Nutritious feeds must be properly provided for better growth rate and egg production of indigenous chickens.
If chickens have lower nutrition, they are not resistant to diseases and cause high mortality.
Chicken feed includes natural feeds such as (broken rice, corn, rice bran, groundnut oil cake, sesame oil cake, dried fish powder, shellfish, shrimp bran, vitamin supplement) and
Green feeds such as (algae, hyacinth, banana tree, basil) etc.
Azolla algae, sweet grass, and Napier grass are also used for chicken feed nowadays.
For better health and high productivity of meat and eggs, a balanced diet of six nutrients such as starch, fat, protein, vitamins, minerals and water are essential for feeding.
In chicken feed, the starch portion should contain the highest percentage. Starch percentage is high in broken rice, corn and wheat. Starch provides energy for body movements and regulating body temperature.
Fat provides energy to the body. A laying hen needs more fat than a normal hen because the yolk contains fat. Fat can be obtained from groundnut oil cake, sesame oil cake, soybean oil cake and coconut oil cake.
Chickens need protein for their growth and healthiness. The muscles, feathers, blood and yolk of eggs are made up of protein. Protein can be obtained from feeds such as dried fish and prawns.
Although it is needed in small quantities, they are quite important for chicken health, vigor, growth rate, laying rate and fertilization of eggs. Vitamins can be obtained from a variety of vegetables.
Minerals are important for bone formation, eggshell formation, optimal health status and muscle strength. If minerals are deficient, it can cause deficiency related diseases. For example, deficiency of lime and phosphorus, can cause osteoporosis.
Water is important for digestion and transportation of digested nutrients into the whole body. Clean and fresh water should be provided for the chickens throughout the day. The drinker must be placed in the shade.
Vitamins and minerals are easily available from moringa leaves. Moringa leaves can be air-dried without direct sunlight for 2-3 days. Optimum status for storage leaves is while the dried leaves are still in their original green color. Keep the dried leaves in an airtight container. In 1 viss (1.6 kg) of chicken feed, one full cup (condensed milk can) dried moringa leaves can be mixed.