24/7 Access to Feed, or Feed Daily

[Soujrnr]

Hi all. I've been reading all kinds of posts concerning feeding, and I am, once again, somewhat confused on the issue. I have two 5-ft. PVC tubes in the coop filled with feed, so the birds can eat on demand. Some are saying that I should feed them daily in order to control their intake and prevent them from growing fat. Others say give them 24/7 access because they'll stop when they are satisfied. Well, "satisfied" doesn't mean its a healthy amount of food. It might be way too much.

So, what do you all do, and what is your experience with how it affects the weight of the birds?

 

[saysfaa]

Most chickens of most breeds will eat a healthy amount (not excessive amounts) when feed is available all the time. It is pretty much only the breeds developed for very fast meat production that will get fat (Cornish Cross and to a lesser degree the Ranger types). In both cases, this is assuming they have access to either a balanced feed or to a range of options that allow them to balance their own feed (like all the ingredients of a well balance commercial feed or free ranging where there are enough options - not a bare run or a standard suburban lawn).

Treats can skew this because that pulls social behavior into play instead of just the nutrition of it. Having very few options can also prevent them from balancing their diets because they can't get enough of some nutrients without getting too much of others.

Mine have always had food all the time (with a scant handful of exceptions for a couple of hours at the most). They are two years old and are not fat and have never been fat, according me feeling their keel bone and comparing to this:

.

You could try feed all the time or during day and check their condition once a week or so until you are comfortable with how your chickens do with it.

In my set up, I am not worried about other critters eating the feed. Their coop is secure unless something chews through the boards of the wall or tunnels under the hardware cloth apron then chews up through the plywood floor. That is possible but I regularly check for signs of attempts and haven't seen any.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Well, "satisfied" doesn't mean its a healthy amount of food. It might be way too much.

They eat to meet their energy need.. it's up to you to make sure it's balanced and appropriate. It varies by season, temperature, laying output, day length etc.. they will self regulate energy and calcium content when possible but not other nutrients.

Quality is subjective and so is "more protein".

Use a formulated, age appropriate ration and don't feed too many excess high energy, low nutrient treats like cracked corn, scratch, etc. (>10% of total daily CALORIC intake.)

They do not need access 24/7 as they don't eat in the dark but rats do. So having as much as they want from sun up to sun down is ideal. Do you have lights on inside your coop where the birds are up and about at night? Some folks who deal with freeloading song birds and the like may do timed and measured feedings.. everyone has a reason they do what they do. I collect feed or close lids nightly and open or return them every morning.

Each hen will have a different amount of abdominal fat that correlates some to their breed and body type.

If no one told you.. or you don't already know.. at the stated age they are likely to molt this fall/winter.. That is quit laying eggs, lose their feathers, and put all their energy to regrow new ones. They will usually return back to laying as daylight increases back in spring.. Laying hormone is light driven. If you desire a return to laying sooner then adding in artificial lighting after they complete their molt is an option (research the method if desired).. noting they are hatched with all the ovum they ever will lay already on board, so this natural break just means they may possibly lay longer into their lifespan. But that only counts of course if nothing else happens.. predation, illness, injury, etc.. sorry for sharing my overthinking in the previous sentence.. it get's debilitating at times knowing whatever I say there is almost always a counterpoint.

Using a "flock raiser" (20% protein) with oyster shell on the side.. can help tremendously.. during this time (molt).. as feathers are made from 90% protein and it's amino acids.. gals not in lay won't need the excess calcium of "layer" and those who do need it will access the side. I made the switch full time after learning about protein content as was surprised at the difference it made compared to using "layer". Protein and calcium content is the main difference between most of those rations.

Do you happen to know what breeds your new ladies are? How many of them did you get? Are you getting eggs already?

Pics welcome and congratulations, I hope you enjoy your new chicken adventure!

 

[Penpal]

New chicks should have ready access to food and water. Like other babies, they have several meals a day. As they get older, you don't have to have it in front of them 24/7. People with Cornish Cross often keep feed in front of the birds to maximize their growth. Most birds don't need that.

The older they get the less likely they will over eat. They eat, then either go running around looking for bugs or take a nap. However, they will over eat if their feed is inadequate, trying to get more protein or other nutrient they need. Feed a good quality food.

 

[Happy Novogens]

We use a feeding system of a bucket with the port holes. They are supposed to be rat/mouse proof. Their feed is available 24/7. Our chickens are not fat. We have hardware cloth around the entire run, haven't seen a sign of any critters getting the feed.

We use an all-flock feed and provide oyster shell for calcium in a separate container. They get wheat grass fodder while they free range for a couple hours before sunset. Occasionally they get "treats" of millet, cherry tomatoes, blueberries, or similar.

It is certainly convenient to have feed available 24/7 and in the buckets. We can leave for a weekend and know they will be adequately fed.

(For water, we use a couple 5 gallon buckets with quail cups attached. This is also convenient and allows them to have water for several days without fuss.)

 

[Soujrnr]

They eat to meet their energy need.. it's up to you to make sure it's balanced and appropriate. It varies by season, temperature, laying output, day length etc.. they will self regulate energy and calcium content when possible but not other nutrients.

Quality is subjective and so is "more protein".

Use a formulated, age appropriate ration and don't feed too many excess high energy, low nutrient treats like cracked corn, scratch, etc. (>10% of total daily CALORIC intake.)

They do not need access 24/7 as they don't eat in the dark but rats do. So having as much as they want from sun up to sun down is ideal. Do you have lights on inside your coop where the birds are up and about at night? Some folks who deal with freeloading song birds and the like may do timed and measured feedings.. everyone has a reason they do what they do. I collect feed or close lids nightly and open or return them every morning.

Each hen will have a different amount of abdominal fat that correlates some to their breed and body type.

If no one told you.. or you don't already know.. at the stated age they are likely to molt this fall/winter.. That is quit laying eggs, lose their feathers, and put all their energy to regrow new ones. They will usually return back to laying as daylight increases back in spring.. Laying hormone is light driven. If you desire a return to laying sooner then adding in artificial lighting after they complete their molt is an option (research the method if desired).. noting they are hatched with all the ovum they ever will lay already on board, so this natural break just means they may possibly lay longer into their lifespan. But that only counts of course if nothing else happens.. predation, illness, injury, etc.. sorry for sharing my overthinking in the previous sentence.. it get's debilitating at times knowing whatever I say there is almost always a counterpoint.

Using a "flock raiser" (20% protein) with oyster shell on the side.. can help tremendously.. during this time (molt).. as feathers are made from 90% protein and it's amino acids.. gals not in lay won't need the excess calcium of "layer" and those who do need it will access the side. I made the switch full time after learning about protein content as was surprised at the difference it made compared to using "layer". Protein and calcium content is the main difference between most of those rations.

Do you happen to know what breeds your new ladies are? How many of them did you get? Are you getting eggs already?

Pics welcome and congratulations, I hope you enjoy your new chicken adventure! tban ks

Thanks for the great information!! Let me try to shed some light on the "big picture," and I will include pictures along the way. First, here are some photos of the coop I built. I have 2x4 welded wire over the entire run and coop, and that 2x4 welded wire is covered over with 1/4" hardware cloth (but it might not be seen in this photo because I took the photo before finishing off with the 1/4" HWC.

The run is 18 feet long and six feet wide. There is a door into the run as well, but you can't see it in these photos.

Our friend who gave us the girls told us about them molting this year, and so we are expecting that. I do want to read up on it some more to make sure we are prepared for that.

There are no lights inside the coop. We do have a security camera that turns on a motion-activated light when triggered, but it's only on for about 15 seconds; nothing else for lighting. None of their food is accessible by rodents due to the way I set up the security of the coop. It's possible that they could find their way into the run, but the run is completely sealed off from the coop in the evening.

We have five girls. Their breeds are ISA Brown, Buff Orpington, California White, Black Copper Maran, and Plymouth Rock. (I hope I got those names right). We are getting 4 to 5 eggs each day, so all of them are laying regularly. They seem to like their new home.

I'll work on getting some individual photos of the girls, and I can post those later.

Today, I built a simple "auto dispenser" for the grit and oyster shells. It's primitive, but functional. Here is a photo of it.

 

[Soujrnr]

@Cluckwork Orange - I saw your name pop up in the thread and I blew my coffee out of my nose at your awesome screen name! Not sure why, but the name just really struck a funny bone, and I couldn't stop laughing. I remember reading the book back in high school in my English class. I guess it brought back those great memories of my childhood (and I mean that with all sincerity...I had a WONDERFUL childhood). Thanks for the great laugh!!

Have an awesome Friday!!

 

[chickeyumass]

I am also new to chicken keeping and my birds are 7weeks. I switched to a metal gravity feeder that is under shelter from any rain and prevents birds from getting on top, raised 3" off ground, and this is working ok with crumbles, not much spillage. Birds are outside in coop/run.

I have been bringing the feeder in at night and putting out every morning. I have a poultry permit from my town board of health (Mass) and they warned me several times about rats - if I get infested, they will pull permit. Once the winter comes, I prefer not to be out at every dawn and dusk. I have been told mice and small rats can fit through 1/2" hardware cloth.

Are the bucket feeders/kits really predator proof? Thinking to get a steel trendle step-on type feeder to leave out overnight. I need to be keeping rats/mice away as much as possible. Thanks for your advice!

 

[Al Gerhart]

I'm not sure. @Al Gerhart should be able to give an idea on that.

RojoMarz, thanks for the mention. Six months ought to be old enough to use a treadle feeder but it really depends upon what kind of treadle feeder and what kind of hen. Really it is about weight and reach, having the weight needed to trip the treadle and open the door enough to get to the feed and having the body length to actually reach the feed.

Some models like the Chinese made Grandpa feeder and the many Chinese made clones ARE easier for young birds to use because they use wide, close in treadles, ultra light guillotine style lids, and no spring pre loading on the lid. The result is a lid that even a mouse can push up to get into the feeder because it can stand on the treadle and reach the lid or with the help of a few of its buddies just push the lid open enough to slither in. And for a lot of flock owners that start off without a rodent problem they might get lucky and never have a rodent colony build up. The downsides is that wild birds can also gang up on that close in treadle and steal feed or eventually having a rat colony.

But, if you want a rat proof feeder or a squirrel proof feeder you gotta get that treadle way out away from the feed, keep it narrow and depend upon the grasping of the chicken's feet instead of a wide comfortable treadle step, and you HAVE to add springs to pre load the inward swinging door to prevent critters from just pushing the door open.

We found that over the years a single spring will defeat most squirrels but if you have large amounts of squirrels in the area with overlapping territories (and that is always due to a huge supply of non natural feed being available, they fight over territory otherwise), then you need at least two springs. We switched to dual springs as standard back in January after some beta testing and set the springs directly on the door instead of on the door crank, increasing the leverage and putting the wire treadle link only under tension.

So think reach and weight, not age of the pullets. The good news is that while having chicks and young pullets is unavoidable in a flock, generally if you practice the first step of rat control which is sanitation/feed security, you will NOT have a rodent problem in those few weeks that chicks and young pullets are needing unsecure feeders. And if you don't batch replace a flock but trickle in a few new birds to keep the flock's average age constant the smaller birds will quickly learn to eat when they can. Albeit with a bit of risk as birds under a pound are generally not completely safe around any treadle feeder so provide a refuge only they can enter and have their feed there. A soft close door helps with that IF you have already defeated the rodents and don't need maximum door pressure to keep the nasties out of the food.

And on occasion you might have a feed raking hen or hens if you are feeding treats mixed in with the feed or feeding a mixed feed that they like to cherry pick from. You can use a feeder lip extender to solve that feed raking, choke off the feed by blocking part of the throat of the feeder to reduce the amount of feed coming down, or invite a certain bird to Sunday dinner.

 

[Soujrnr]

New chicks should have ready access to food and water. Like other babies, they have several meals a day. As they get older, you don't have to have it in front of them 24/7. People with Cornish Cross often keep feed in front of the birds to maximize their growth. Most birds don't need that.

The older they get the less likely they will over eat. They eat, then either go running around looking for bugs or take a nap. However, they will over eat if their feed is inadequate, trying to get more protein or other nutrient they need. Feed a good quality food.

Our girls were given to us three weeks ago and they are about 1-1/2 years old. We do free range them pert near every day, so they get exercise, and they get to scratch for bugs and stuff a lot. I'll have to check the feed to be sure of the nutritional content. We are still learning about having chickens. We are only on week three of ownership now. It's fun, but there seems to be a lot to learn.

Thank you for the information, too!! I really appreciate it!