Poultry & Pigeon Food

Everyday layer feed, like Mr Johnson's Layer Pellets, is formulated for adult laying hens, providing the calcium and nutrients needed to keep up with regular egg production. Enrichment and treat-style products, such as the Hentastic Filled Henpecker Feeder and Hentastic Cluck Butter Herby, give chickens something to peck at and work for, which supports natural foraging behaviour alongside their main feed.

For pigeons specifically, Bucktons Pigeon Young Bird is formulated for growing young birds rather than adults, reflecting the different nutritional demands of a bird that's still developing compared with a mature pigeon.

A laying hen needs a diet higher in calcium than a non-laying bird, which is why layer pellets are formulated specifically for that purpose rather than being a general all-purpose chicken feed. Young or growing birds, whether chickens or pigeons, generally need a different formulation again, with more protein to support growth, which is why products like Bucktons Pigeon Young Bird exist as a distinct category from adult feed.

Feeding an adult-formulated feed to a growing bird, or vice versa, isn't dangerous in the short term but doesn't support that bird's actual nutritional needs at that life stage as well as a properly matched feed would.

A proper feeder, like the Galvanised Metal Poultry Feeder Trough or the Supa Poultry & Bird Drinker, keeps feed and water cleaner and drier than scattering feed on the ground, which reduces waste and the risk of feed spoiling or attracting vermin. Enrichment feeders that make birds work for their food, such as the Hentastic Filled Henpecker Feeder, also help reduce boredom-related behaviours like feather pecking in a flock.

Clean feeders and drinkers regularly, since damp, stale feed left in a trough is both wasteful and a potential source of illness for a flock kept in a fixed area day after day.