Amount of Feed Daily

[saladin]

Adult birds need 4 oz of feed per day.

If they free-range (grass, bugs, mice, etc.) then you can cut that down to 2 oz of feed per day.

There's no reason to give them feed free choice. They'll just waste it.

 

[Cindy in PA]

I always feed mine free choice & there is never any waste.

 

[saladin]

Keeping chickens a little on the hungry-side is a good thing for the birds. It keeps them more active. In the end you'll have a healthy and much more fit bird.

 

[ezekielSM]

You're not very clear...are you saying they eat 24 pounds of feed per day *and* 4 oz of grit *and* 8 oz of shell?

If you're raising them to give you eggs, the best thing you can do is feed them all they can eat, all day long. The shell and grit are optional depending on where they're cooped - inside or outside. If outside, they'll usually get/find enough pebbles/sand to do the need and you can stop buying grit. The shell, IMO, is a waste of money, again depending on the type of feed though too.

It seems *to me*, my opinion again, that you may not have done the homework needed *before* buying some chickens as to their health needs and are just now finding out that feed isn't cheap nor are those accesories like grit and shell.

That's 24 lbs with the grit and shell included in the total. I am raising them for the eggs and they're usually indoors. The food I buy is Purena Layena. The shell's $10 for a 50 lb bag; I had been researching it on the forum and everyone seems to suggest that it's best to use the shell, and so far their shells have been incredibly strong and healthy.

You're half-right. I did some moderate research before I bought them, but I didn't know the prices of the items at the time nor how much the adult birds would eat (the threads on this forum all seem to vary in opinions and I don't believe any opinion is wrong by default). However, I'm not concerned about the costs of taking care of them properly- I just want to know if I'm making sure I'm giving them the amount of food they need and not too much or too little. Thanks for your input!

6 birds, I've got 35 and yes it's amazing how much they can eat. Unless you've got cornish x rocks food should be freely offered. Have you tried a local grain mill they often have food cheaper than farm and fleet or tractor supply. But make sure they are getting the proper nutrition (protein) in any feed you buy. I don't know why you have chickens whether is for meat, eggs or both but you have to research breeds to get the best possible conversion of food to productivity.

I never even thought of a grain mill; I wonder if we have one around. My girls are definitely getting the protein they need between their Layena feed and some occasional protein in the form of unused egg yolks (crumbled!) and worms and other bugs. I've got 2 Easter Eggers, an Amber sex link, a Silkie/who knows what hybrid who I was given as a gift and the supply company claimed would produce many eggs according to their seller (which is questionable?), a Speckled Sussex, and a Rhode Island Red. Together they should all produce the amount of eggs that me and my fiance go through, plus a few on the side for baking/cooking.

@WalkerH: Thanks! I agree. I was thinking I was feeding them either too much or not enough.

@so lucky and Barnmaradotte: The chickens all seem to be eating it all, since there's none left at the end of the day when I clean the coop. They're indoors and there's no vermin or any wildlife taking their share. Maybe I just have really hungry almost-hens! (Two are fully fledged hens now, laying eggs

)

@zzGypsy: The eggs coming thus far are 1.5z and consistent in shape/etc with strong shells; the birds themselves are not fat, but around their adult weight. They're the only critters we own, too.

@PegramPoultryProprieter: Wow, your name's a mouthful of alliteration! LOL.. Anywho, they seem to go through food enough as mentioned in the first post. The girls oddly don't scratch their food everywhere- they just squat down and peck and eat it. No waste when I clean their coop. It's another thing that had me wondering.

@saladin: Four OUNCES of feed a day? Woah. That's so little (to me anyway)! Do chickens just not eat that much, or do they eat only as much as you offer them?? Also, thanks for the tip on the slightly-hungry side. Also, if they're having shell do they really need grit??

Thanks for the input, everyone, and sorry for such a delayed response- work got me for a while.

 

[IRChicken]

"Birds will drink 1 cup of water per day and eat 2 cups of feed per day." 3:40 into video:



2 cups of feed equals 12-13 ounces (2.4 cups per pound).
A 50 lb. bag of feed equals 1 cubic foot in volume and there are approximately 120 cups per 50 lbs.

 

[ezekielSM]

Hey, awesome!

Thanks so much! So that'd be 12-13 z * 6... or 4.5 lbs a day at the minimum.

Now I'm interested. Come tomorrow morning I'm gonna make up a 4.5lb bag of feed and see how long it lasts compared to the previous way I was feeding 'em.

Thanks so much.

 

[saladin]

Yes, 4 oz of good quality feed is ALL they need.

 

[zzGypsy]

so Salidin has them at 4oz (1/2 cup) per day
and IRChicken has them at 16 oz (2 cups) per day
...
big difference there...

 

[ezekielSM]

It is a big difference. I don't think Saladin's wrong. As long as Saladin's chickens are healthy, happy and well cared for, it's all that really matters, I think.


I'm going to try the middle one, about 10-12z and see if the girls are happy. They sure let me know when they're hungry! (Lots of squawking. When content, they're quiet and chirp.)

 

[Tracydr]

Quote:
Mine eat about 2 oz a day, plus kitchen scraps, produce and free ranging. I think you have something eating your feed. I once had a horse getting into mine. Are you sure your dog isn't eating eat? Otherwise, you have some sort of vermin stealing it, a rat or something.
I was raising some meat birds this summer and realized after several weeks that the 100-150 doves that I was feeding were eating more than the 7 meat birds. I made it impossible for the doves to get the feed and suddenly my feed was lasting four times as long. That's a lot when you're feeding meat chickens, they eat tons more than layers.