You’ve probably heard that you can feed your backyard chickens just any old scraps that you or your family aren’t going to eat. And while some table scraps make a nice addition to their diet, think of these chickens as the ultimate protein producers. They need more to their chicken feed than merely human table scraps!
While they are small, chickens also have a big job. They either produce eggs or grow into a meat bird for human consumption, so you want them to stay healthy. Therefore, the diet you provide them with is of the utmost importance. That’s why a chicken feed that is fortified with the proper nutrients is vital.
Just like any animal, chickens have the same basic nutritional requirements to stay healthy: vitamins and minerals, protein, carbohydrates, fat and water. During times of stress, some of their requirements might change or increase.
Let’s explore the vital nutrients that your poultry need to be sure their chicken feed is meeting all the requirements.
Primary Nutrients Needed for Chickens
Water
Water is the most important nutrient for all animals to survive. Make sure your birds have clean, fresh, cool water at least once daily. Water intake is directly correlated to feed intake; the more water a chicken drinks, the more it will eat, so you don’t want it to go without water. Also, remember that chickens use water to cool themselves off during heat stress caused by summer temperatures.
Carbohydrates
Birds get their energy from three primary nutrient sources: carbohydrates, fat and protein. Carbohydrates usually make up the bulk of their diets in the form of cereal grains like corn, wheat, sorghum, barley, rye and millet. There are both digestible and non-digestible carbs that are included in chicken feed, and both are necessary for the birds to thrive.
For example, starch is digestible, whereas cellulose is not. Cellulose and other complex carbohydrates will be listed on a feed label as “crude fiber.” All carbs have an important role in intestinal health, in moderation.
Fat
Fat is important for both meat birds and those laying eggs for overall egg quality. Fats will often come in the form of animal fat or vegetable oil. Fats aid in the absorption of important fat-soluble vitamins and can improve the handling qualities, palatability and pellet quality of a feed.
The chicken can absorb fats without expending any energy, so during hotter months you might substitute calories from carbohydrates with calories from fat to keep birds from feeling over-heated due to less energy (heat) production
Protein
Protein is vital, especially when the chicks are young, for them to maximize their potential for growth and performance when it comes time to lay eggs. Protein is sourced from a combination of amino acids. Amino acids like methionine and lysine are often found listed on the feed label.
Additional amino acids are found in a corn and soybean meal diet. Added protein and calcium are crucial to your hens’ diets when it comes time to lay eggs. Most layer feeds will have added protein.
Vitamins and Minerals
Vitamins and minerals are essential to chickens just like they are for all living beings to help absorb the other nutrients and have a quality life. However, it is rare to find a feed that has every nutrient, vitamin and mineral that a bird needs.
Just like you might take a daily supplement or your daily vitamins, there’s a solution to make sure your backyard birds are not deficient either.
Give your Chicken Feed an Added Boost
Since there is no “one-size fits all” chicken feed, Missouri-based BioZyme® Inc., has developed the Backyard Boost® line of products purposefully crafted to support the well-being of birds. Backyard Boost provides eco-friendly nutrition for all classes of poultry.
Backyard Boost offers products to give your birds the boost they need at all stages of life. Let’s learn how Backyard Boost products can complement any chicken feed you choose to use.
Backyard Boost Daily Essentials
Backyard Boost® Daily Essentials is the answer backyard chicken owners have been seeking. It is a pelleted protein supplement for poultry designed to maximize digestibility and egg production. Daily Essentials is an all-in-one supplement to support poultry digestive health and nutritional health while keeping your hens happy and producing.
This pelleted, natural protein supplement for all classes of poultry is fully fortified with prebiotics and postbiotics. It contains vitamins, minerals and organic trace minerals to maximize growth and egg production and support overall flock health.
Daily Essentials contains two of BioZyme’s proprietary fermented technologies from the AO-Biotics® brand.
AO-Biotics® Amaferm® is a prebiotic research-proven to enhance digestibility. Due to enhanced digestibility, research proves that Amaferm increases feed efficiency by 2.29%. Increased digestion typically leads to overall healthier birds.
The Impact of EQE
AO-Biotics® EQE is the first-and-only AO postbiotic developed specifically for layers. EQE, Egg Quality Enhancer, research shows that by adding it to your chicken feed, you should see three vitally important benefits. EQE is research-proven to:
- Produce more sellable eggs
- Improve egg mass
- Increase productive life span
EQE was built on BioZyme’s 70 years of Aspergillus oryzae (AO) fermentation expertise to offer products that enhance animal health, welfare and productivity. With the addition of EQE to Backyard Boost Daily Essentials earlier in 2023, poultry enthusiasts are able to put more eggs in their baskets more efficiently.
The feeding rate for Backyard Boost is just 0.5 ounce per bird per day. With this minimal amount, you can help your chickens get a balanced diet while meeting their nutritional requirements. Add the Daily Essentials with any chicken feed; you should see healthier, more productive chickens. The Amaferm will help your birds better utilize the feed you are providing them, while keeping their intestinal health at the top of its game, while EQE will help them continue to produce quality eggs.
Backyard Boost® Defense
Backyard Boost® Defense is a supplement that can help your flock during stressful situations. This green liquid goodness for poultry is designed to support digestion and a healthy immune response. It promotes water intake and hydration.
Like Daily Essentials, Defense contains Amaferm, to enhance digestibility. Ingredients also include MOS (Mannan oligosaccharide) and natural plant extracts to support the ability to recover from the effects of stress, organic Zinc, the antioxidant Vitamin E and B vitamins.
A little bit of Backyard Boost Defense can go a long way with your chickens. It only takes 1 oz. of product for every 1 gallon of water. We suggest mixing it fresh daily for the best results. Defense is designed for intermittent use during times of stress, recovery from illness or digestive upset.
Backyard Boost® Busy Balls
No matter what kind of chicken feed or supplements you use for your flock, every being and animal deserves a healthy snack. We offer the award-winning Backyard Boost® Busy Balls, a prebiotic treat to bounce your birds’ boredom.
Busy Balls are a treat for all chickens to support digestive health and help alleviate boredom, which often leads to undesirable behaviors such as pecking. They also contain Amaferm, as well as high-energy fat. The Busy Balls are not chicken feed and are only to be used as a supplemental energy source. They provide entertainment for the chicken and the chicken enthusiast, alike, and may help eliminate some boredom related behaviors such as pecking.
Why Chicken Supplements?
At BioZyme, we believe in care that comes full circle. For more than 70 years, BioZyme has served the agriculture industry as an innovator in fermentation and animal health. In 1968, BioZyme’s founder Larry Ehlert purchased the patent and marketing rights to an unheard-of direct fed microbial produced from a fungus called Aspergillus oryzae.
Today, BioZyme uses the same strain of A. oryzae to develop new pre- and post-biotics under the brand . In addition, the BioZyme family of brands offers supplements and animal health products for a variety of animals including cattle, swine, sheep, goats, horses, dogs, cats and poultry. The poultry line, Backyard Boost, was launched in 2020, when the world shut down to the COVID pandemic, and an influx of our population started tending to backyard chickens. Our purpose is to provide high quality supplements and animal health products to drive “care that comes full circle.”
Don’t Just Take our Word for it!
We could tell you how great our products are, but at BioZyme we go through countless steps of research to make sure our products are tested before they ever hit the shelves. Research-proven products are what we pride ourselves on. However, several customers have shared their opinions on the Backyard Boost line.
Taylor Couch, with the Farm Stop in Oklahoma, has this to say about the Defense:
“During this summer, we have noticed a decline in our flock from lighter combs to decreased laying. Backyard Boost® Defense has livened up our flock tremendously, and we have noticed a little pep in their step too! Combined with Backyard Boost Daily Essentials, our flock is performing and feeling its best!”
“My hatch rates increased from 44% to 73% once I started my chickens on the Backyard Boost pellets. I also haven’t had any chick deaths due to health since that time either,” Terra Sellers, Keota, Iowa said.
You’ve invested in your chickens for a reason – companionship, eggs, etcetera. Make sure they are healthy enough to fulfill their obligation to you. Supplement their chicken feed with Backyard Boost to get optimal results!
Are you looking to buy Backyard Boost?
We figured after reading these great testimonials and knowing that all of our products are research-proven, you’d want to give your flock Backyard Boost. You can!
Purchase your Backyard Boost online.
Or you can find a local farm store or retailer here.
Do you want your feedstore to start selling Backyard Boost? Complete this referral.
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