Am I wasting too much feed?

[TheJuan-n-Only]

So my girls are going on their 3rd day out in the coop....they are 4 to 7 week old "babies"....7 of them. The run is sand and I notice ALL THE FEED on the sand that the chicks are just not eatting...I fill the feeder in the AM and after work (is a smaller one still 1 Qrt I think). (I also give them treats in the afternoons) They seem to use their beaks to spill the feed out of the feeder until is empty

.

Then come the fool (me) to fill then feeder again!

Should I keep filling the feeder, or should I wait for them to eat what's on the ground!?

I feel a little stupid asking that question since I'm sure I know the answer...but I figured it couldn't hurt!

So when you are done lol'ing thanks to this city boy please help!

 

[gryeyes]

I found the flock wasted much less feed when I changed to pellets. I had resisted that change - for no valid reason; I just personally didn't like pelletized feed - but when I started feeding them pellets, the number of times I had to fill the feeders was remarkably reduced. When the chickens kick pellets out of the feeders, they eat the pellets off the ground before kicking more out. They consume more of the feed when it's not crumbles being scattered in the dirt.

I was worried about the broody-raised chicks being able to eat the pellets, but momma hens break 'em up for them. By the time the chicks are no longer cared for by their hatch mothers, they can eat the pellets just fine.

However, chicks *I* raised (brooded) get medicated chick starter crumbles until they are released from their grow-out pens. By then, they're at least 10 weeks old....

 

[LarryPQ]

You can let them eat what is on the ground.

Or you can just place the feeder in a box top, so when they throw it around, it doesn't hit the ground. You'll also get a sense of how much they are wasting.

 

[TheJuan-n-Only]

Quote:
wow....so simple you either are brilliant or I am a total dumb A$$ hehehehehe

I will prob so this tomorrow if I don't see them eatting the feed from the ground today....then change to pellets once they get bigger....thank you both!

 

[LarryPQ]

My brooder is off the ground with a cage bottom. I decided I was tired of feeding the niegborhood pigeons, so I lerned quick.

 

[CowgirlPenny]

When mine were little and I had one of those little mason jar sized feeders like you mention, I had to zip tie it to the side. One of them kept jumping on top to roost on it. When they would jump off they would knock the feeder over and would waste a lot of food.