how much feed?

chickencrazy21

Chirping
7 Years
Aug 22, 2012
257
11
93
west covina california
question. how much chicken feed should 28 chickens go threw about a month? my friend has 50 chickens he claims his chickens go threw a 50 pound bag a month...i dont see how he must be under feeding his chickens becuz of right now we've gone threw 5 50 pound bags of feed so far and we need to get another one and the month isnt over yet. so am i over feeding my chickens? there not huge. so how much should 28 chickens be going threw a month theoretically. btw we feed ours laying mash. whatever brand the feed store has. is that our issue?
 
Do you free range? The difference in cost could be if you don't and he does. I keep my food in the coop so when I let my chickens out in the morning they are out in the run or out free ranging and not just hanging around a feeder all day, I have 25 free range and they go through about 1 50lb bag a month vs my young pullets that don't free range go through double
 
28 should go through 200 or so a month, give or take. I use 100 lbs. in 4-6 weeks with 12 chickens. I also feed scratch everyday. It really depends on what they get besides their food, but technically they could go thru 9 lbs. a day.
 
An average, large fowl chicken eats 1/4 pound of feed per day. Thus, 4 chickens eat a pound, 50 chickens would eat 12 pounds.
Rule of thumb, but this comparison between your flock and your friend's flock doesn't take into account differences in free ranging versus not free ranging. There are also vast differences in what one person's pasture can supply and what another's can. Time of year also makes an enormous difference, as there's not much to eat from a snow covered range.

Finally, one of the greatest differences of all is waste and waste from stray birds, dogs, and especially rodents is hugely important. Some folks likely lose up to half their feed to waste.
 
i found out my friend lets his chickens out on a rope to scour the backyard. i however dont have that option. one i dont think tying your chicken to a rope is very nice. second we have an agressive dog next door that tries breaking down the fence everytime we go in our backyard so im sure hed try going after the chickens. animal control could care less even though ive called several times. so for now our chickens are free roaming but in a pen we built ourself. i have noticed mice in the area and we do get birds. we dont have snow on the ground but it has been cold for cali weather. i guess we wont be getting more chickens like we hoped. three are going to my sisters boyfriend when they start laying but that wont be for awhile. we like most people have hit hard times but we will starve before our animals do! i just love all my chickens. i guess its time to switch the 20 chickens to the bigger pen and let the 8 laying chickens into the smaller pen. but will it throw them off? there used to going to bed at night. well sort of they sit on top of there pens instead of going inside. i guess they'll adjust. i just thought its an awful lot of food. i guess i should try cutting them back. thanks for the help.
 

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