Food

The easiest way to give your chickens the balance of nutrients they need is to feed them a pelleted chicken feed. You can also feed them food scraps (vegetables only!) and green leaf vegetables help provide the pigments for golden yolks, but be aware that they will only get everything they need from a prepared feed.

If you want your chickens to lay eggs, they need to be well fed - about 130g per day per chicken of pelleted feed. 

Water

Free range hens in lay can drink half a litre of water each day, and even more in hot weather. If they don’t get enough water their egg production will drop and their health will suffer. Their water must be fresh (if you wouldn't drink it, why would they?) and checked daily.

Poultry waterers are available from most pet shops or rural supply stores. A good sized waterer can be filled with ample water for a few days, but only releases water as needed. They also stop the birds getting in the water and contaminating it with droppings (or drowning).