Animals are about as healthy as they can be when they eat what nature intended. This applies to chickens just as much as any agricultural critter. So you’ll get the best results from feeding your hens farm-grown corn, soy and wheat, right?
Surprisingly...no. Not even when these forms of common chickenfeed are certified organic!
The truth is that chickens are omnivorous animals, meaning that they eat both plants and animals. You already understand that non-GMO crops are the best bet for your animals, however even these plants aren’t offering a full, balanced diet for your birds! Hancock’s Happy Hen Forage Mix certainly provides plenty of xanthophylls, numerous vitamins and Omega 3, but it also supplies a healthy bonus ingredient, which doesn’t even come in the bag: insects. Our blend attracts the bugs that hens love to munch for protein, and they’ll pass along the benefits to you!
You can tell the difference between an egg laid by a happy, healthy hen versus one with a limited diet. The healthy hen will provide eggs that have darker yolks and thicker shells. These eggs will also supply more nutrients to your table. And, almost as important, they'll taste better!
Happy Hens are what they eat. The same applies to Happy Hen owners! Learn more about how to cultivate a beneficial forage patch for your birds by reading this guide.
WHAT
Hancock’s Happy Hen Forage Mix is a blend of ryegrass, fescue, clover, millet, radish, buckwheat, peas and turnip. This combination of forage helps to promote high levels of Vitamins A, D and E in the eggs that hens lay.
As we suggested in the opening to this post, all of it is certified non-GMO and also untreated.
WHEN
You can start to cultivate a stand of Happy Hen Forage beginning in either Spring or Fall, so long as you avoid intense precipitation and temperatures. As the popularity of corn and soy as chickenfeed indicates, chickens are more than happy to consume seeds. It’s important to keep your flock off of the area where you’ve sown seed until it’s had a chance to develop into a mature stand. Allowing hens to forage during the early development of the plot will prevent it from reaching its full potential.
The good news is Hancock’s Happy Hen blend is formulated to establish quickly and easily. Tell your flock (wink wink) that they’ll be rewarded for their patience!
HOW
Always start a planting project by testing your soil (you can take a sample to your local Agriculture Extension Agent for extensive stats, usually for free). Hancock’s Happy Hen Forage Mix grows best with a pH between 6.0 and 7.0, so use lime to decrease acidity, or sulfur or gypsum to make the soil less basic.
Get prepared with a starter fertilizer, such as 16-04-08. You can apply this at a rate of 5 lbs. per 1,000 sq. feet. Use this same ratio when spreading the seed, as a five lbs. of this blend is meant to cover around 1,000 sq. ft. as well. The seeds should be planted at a depth of 1/4 in.
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, for both you and your hens! If you want to get the best taste and nutritional value from your eggs, you’ll want to make sure your birds get a healthy breakfast from Hancock’s Happy Hen Forage Mix!
