50lbs a week????

[bibliophile birds]

Quote:
i'm sure that has something to do with it. i'm feeding whole grain formula that is lightly ground. i see no waste. they certainly eat it up, but, like i said, 50 lbs is still lasting about 3 wks for 22 9-wk olds. they get to range sometimes in the afternoon, but not enough to seriously affect how much they need to eat.

i've read that mineral imbalances can affect how much chickens eat. if they are missing certain vitamins or minerals they don't process other things correctly so they may need to eat a lot more to make up the difference. maybe look into supplementing some of those?

 

[Napalongtail]

The ratio is 1/4 cup of feed per chicken per day. So 4 birds will consume 1lb per day 20 birds would consume 5lbs per day thus a 50 lb bag should be fed out in 10 days in optimum conditions. Depending on climate and weather conditions this can vary slightly.
Now with ducks it is totally different. I found while raising 120 of them one year that 120 mixed assorted breed ducks would readily consume 1lb per bird per day by the time they were 14 weeks old. IE : I no longer keep ducks full time as I cannot afford to feed the ravenous creatures even with free ranging them. Hope this helps

 

[lngrid]

Quote:
A cup of water, eight fluid ounces, also weighs eight ounces. Is feed really twice as heavy as water?

 

[BBK]

I feed 10 pullets and 1 roo 2 lbs. of laying pellets everyday, unless there still is some left from the day B4. It's under a roof and stays dry. I use a coffee can to feed them.
And about 1/4-1/2 lb. for my 2 silkies...only b/c it's on the ground...I think this is wasting it. So, i need to fix that. but i go through about a 50# of feed a month with all combind.

I also buy a 25# bag of growing pellets for my 4 cochins banties that are 2 months old, I'm on my second bag w/them. i don't have a system yet to determine how much I feed them, but i think they waste alot too. They are heading outside to go in with my silkies, so I'll be able to get a better reading on the feed soon.


melinda

forgot to say...all birds get grass clipping until i can't and scraps and I usually make some pasta for them too...

 

[sonew123]

I go through 50 lbs a week and 20 lbs of scratch a week-I have 45 chickens and 1 duck-I thought that was normal? actually I have to buy more tday so I dont run out before tomorrow that puts it at more than 50lbs a week-They free range all day too but with it being cod theres no bugs or goodies hiding around for them!

 

[Sissy]

I have a mixed flock of 36 cochins
Orps,silkies,amerucanas,
and total,of 50# of feed for about a week and a half.
but with this cold ,I do feed them
left over veggies form the table, and hard bread .

 

[heymikey]

I think the key here is "Ducks" I have 6 Muscovies that free range in the day with my RIR's. The scovies will eat all the food I can put out. I have trained them to go into their own pen at night and I only feed the scovies in their pen and I ration what they get. The RIR have free choice in their roost(Ducks don't know that) The reds only seem to take what they need.

 

[lauralou]

Quote:
I totally agree with this. I don't know what kind of ducks the OP has, but my young muscovies are eating machines! It slows down quite a bit when they mature.

 

[bryan8]

I have 3 Rouen ducks and 2 white pekins

 

[StupidBird]

Just saw in another post this morning about putting out alfalfa and other rich hays for them. Will that help? I know I can get all the sweepings I can clean up for free at the feed store.
I also found the feed disappeared a bit less fast if I put the feeders away securely at night- apparently rodents were getting quite fat off my $$.