Official BYC Poll: How Do You Keep Your Feed Costs Low?

[BYC Project Manager]

Keeping chickens is a wonderful hobby, but the price of their companionship and fresh eggs is the feed bill, which can get scary when you keep a large number of birds. In order to make chicken keeping more economical, or perhaps even profitable, How Do You Keep Your Feed Costs Low?

Feel free to choose multiple answers and please elaborate in the comment section if you choose "Other".

For more money-saving tips visit the Feeding & Watering Your Flock forum sections.

Further Reading:

• Fermenting Chicken Feed: A Straightforward Method
• Creating Your Own Fodder System
• The Scrap Bucket - a MUST for every chicken keeper

(Check out more exciting Official BYC Polls HERE!)

 

[PioneerChicks]

I let my chickens free range during the day (not a huge area, but it's pretty big); I ferment feed for many reasons, one is that the chickens don't waste of spill any and wild birds don't eat their food; I sprout grains and fodder; I buy their feed locally and it is cheap, though still the best quality around; and I consistently feed them table scraps!

This year I plan on trying grazing boxes and raising Black Soldier Fly larvae!

I keep my flock as small as possible, but I don't think it would actually classify as "small"

 

[Sheepheart]

My flock free ranges the property during the day, they stay between the house and the barn, they go to the small goat pasture next to the woods, the horse paddock and part of the horses pasture. They come in and clean up any dropped grain from the horses and catch bugs from their manure. I also make sure they have plenty of feed in their coop/run. I noticed that if they have enough feed that it’s not picked to the bottom by the time I have to shut them in, I go through less feed, and I also seem to go through even less if I have at least two large feeders with feed in them.

 

[Jasonpdx]

How do people keep wild birds from eating the chicken food? I am suspecting that those little birds are emptying the bowls on a regular basis. Any thoughts would be great. Putting the bowls inside the coop or putting mesh over the whole chicken area are not options for me.

 

[Sheepheart]

How do people keep wild birds from eating the chicken food? I am suspecting that those little birds are emptying the bowls on a regular basis. Any thoughts would be great. Putting the bowls inside the coop or putting mesh over the whole chicken area are not options for me.

I used you have a barn cat that lived in the goat shed, she would keep the birds away when I have the ducks feed out by the goat pasture, and the barn cats do a good job keeping them out of the feed I leave in their stall I use for their coop.

 

[Brooks_]

Other. I give them day old bread and donuts. Seriously though I've never really thought about it. I use a hanging feeder (prevent waste) and kitchen scraps sometimes. They also get to free range for an hour or two at least five days a week. Sometimes I think they under eat, but I guess there's just no shortage of bugs around here. I'm hoping to catch some of these

this year. It should be fun to watch.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

Keeping chickens is a wonderful hobby, but the price of their companionship and fresh eggs is the feed bill, which can get scary when you keep a large number of birds. In order to make chicken keeping more economical, or perhaps even profitable, How Do You Keep Your Feed Costs Low?

Feel free to choose multiple answers and please elaborate in the comment section if you choose "Other".

View attachment 2570630

For more money-saving tips visit the Feeding & Watering Your Flock forum sections.

Further Reading:

• Fermenting Chicken Feed: A Straightforward Method
• Creating Your Own Fodder System
• The Scrap Bucket - a MUST for every chicken keeper

(Check out more exciting Official BYC Polls HERE!)

I only pay $34 for a 50 pound bag of organic layer pellets and I thinkt it lasts about 6 weeks, pretty cheap ratio to keep 8 pets. It’s not like they’re going to the vet all the time like a dog and cost me $500 a visit. That figures out to only about $5.60 a week for eight pets! I did spend about $1500 building their coop and their run, but I figured that well divide out over about 10 years, So that it doesn’t figure out to that much per month. Oh, I do spend about $40 a month on special treats like mealworms and stuff. I grow them sprouts and micro greens and tons of kale.I make sure they don’t spill their feed and waste it, but I still consider it really cheap entertainment! It cost $12 to just get into the movies and then you have to buy popcorn and snacks. It usually cost about $30 just to go out for one meal! I think chickens are so cheap and so entertaining that they are worth every penny that I spend on them and more!

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Food waste and compost!

 

[Ryguy3684]

Mine get free range time, but the amount I spend on feed, treats, and fodder offsets that. I use the rentacoop feeders, that they have to stick their head in, so there's almost no waste. The flock raiser is only $17.29 for a 50lb. bag, and it lasts about 2 weeks. I don't think it costs much to feed them, but I only have 15 birds.

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

I have 4 birds, and let them free range (inside a large fence) also grow larvae/meal worms.