How do YOU feed your birds??

[MrsNorthie]

Sooo question is in the title.

I have had my flock for a yr. Started a second flock this yr.

My first flock are all a mix different breed layers. I usually feed all flock in 2 5 gallon buckets with ports. Free feed as they are in a run.

However, they eat the heck outta it.

I have 17 birds in that coop and I put in a 50lb bag of meat bird crumble 2 days ago(extra protein as it appears like some may be molting...) and it's pretty well and gone.


(Normally I feel like I fill the buckets abt every 4 days or so)

My second coop of 10wk Olds has 34 birds in it... and they eat 2 of the small feeders (the normal plastic ones you see that can hang) full in 1.5 days. Does this seem normal??

I thought abt feeding them morning and night....and taking away the option to free feed....

Both groups are in a run...they do NOT free range. Taking away their main source of food throughout the day seems slightly neglectful

2nd coop has a graze box for grass.

Am I just overfeeding?? Or does this sound abt normal??

I have 12 Buff Orpingtons and they tend towards gluttony, but a 50lb bag lasts 2-3 weeks. They have a large run and we planted a small raised bed the length of on wall of the run, to encourage more bugs, so they are doing a lot of foraging.

Our neighbor has been visited by rats and a skunk, but so far, we have managed to keep them at bay. (My husband has done an excellent job at building our run and coop. It isn't pretty but it has been effective, so far.)

 

[EddieSalita]

How much is going on the floor undetected? The feed and the straw are the same colour....

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

Update.
I filled the Hen Hut (17 birds) food on the 13th of this month. They have only gone through half of both 5g buckets. I am starting to think they are meatbird crumble addicts!!! In paying more attention and actually letting the food run out I realize 2 things. A.) I just earned easier upkeep badge as I realize I was working too hard filling constantly. B.) They are NOT eating me outta house and home.

The Chicken Chalet (34 birds) is getting 6 scoops of food every other day ... still testing this one out...its a new and a still growing flock

 

[Granny23]

Sooo question is in the title.

I have had my flock for a yr. Started a second flock this yr.

My first flock are all a mix different breed layers. I usually feed all flock in 2 5 gallon buckets with ports. Free feed as they are in a run.

However, they eat the heck outta it.

I have 17 birds in that coop and I put in a 50lb bag of meat bird crumble 2 days ago(extra protein as it appears like some may be molting...) and it's pretty well and gone.


(Normally I feel like I fill the buckets abt every 4 days or so)

My second coop of 10wk Olds has 34 birds in it... and they eat 2 of the small feeders (the normal plastic ones you see that can hang) full in 1.5 days. Does this seem normal??

I thought abt feeding them morning and night....and taking away the option to free feed....

Both groups are in a run...they do NOT free range. Taking away their main source of food throughout the day seems slightly neglectful

2nd coop has a graze box for grass.

Am I just overfeeding?? Or does this sound abt normal??

I have 6 hens. I fed them in a variety of the various feeders available and thought they are really wasting a lot of food! So I did like you and used a container and added 4 ports. They took to it pretty quickly but there's still a ALOT of food on the ground.
My boss hen complains to high heaven if it even comes close to being low!! But Im frustrated by the waste. I take whats being thrown out and put it in a large flat dish. Leaving it until they eat it is complicated by the sprinklers but it sometimes causes the seeds to sprout!.
I feed kitchen scraps every couple days and add red chili pepper too.
I get 3-5 eggs daily.

 

[MrsNorthie]

How much is going on the floor undetected? The feed and the straw are the same colour....

Chickens like to scratch and forage, so food being hidden isn't necessarily a bad thing, unless it gets wet and moldy. I rake the run almost every day to prevent any mold problems.

 

[Tired old Rooster]

17 birds, going through fifty pounds in two days, works out to just shy of 3 pounds of food per bird in two days. I could be wrong, but that seems extreme.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

17 birds, going through fifty pounds in two days, works out to just shy of 3 pounds of food per bird in two days. I could be wrong, but that seems extreme.

It is - roughly 6x expectations. (which vary by age, gender, breed, current climate, and factors specific to the feed itself) But yes, its extreme.

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

It is - roughly 6x expectations. (which vary by age, gender, breed, current climate, and factors specific to the feed itself) But yes, its extreme.

I am now filling abt 1x every 1.5wks...
Abt 25lbs @ a time

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

17 birds, going through fifty pounds in two days, works out to just shy of 3 pounds of food per bird in two days. I could be wrong, but that seems extreme.

They ONLY do this with meatbird feed crumble...

 

[Cluckwork Orange]

It's hard to say, really.

I didn't know it when I started this reply, but it's not hard to say, and the following is a really long way of saying "about a quarter pound of feed per bird per day, and snacks."

I'm currently at 31 adults, 21 "teenagers", and 11 chicks
Probably the weight equivalent of 45 adults. They eat about 9 lbs of feed per day total, between cheap starter crumble and cheaper layer pellets. (one feeder of each)
They also get maybe a pound and a half of sunflower seeds for the flock.
Also 1-2 eggs (and shells) a week for each of those 45 theoretical adults.
And comfrey, clover, pulled weeds, growing weeds, bugs, and I saw one eating a small frog.
So per bird per day that's (in round numbers):
0.2lbs of "feed"
0.05ish lbs of seed
about a third of an egg
as much salad as they want
and as many insects as their skill can provide.
(seasonal treats as well- berries, apples, squash, y'know)

When it gets cold I add oats and whole corn to the menu and their fresh weeds are replaced by a weeds and raked leaves compost heap from which they glean a surprising amount of snacks over the winter.