About how much feed do chickens go through in one week?

[matt44644]

63 chickens and we use 3 50lb bags a month

That sounds low.Do they get anything else?

 

[Roan]

63 chickens and we use 3 50lb bags a month

I have half your number of birds and am going through 3 50lb bags in less than half a month!

 

[RogerTheChicken]

That sounds low.Do they get anything else?

Well about half of them are little 2 month old chicks

 

[MeepBeep]

For 37 birds during the winter that doesn't seem off to me at all... I'm too lazy to go count my mixed flock of peas, chickens and guineas right now but I'm in the area of 60ish total I believe and I'm going through 80-100lbs of feed a week in addition to also giving them one or two 5 gallon buckets worth of random mixed fresh vegetables, bread, fruit, yogurt, cottage cheese and whatever every day... Without the daily fresh offerings I would be going through at least 200lbs of feed a week... I also heat the coop to 37°F so they don't consume as much as if they had to endure the even cooler temps...

Okay, Thanks.  That's a lot of food!  Can you give me a ballpark figure of how many birds you have total (you know, give or take 100 lol)?

As said but likely overlooked somewhere around 60 birds right now, maybe a few more I honestly have not fully counted them recently... The peas eat a significant amount more food then a chicken, but I also have some bantam chickens and younger chicks in there that eat less obviously, so things sort of even out...

 

[lazy gardener]

16 DP birds = 50# layer pellets FF lasts 3 weeks. They also get 1/2 cup of mixed seeds sprouted and/or 2 - 3 cups of dry mixed seeds/day, and misc. kitchen scraps. FF makes a huge difference in the amount of feed a flock can plow through and/or waste in a month!

 

[song of joy]

My free-ranging, dual-purpose hens go through an average of 1.3 pounds/hen/week during the summer, 1.5 pounds/hen/week in the spring and fall, and 1.8 pounds/hen/week during the winter.

 

[lazy gardener]

Now, let me muddy the waters for you just a bit! If you want to save on your feed bill, hop on over the the Fermented Feed thread. it will cut way down on the amount of feed your girls eat and waste. My flock of 16 birds goes through 50# of fermented feed every 3 weeks. Save some money, and buy all of your feed in 50# bags.

 

[glib]

Now, let me muddy the waters for you just a bit! If you want to save on your feed bill, hop on over the the Fermented Feed thread. it will cut way down on the amount of feed your girls eat and waste. My flock of 16 birds goes through 50# of fermented feed every 3 weeks. Save some money, and buy all of your feed in 50# bags.

so, fermented feed + free ranging = 0.1 lbs/bird/day. Right?

 

[lazy gardener]

If my girls free range right now, they get a choice of snow, or ice. My math says each of my birds eats just over a pound of feed/week, which doesn't sound like very much at all. they also get limited kitchen scraps, and some sprouts to supplement. My advice: Buy a bag of feed, and start using it. When it's nearly gone, go buy an other. Your feed needs will vary depending on how much free range, time of year, kitchen scraps, and any other feed supplements they get.

 

[MeepBeep]

If you want to save on your feed bill, hop on over the the Fermented Feed thread.

Or put on a BIG smile and start talking to local grocery stores, independent (and ethnic) are generally better then big chain stores and sweet talk the manager into letting you take the day old produce, dairy, breads, and what not... Of course results will vary and some stores will flat out deny you but if you keep digging you can generally find a few that are willing to help you out... It's mind boggling how much food even a small grocery store tosses in the trash each week, especially bagged produce like pre-cut greens, spinach, baby carrots and/or dairy that have an expiration date... Bananas and apples are also easy to come by, as soon as they show a bruise or brown spot in the garbage they go... And if you have no shame, and get told no, there is always drive by midnight dumpster runs aka Freeganism...