50 pounds of pellets a month?

[EggWalrus]

With pellets, if they spill any, they will usually eat it off the ground. When I feed crumbles, I add water to make a thick mash like @AlleysChicks said to do, makes harder to get lost in the ground.
The game cam will surely help find out of you're feeding rodents also.

 

[doublecrossranch]

I have 9 pullets and a cockerel...plus about 20 wild birds that nest in the run. I feed a lot of birds.

 

[Gray Farms]

With my adult birds and youngsters I'm going through 500 pounds a week. 50 pounds a month sounds awesome to me!

 

[Cindy in PA]

And if they are larger birds, they will go .33 per day or almost 60 lbs. a month. It also depends on what they can really get by free ranging. I know my 10 birds are eating & drinking a lot more at 24 weeks with most of them laying. It's not really far off.

 

[BantyChooks]

My flock of ~35—mostly LF, a few bantams—goes through less than 50 pounds per week when they are free ranged. I would call that type of feed consumption excessive.

 

[jreardon1918]

When we had 7 full size hens. We did about 50 pounds of pellets per month. During laying periods. During molt less. That also assumes they are confined to the enclosed run most days. Now down to 5 hens, and the molt has begun. So i think 50 pounds is going to last more like 6-7 weeks.

 

[Club cramahe coop]

I have 12 pullets at 18 weeks ( not yet laying ). They are in. A covered run all day and get out to free range a few hours each evening and all day sat and Sunday. We are not brace enough to let them free range when we are not home. They are eating about 50lbs of grower crumbles in 6 weeks. Maybe they are not eating enough ??? They get a few treats but hardly any.

 

[Chickassan]

Sounds o.k to me, the 13 here go through 2 50lb sacks a month and they free range all day and get treats on top of all that.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Ditto on what others have said, around .25 pounds per bird per day if they are laying an egg a day per bird. During molts or lower egg production, less that that. You might have critters eating too so the game camera is a good idea. Get a good treadle feeder, do a forum search for rat proof chicken feeder right here in BYC and you will get a lot of info as we have a ton of customers that love this website.

 

[trumpeting_angel]

...

Get a wide pan and feed half of what you are feeding but add enough water to make it a thick porridge. Mine go crazy over it. I did this over the summer when money was tight.

Not only do they go crazy over it, if you use warm/hot water on cold mornings or evenings, you get to feel like you're serving a hot breakfast. (I have no idea if a warm breakfast does chickens any good, but they sure seem to like it and people really love to do it. Including me.)