The chicken of today are the descendants of jungle fowl. The mature fowl hens of yesteryears used to lay about 12 eggs per year that too only during the breeding season. Genetic selection over generations and scientific feeding methods have resulted in the development of chicken that can lay almost 330 eggs per year.
Nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, fat, minerals and vitamins provide for optimal development of bone, flesh, feathers and eggs. At the chick stage there is a higher demand for nutrition to match the rapid growth and feather development. The feeding management of layer pellets is aimed to enable them to attain the sexual maturity at the desired age but at the same time avoiding obesity. From week 18, pellets start to enter their laying period, reaching peak of lay around 28 weeks of age and typically maintain egg production until 72 weeks of age.
During the laying phase, the diet should be optimized to improve egg production in terms of egg numbers and egg size. The feed also helps to safeguard the health and maintain the desired body weight. In particular, inclusion level of calcium is increased for better egg shell production. The feed intake is kept at a steady level of 108-112 grams per day to maintain the layer body weight at 1300-1450 grams.
Krishi layer feeds are of excellent quality at an affordable price. The feed is fortified with necessary digestible amino acids, vitamins, minerals, calcium, phosphorus, toxin binders and other required nutrients to ensure the best possible Hen House Production %. The variants of feed for different age groups are available in 50Kg PP bags as crumble, pellet and mash forms.
Feeding Guideline :
| Type of Feed | Age of the bird | Total Feed Consumed |
| Starter Crumble | 0-4 | 0.5 |
| Chick Crumble | 5-8 | 1.2 |
| Grower Crumble/Mash | 9-18 | 4.2 |
| Layer Pellet/Mash | 19-72 | 41.8 |
In total, a bird consumes approximately 47.7 Kgs of feed from its starter stage to culling, that is from 0-72 weeks time. The concentrated form of grower( LGC 40 ) and layer feeds (LC 35) are beneficial to the farmers who have access to locally available grains and own small feed mixing units.
