- Jun 23, 2014
- 15
- 5
- 26
Hello
I have 14 hens ( of average size- not bantams and not Jersey giants ) Mostly red and black sex links and a few Plymouth rocks as well as a very large Roo (24 lbs)
My question is: My neighbor who has 7 ...only goes thru 1 #50 lb bag of crumble a month plus table scraps and his birds while smaller than mine don't look bad but my kids are clearing thru a #50 bag of crumble...a #50 bag of cracked corn / or scratch grains...4 loaves of bread.....4 lbs of cooked pasta and 2 large containers of oatmeal and about 12 scrambled eggs every 2 weeks. I also supplement with tuna and rotisserie chickens... I cannot afford these chickens! They cost 6x's my 2 Labradors??
I have watched on weekends etc...and my kids are eating it all. It's not other animals sneaking in. They just always seem starving so I keep giving them food. They also free range over 300 ft of meadow a day. They do not look fat. They are certainly healthy looking but I keep hearing everyone say how economical keep one's own chickens are and I am not finding that so. I think I am spending the most it seems on pasta., meat and veggies/fruits to feed them late afternoon.
I put their feed out every morning but when I get home from work at night they run to gate and screech until I feed them veggies...fruit and pasta or bread or something...its like I have to prepare them a meal or something. It seems so odd to me just how much these things eat!!!!!
My neighbor only puts out 3 cups of crumble a day for his 7 chickens while I am going through 8-10 cups a day.
Should I be doing much less? I don't want to starve them.
What should I be doing???
Didi
I have 14 hens ( of average size- not bantams and not Jersey giants ) Mostly red and black sex links and a few Plymouth rocks as well as a very large Roo (24 lbs)
My question is: My neighbor who has 7 ...only goes thru 1 #50 lb bag of crumble a month plus table scraps and his birds while smaller than mine don't look bad but my kids are clearing thru a #50 bag of crumble...a #50 bag of cracked corn / or scratch grains...4 loaves of bread.....4 lbs of cooked pasta and 2 large containers of oatmeal and about 12 scrambled eggs every 2 weeks. I also supplement with tuna and rotisserie chickens... I cannot afford these chickens! They cost 6x's my 2 Labradors??
I have watched on weekends etc...and my kids are eating it all. It's not other animals sneaking in. They just always seem starving so I keep giving them food. They also free range over 300 ft of meadow a day. They do not look fat. They are certainly healthy looking but I keep hearing everyone say how economical keep one's own chickens are and I am not finding that so. I think I am spending the most it seems on pasta., meat and veggies/fruits to feed them late afternoon.
I put their feed out every morning but when I get home from work at night they run to gate and screech until I feed them veggies...fruit and pasta or bread or something...its like I have to prepare them a meal or something. It seems so odd to me just how much these things eat!!!!!
My neighbor only puts out 3 cups of crumble a day for his 7 chickens while I am going through 8-10 cups a day.
Should I be doing much less? I don't want to starve them.
What should I be doing???
Didi