In order to achieve high productivity of chickens, it is necessary to create optimal conditions for them, including taking care of a balanced menu. Cereals, which form the basis of their diet, cannot fully meet the poultry's needs for essential vitamins and minerals. This shortage is made up by adding various components to the chicken feed, adding fish as well. Let us consider more details of the use of this additive.
Do chickens eat fish
Chickens eat fish products with great pleasure, they are not only a rich source of protein, fats and amino acids, but also supply the chicken body with such essential trace elements as calcium and phosphorus. Poultry farmers have such positive moments with regular use of this product:
- egg production of hens increases;
- egg quality is improved;
- increases the weight gain of meat breeds;
- Bird bones are being strengthened (this is especially important for young beef chickens).
A bird can be given any edible fish - sea, lake or river, either purchased from stores or caught independently. Chickens can eat it in any form - cheese, boiled, salted. But at the same time there are certain restrictions on the use of fish products in one form or another. These nuances will be discussed in more detail below.Agree that proper nutrition guarantees chickens excellent health and high productivity. Find out whether it is possible to give chickens beets, seeds, onions, potatoes, peas, oats and garlic.
Is it possible to give chickens
As mentioned above, chickens can eat fish in various forms, but in order to use this product does not harm the bird, it is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of each type of fish products. Consider them in more detail.
Salted fish
This is the least desirable type of fish products for chickens, because salt in chicken feed is added only in limited quantities (no more than 0.3% of the total mass of the daily ration), an excess of salt harms the bird. 
Salted fish are given to chickens only after its long soaking in water, when salt is almost completely washed out of the fishes. But, as a rule, poultry farmers simply do not risk contacting the feeding of chickens with such a product.
Consumption rates of soaked fish - no more than 10 g per individual per day, or about 70 g per chicken once a week. Most often practiced weekly feeding. If you exceed this rate, then the birds can begin liver problems.
We recommend to read about how much feed you need to lay a chicken a day, how to cook: mash, mineral supplements and feed for laying hens.
Raw fish
Fish in this form can be introduced into the diet of a bird, but it is necessary to take into account the possibility of its infection with helminths (worms). This is especially true for river and lake species, sea species are considered practically safe in this regard, but there is a risk for them. 
Every day, one bird can be given up to 10 g of the product, or about 70 g once a week. When using a raw product, it is recommended to periodically de-worming chicken stock.
Poultry farmers need to consider what products can feed chickens, and what not.
Boiled
In this form, the fish is used much more often than in raw or salted form. This product is quite safe, and fish broth is used in wet mash. As a rule, they cook it in the following way: throw not cleaned and gutted fishes into the water, bring it to the boil and boil for another 15-20 minutes so that the fish bones soften.
Boiled fish turn into mince with a meat grinder, cut into pieces or give to the bird as a whole. Sometimes the carcases are boiled until the fish bones are completely softened. The nutritional standards for boiled fish are the same as for other types of fish products - 10 g per day, or 70 g per week per chicken. 
Fishmeal
This product is considered the most effective option for feeding birds, it is usually present in the composition of animal feed. When feeding chicken young stock, the share of fish meal in the daily ration is about 6%. For adult chickens, this proportion is usually reduced to 3-4%.
It is known that fish oil contains purified fat obtained from marine fish. Find out why giving chickens fish oil.
What else can be given to chickens
In addition to fish products, other components are used as feed additives. The features of some of the most common additives consider the like.
- The most important ingredient is juicy fresh greens, It is recommended to add it to the feed, even when feeding poultry feed. For feeding, clover, alfalfa, plantain, nettle, sorrel, cabbage, beet tops are commonly used. In winter, fresh greens are replaced by grass flour, hay, or grass granules. Greens are a source of vitamins A, B, C, E, as well as protein for chickens. It increases the productivity of the bird and improves its health, and in addition, in many cases it reduces the cost of feeding birds. In summer, the share of green in the chicken diet can reach 30%, in winter it is recommended to maintain the share of fresh green substitutes at a level no lower than 10%.
- Another important supplement is meat and bone (or bone) flour, which is produced from waste meat production. It is used instead of fish meal. This product increases the daily weight gain of young meat breeds, increases the egg production rate of the bird, improves the quality of eggs, provides the bird with essential trace elements. The share of this component in the total daily weight of chicken feed should not exceed 6%.
- As an additive, vegetables are widely used: zucchini, carrots, beets, pumpkin, green onion feathers, tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, potatoes. Carrots and beets are usually rubbed on a grater, potatoes are boiled (cleaning can not be boiled) and pounded, other vegetables are cut into slices or given whole. It is mandatory to boil only potatoes, other vegetables can be given raw or slightly cooked. Vegetables are an important source of vitamins, trace elements, carbohydrates, protein. Their use increases the productivity of the bird and reduces the cost of feeding it. The share of vegetables in the daily diet is 20-30%, they are usually used as one of the components of the wet mash.
It will probably be useful for you to read about how to feed chickens, and whether it is possible to give chickens snow instead of water.
In this case, fish products will become not only the source of the most important substances that have a beneficial effect on the productivity and health of chickens, but also reduce the overall costs of poultry.
