of the easiest ways to unbalance a diet. Too many scraps dilute the protein, vitamins and minerals in their feed and can knock down egg production.
| Generally safe in moderation | Avoid or feed with caution |
|---|---|
| Leafy greens, lettuce, kale | Anything moldy or spoiled |
| Cracked corn & scratch grains (small amounts) | Avocado (pit and skin) |
| Cooked vegetables & squash | Raw or dried uncooked beans |
| Berries, melon, apple (no seeds) | Salty, sugary or greasy human food |
| Mealworms & garden bugs | Chocolate, caffeine, alcohol |
| Plain cooked rice or oats | Green/sprouted potato & nightshade peels |
Which foods should I never feed my chickens?
Never feed avocado, chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, raw or dried uncooked beans, moldy food, green or sprouted potatoes and nightshade peels, or very salty foods, as these can genuinely harm or kill a hen. Keep these off the menu entirely:
- Avocado — the pit and skin contain persin, which is toxic to birds.
- Chocolate, caffeine and alcohol — all toxic to chickens.
- Raw or dried uncooked beans — contain natural compounds (such as phytohaemagglutinin) that are dangerous; never feed beans raw.
- Moldy or spoiled food — molds can produce mycotoxins that remain even after visible mold is gone.
- Green or sprouted potatoes and nightshade peelings — can contain harmful solanine.
- Very salty, sugary or heavily greasy foods — too much salt can disrupt a small bird's fluid balance.
When you're unsure about a food, the safest move is simply to leave it out. If a bird shows sudden weakness, breathing trouble or collapse after eating something, contact a veterinarian — I'm a keeper, not a vet, and toxicities can move fast.
How important are water and foraging in a chicken's diet?
Clean, constant water is the single most important nutrient, and foraging is a valuable supplement — but neither replaces a complete feed. Water is the most overlooked nutrient and the most important. Chickens need constant access to clean, fresh water — in temperate climates they typically drink one and a half to two times as much water as feed by volume. Extension sources warn that hens deprived of water for more than about 12 hours can drop or stop laying. Scrub waterers and refill daily, watch them closely in summer heat and keep water from freezing in winter. If laying suddenly stops, water (or its absence) is one of the first things I check — I cover the rest in why chickens stop laying eggs.
Foraging — free-ranging or a generous run with grass, weeds and bugs — adds variety, natural protein and enrichment, and it's wonderful for both birds and yolks. Just remember it supplements a complete feed rather than replacing it, and foraging birds especially benefit from available grit.
On top of a complete feed, some keepers like to offer a daily herbal supplement for general support. Our Chicken Egg Booster is a herbal blend designed to be sprinkled onto an already-complete diet — it's a small daily extra, not a replacement for balanced feed, fresh water or calcium. I'm honest about this: no supplement substitutes for the fundamentals on this page. Get the feed, grit, calcium and water right first, and treat anything else as a bonus.
Your daily feeding checklist
- Top up the age-appropriate complete feed and check the feeder is clean and dry.
- Empty, scrub and refill waterers with fresh, clean water.
- Confirm free-choice oyster shell and grit dishes aren't empty.
- Offer treats or scraps only in an amount finished in 15–20 minutes.
- Double-check nothing on the never-feed list has made it into the run.
- Watch the flock eat and drink — note any bird that seems off.
- In extreme heat or cold, check water more than once a day.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best thing to feed backyard chickens daily?
For laying hens, a complete layer feed (around 16% protein, with built-in calcium) should make up the vast majority of the daily diet. Offer it free-choice in a clean feeder, with fresh water always available. Treats, scraps and foraging are extras, not the main meal.
How much should I feed a chicken per day?
A typical full-grown laying hen eats roughly a quarter pound (about 110 grams) of complete feed per day, or close to 3 pounds a week for a 6-pound hen. Hens self-regulate, so the simplest approach is to keep a complete feed available free-choice and let them eat to appetite. Intake rises in cold weather and drops in heat.
Do backyard chickens need grit and oyster shell?
They serve different jobs. Grit is small hard stone that helps the gizzard grind whole grains and forage; birds with ground access often find their own, but offering commercial grit is good insurance. Oyster shell is a calcium source for eggshells, offered free-choice in a separate dish so each hen takes what she needs. Oyster shell is too soft to work as grit.
What foods are toxic to chickens?
Avoid avocado (especially pit and skin), chocolate and caffeine, raw or dried uncooked beans, anything moldy, very salty foods, alcohol, and green or sprouted potato and other nightshade peelings. Many of these can make hens sick or worse, so when in doubt, leave it out.
Can chickens live on kitchen scraps alone?
No. Scraps are unbalanced and can dilute the protein, vitamins and minerals hens need to stay healthy and lay well. Keep treats and scraps to what your flock can finish in about 15 to 20 minutes a day, and let a complete feed do the heavy lifting.
When do I switch from chick feed to layer feed?
Most keepers start chicks on starter, move to a grower ration, then switch pullets to layer feed around 18 to 20 weeks or when the first eggs appear. Layer feed's higher calcium is meant for laying hens; feeding it to young growing birds can over-supply calcium, so timing the switch matters.
Should I feed chickens differently in winter?
The feed itself stays the same complete ration, but hens eat noticeably more of it in cold weather to fuel body heat, so keep feeders well stocked. The bigger winter job is water: it freezes fast, and a hen without liquid water will eat less and can stop laying. Some keepers add a little extra protein or scratch at dusk for warmth, but it should stay within the usual treat limit.
Do chickens need supplements or vitamins in their feed?
A good-quality complete feed is already formulated with the vitamins and minerals hens need, so most flocks on a balanced ration don't require extra supplements. The two add-ons worth keeping free-choice are grit and oyster shell. Anything beyond that, like an herbal egg-support blend, is an optional extra on top of the fundamentals, not a fix for a poor diet — and a genuinely unwell bird needs a vet, not a supplement.
Can I make my own chicken feed at home?
You can, but it's harder than it looks to hit the right protein, calcium, and micronutrient balance, and gaps show up as poor laying, weak shells, or health problems. For most backyard keepers a commercial complete feed is safer, cheaper, and more reliable. If you do want to mix your own, work from a poultry-nutritionist or extension-published formula rather than guessing.
Is medicated chick starter necessary?
It's a personal choice and depends on your setup. Medicated starter usually contains amprolium to help chicks resist coccidiosis, which can be useful in damp, crowded, or higher-risk brooders. If your chicks were vaccinated for coccidiosis, you generally use unmedicated feed, since the medication can interfere with the vaccine. When you're unsure, ask your hatchery or a vet which fits your birds.
Products mentioned in this guide
Sources & further reading
A note from Sarah: I'm a lifelong keeper, not a veterinarian. This guide shares what's worked for my own flock and is meant for general education — if a bird is seriously ill or injured, please call your vet. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA.
