AMOUNT

[KEarthman]

Good Morning from Texas!
The chickens in 2 of our pens have not been "cleaning up" all of their feed. If they're leaving quite a bit on the ground and it's still there the next morning, should I give them less. Or is the food from the day before no good, so to speak?

 

[Kiki]

Good Morning from Texas!
The chickens in 2 of our pens have not been "cleaning up" all of their feed. If they're leaving quite a bit on the ground and it's still there the next morning, should I give them less. Or is the food from the day before no good, so to speak?

Yes I would give them less.

How many chickens do you have in each pen and about how much feed are you putting out? Roughly... Full grown chickens should eat about 3/4 cup worth of feed per day.

 

[swamphiker]

Chickens can be messy eaters and will waste perfectly good food by leaving it on the ground. The food from the day before is just fine, but they may or may not eat it. You can decrease the amount of waste by switching to a different kind of feeder or using pellets instead of crumbles. I cut down on waste by feeding pellets in a modified 5-gallon bucket (similar to this one: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/5-gallon-bucket-feeder-diy.74633/).

 

[NatJ]

The chickens in 2 of our pens have not been "cleaning up" all of their feed. If they're leaving quite a bit on the ground and it's still there the next morning, should I give them less. Or is the food from the day before no good, so to speak?

Food from the day before should be fine.

Chickens do not eat during the night, so any food that is on the ground at dusk will still be there in the morning, unless mice or something come at night to eat it.

Are you feeding on the ground? Or are they knocking it out of their feeder? Some feeders are better than others at keeping the food contained until the chickens eat it.

Most kinds of chickens do well with a feeder of food available at all times they are awake (only daytime matters, because they won't eat in the dark.)

 

[Auntiejessi3]

Good Morning from Texas!
The chickens in 2 of our pens have not been "cleaning up" all of their feed. If they're leaving quite a bit on the ground and it's still there the next morning, should I give them less. Or is the food from the day before no good, so to speak?

Put some water in it and make it an oatmeal consistency, very little waste and they think it's a treat

 

[3KillerBs]

Good Morning from Texas!
The chickens in 2 of our pens have not been "cleaning up" all of their feed. If they're leaving quite a bit on the ground and it's still there the next morning, should I give them less. Or is the food from the day before no good, so to speak?

Welcome to BYC.

How many chickens do you have, what kind of feed are you offering, and what kind of feeder are you using?

I free-feed my birds, filling their feeders full and letting them eat at will. I have very little waste on the ground between the design of the feeders and the fact that I mount them at the height of the taller birds' backs (with a brick or a block handy for the smaller ones to stand on).

IF I get significant spillage, I simply don't feed again until they've cleaned up the mess. They're quite capable of picking crumble out of the bedding if motivated to do so.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

As others have said, reduce the amount being fed, and consider changing your feed management equipment. I'm in a hot climate, as you are, and very humid too. Conditions not good for most chickens. Like @Auntiejessi3 , I'm a proponent of feeding a wet mash in a thick, oatmeal like consistency. I believe this is helpful to them when its very hot (since I make it with 63 degree ground water) or when its near freezing (since I can make it 100+ degree hot water), and I pour/plop it into plastic rain gutters to help manage spillage. Cheap, effective, less waste than crumble.

Good advice above - confident you will find a method that works for you.

 

[Brooks_]

I agree with others. I'll add that I've had very little waste with hanging feeders.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

As others have said, reduce the amount being fed, and consider changing your feed management equipment. I'm in a hot climate, as you are, and very humid too. Conditions not good for most chickens. Like @Auntiejessi3 , I'm a proponent of feeding a wet mash in a thick, oatmeal like consistency. I believe this is helpful to them when its very hot (since I make it with 63 degree ground water) or when its near freezing (since I can make it 100+ degree hot water), and I pour/plop it into plastic rain gutters to help manage spillage. Cheap, effective, less waste than crumble.

Good advice above - confident you will find a method that works for you.

I have 2 hanging free feeders, but every evening I give a wet mash, warm water in the winter cold or somewhat frozen in the summer, they love it and the dry feed consumption is way less than if I feed only dry. It's a win win in my book and @U_Stormcrow can attest with the number of birds he can have any given time, it adds up with your pocket book