DIETARY FACT SHEET
 
POULTRY
 
The manufacturers of Peters Free Range Poultry Mix care about the health of poultry. We have prepared this feeding advice sheet to help you keep your birds healthy and productive.

A nutritionally balanced diet will ensure that egg production, egg size, shell quality and the overall health of the bird are maintained at optimum levels. The three essential elements of a balanced diet are; dry feed, green feed and water.

1. DRY FEEDING-PETERS FREE RANGE POULTRY MIX
 
Peters Free Range Poultry Mix is a blend of premium quality ingredients. It is nutritionally balanced and suitable for all breeds of adult home lay chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys.
 
It is a complete food containing a variety of tasty grains free of artificial colours, flavours and animal by-products so it is an ideal substitute for layer pellets.
 
As it is free choice, the birds can select the preferred ingredients and so meet their individual nutritional requirements. The birds spend more time feeding this way than with pellets so the boredom factor is reduced when they are confined to their enclosures. This helps to inhibit anti social behaviour such as feather and vent pecking or egg eating.
 
The Mix contains large and small grain particles, so to reduce feed waste we recommend using a feeder that prevents hens from scratching the feed onto the ground.
 
Supply approximately 100-150 grams of feed per bird per day to adult laying chickens. Depending on the size and breed of other poultry, supply approximately 170-250 grams per bird per day.
 
PETERS Free Range Poultry Mix contains:  Crushed Peas, Crushed Lupins and Soyabean Meal as a natural source of plant protein, Wheat, Sorghum and Crushed Maize for energy, Lucerne Chaff for fibre, Black Sunflower Seed, a natural source of oil for feathers and Linoleic Acid to improves egg size, Crushed Maize and Lucerne Chaff for Vitamin A and natural yolk colour, Salt a source of sodium and chloride essential to maintain general health and production, Dicalcium phosphate, a source of calcium and phosphorus.
 
Vitamin and mineral pre - mix is added to ensure a balanced diet. Includes Vitamin A, D3, E, K3, Riboflavin (B2), Pantothenic Acid, Niacin, Folic Acid, B12, Manganese, Zinc, Iron, Copper, Iodine, Selenium and anti oxidant.

2. GREEN FEED
 
Apart from providing additional vitamins and minerals, green feed is a natural source of the colour pigment that gives egg yolks a strong yellow colour.
Fresh green grass, lucerne hay, leaves of silverbeet, lettuce, cabbage and root crops are all good sources of the pigment.
 
Ducks, geese and turkeys all require an ample supply of fresh green feed. Geese particularly enjoy grated carrots.
 
Remove uneaten green feed each night as the spoiled food can cause digestive disorders or diarrhoea and therefore loss of egg production.
 
GRIT  Laying chickens require calcium for egg production. Insufficient calcium results in the egg shell becoming weak and fragile. The birds will then draw calcium from their bones that will detrimentally affect their health.
 
Peters Free Range Poultry & Bird Grit is recommended when feeding a grain diet. It is made from soluble and insoluble materials that are a source of calcium and an aid to digestion. Supply grit in a separate feeding container. It is available from selected Victorian produce stores.
 
HOUSEHOLD SCRAPS  Scraps are not particularly beneficial to poultry and can cause nutritional imbalances if they interfere with the intake of other feeds. This may result in reduced egg production.
 
TOXIC FOODS  Salami, corned and salted meats can be toxic to poultry. Avoid feeding slugs and snails as they can be host to a parasite that affects fowls.

3. WATER
 
Sufficient fresh water is critical to the health and well being of all poultry species. It should be supplied fresh daily and extra water given in hot weather.
 
Chickens, guinea fowl and turkeys should be fed from a raised container. Ducks and geese require a flat water basin so they can immerse their heads fully (they need to lubricate the inner eye membrane by continual head dipping).

WHERE TO PURCHASE PETERS FREE RANGE POULTRY MIX
 
5kg, 10kg and 30kg bags are available from selected Victorian produce stores. For further information please contact Peters Pure Animal Foods on Freecall 1800 351 339.



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PETERS PURE ANIMAL FOODS PTY LTD (ACN 007 161 551)   49-53 Capital Link Drive CAMPBELLFIELD VICTORIA 3061 AUSTRALIA
Telephone: (03) 9357 8110    Facsimile: (03) 9357 8145    Email: peters@vicnet.net.au