Are words correctly used?

[kohyoongliat]

One day, Smith wanted his hens to lay more eggs, so he fed them
fed them /fed them with a lot of food. As a result, they grew fatter and fatter and became too lazy to lay eggs. Poor Smith was very sad. He had no eggs to sell. Moreover, he had to depend on his savings to fend for himself.

Should I use 'fed them' or 'fed them with'? Is 'fend for himself' correctly used? Are there any other errors in the passage?

Many thanks.

[Anglika]

Either fed them or fed them with can be used.

"fend for himself" is not really a good usage. "He had to depend on his savings to survive/live" would be better.

[kohyoongliat]

Thanks, Anglika.