How often should I feed my chickens ?

[kentucky jay]

im feeding my chickens layer mash ..... i've had a couple people tell me to feed them 2 times per day .....i've also had a couple people tell me i could feed them in the morning only !!!!!!!!!! fill me in , what is best for my chickens ? i do not have heat or light in thier coop yet ...

 

[kentucky jay]

wow ..... i havent had this posted for 30 minutes and i already got a ton of replies ....so far my friend was right ,, this site is quite awesome !!!

 

[anvia]

We feed fermented food, so it’s wet & like most others have said it’s constantly available - if it runs out the hens will break into the garden & tap on the house windows! They’ve got us so well trained....
Ours eat ants... but they also follow the ants to try to discover the nest - they love ants eggs and yes I’ve seen mine eat bees when they’ve come across them crawling in the grass. They are omnivorous and mine will generally attempt to eat most things they come across!

 

[oldchickenlady]

I keep my feeder filled at all times. I also free range them most days so they can get greens, bugs, etc. but they always have access to layer pellets in the coop or run. In the summer the feeder hangs in the run, in the coldest part of the winter I put it in the coop.

 

[Beekissed]

In the spring, summer and fall I feed once a day in the evening. In the winter, I feed once a day in the morning. I don't leave food out continually due to attracting rodents to my coop, rodents bring predators. They also can eat a surprising amount of feed.

 

[vmdanielsen]

when the ants come my chickens eat them too!....more protein!

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Yep. We had a very dry summer here. For the first time ever these little black bugs, we never could figure out what they were, descended on my coops. Attracted not to the food, but the water.
My chickens learned to anticipate my lifting their waterers off the blocks, so they could get to all the yummy black bugs under them. Chicken caviar.

 

[BayouPoules]

Yep,.. we keep their feeders full,. for all the same reasons,. especially this time of year,. there's little to forage on,..

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

I keep their food container filled at all times. The reason I do this is because when you have multiple animals in which there is a pecking order the biggest, strongest and most aggressive take their fill first, then the next, etc...the animal at the bottom gets whats left, if anything. I feed layer crumble and put the feeder up on a short stump. I never have waste. What gets knock on the ground they eat.

Hope this helps

and

 

[Kat's Silly Chickens]

We have a gallon hanging feeder in the coop, I fill it half full every 3 days and it's never empty by then. We only have 4 large fowl in there right now, but will be getting a few more in spring.
Try the twice a day thing if you feel better about it. If they don't eat what you give them then, you will know how to adjust quantity from there.