Bunch of FREE LOADERS!

[Birch Run Farm]

Yep, I have at least 25 free loading cockerels going camping soooooon!

My feed bill is just as bad.

 

[sonew123]

I have had to thin my flocks out because of it-I pay 12-16$ per bag! and the dang chipmonks seem to eat mroe than the chickens-live traps for this weekend 10 silkies are going tomorrow--processed 12 roos in the last month-and sold as many of my pullets as I could part with-still have 40 of all different ages though and 3 different types of food! I need to get 3 bags tonight at the tune of 60$ ahhh..Oh and I only get 5-7 eggs a day! Hens range from 1 1/2 yrs old to 6 months~

 

[Wynette]

Hey, PineBurrow - check this out:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=2858724#p2858724

I'm tellin' you - I bet they are going to start back up for you SOON!

 

[chickenzoo]

50lbs every 4 days....................... I wish, I can go through 100lbs every 1.5 - 2 days, LOL Right now my Chickens are laying slow................... have been for a few weeks, they will start back soon...

 

[texasbartrambaby]

Wow - that much feed? I have 40 chickens and most are laying - I get about 12 - 15 eggs a day. My marans should start laying soon and that will be the other half of the flock. I have 7 roos/cockerals out of the 40, so 33 hens? I feed Layena, Scratch grains and a little animax and some free mineral also. They free range during the day also, but spend their day going in and out of the barn. I probably spend about $30 a month and I feed good feed -

I just spent 2 weeks ago 170 bucks for feed - I bought 3 bags of dairy goat feed, a bag of animax and a bag of free mineral, 3 bags of Layena and 2 bags of scratch and a few bags of shavings and 2 bales of alfalfa. As we only have 2 small kinder goats, the feed lasts a long time! I keep everything in barrels in our barn - it saved my feed bill and made a few mice hungry!!

At our house, the scratch goes quickly. Those guys can really down the scratch! I found switching to pellets helped with waste too. I also propped my feeders up on bricks to keep shavings and other stuff out of the tray. My babies are all big fat and sassy -

Oh, I forgot - they do get a couple gallons of goat milk a day! That probably helps with my feed bill with the protein. I didn't really think about that.

I hope your babies start laying soon!

 

[Promiselandfarm]

Well if you are going to scale down on your flock of hens make sure those are the ones not laying. There are several good resources on the world wide web to help you judge your hen. I try to stick with edu sites to make sure I am getting a bunch of bunk. Those with narrow pelvic bones should be the first to go unless by some miracle you know that they are laying well. Those that will not be good layers may make a good meal....if you are not opposed to that if you are list them on craiglist Like you our feed bill was huge and we needed to cut back for the fall. We sold most of our pullets that were nice but did not fit how we wanted to go. Then we sold hens that were not up to APA or were mixed as laying hens or breeds we were getting out of. The others are destine for the stew pot which are not top layers and lookers....sad but that is just life on the our farm. Our feed bill is killing our budget so that is how we have cut back, hope that helps. You may find there are those out there who just want chickens and don't care if they are a certain breed or pure, I have several to buy just because they want them for bug control. Had one man come for pullets and he was picking out his chicks which were pullet size and I told him some he picked were roosters ...he did not care and will be back later this year for more once he sees how well his pen is...so the "varmints" will not eat them

 

[patman75]

Slackers should get a trip a freezer camp.

I have been picking up 40 lb layer pellets for $8.50 from my local grain elevator . Am I missing something?

 

[weirdmuse]

Quote:
lol! I agree with the camping trip! I'm getting 50lb. bags of 18% layer pellets from my local grain elevator for $9.50. My 40 birds go through about 75 lbs a week. Plus a bit of scratch grains and fruit and veggies I get from a box the produce guy at the grocery saves for me. Eggs have been slow for me, too. But they are starting to pick up now.

 

[OSUman]

Quote:
i could get organic feed for that

 

[Maidservant]

I'm paying $10 every 3 days for mine. I'm not getting ANY eggs right now, and that is from the guineas, ducks, and chickens. We haven't gotten any eggs for over a month now (molting, grrr), so count your blessings!

I'm trying to sell all of my birds, not for them being freeloaders, other reasons.

Emily in NC