Can’t afford rising feed prices

[Kanekoded]

Can you ferment the pellets?

Yes and fermenting will cut your feed bill in half. Here's more on the topic:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/fermenting-pellet-feed.1287963/

 

[SueT]

My 11 chickens eat 50 lbs feed in 5-6 weeks. They get very little else other than a small treat of scratch feed in the pm. They don’t free range.

 

[SueT]

50 lbs a week seems like a lot. Is something else getting some of it? Mice, wild birds? Try putting out just enough for one day, or do you already—

 

[Sissyhen]

@Sissyhen, where are you located? You climate will have a lot to do with what and how much you can grow.

What are you feeding them, now? Are there less expensive brands available where you are?

You will have a difficult time meeting all of their nutritional needs without using commercial feed. And, it could be (much) more expensive. Some of the amino acids, like methionine and lysine, are critical, especially when birds are very young and developing.

Do a search here on BYC. There are several threads about this very topic. You might find some information that will help.

I live in Eastern NC, and so even now we still have greens growing around the yard, we have woods full of bugs and piles of wood chips, compost, etc. I think they should be able to find what they need out and about with the feed as a supplement, but husband has been in the habit of filling several pans of food every morning for them and they gobble it up quick.
I will be taking over the chicken care here soon if we keep them and just need to know if they will be getting enough foraging? Once summer comes they also eat the lizards, salamanders, mice, roaches, toads, and other things that come around.

 

[Sissyhen]

My 11 chickens eat 50 lbs feed in 5-6 weeks. They get very little else other than a small treat of scratch feed in the pm. They don’t free range.

This makes me think we are really overfeeding them. This means my hens should be stretching that bag at least two weeks…

 

[DickMidnight]

put the 50lbs in a hopper for them and let them decide how much they want to eat.

 

[Sissyhen]

50 lbs a week seems like a lot. Is something else getting some of it? Mice, wild birds? Try putting out just enough for one day, or do you already—

We store it in plastic containers to keep the rodents etc out. My husband has been putting the feed out every morning and it’s gone in a matter of minutes. We’ve never been able to free-feed these hens because they don’t stop eating. They also free range part time, and get scraps. I’m thinking maybe we are overfeeding them also. It doesn’t make sense to me.

 

[susania]

I soak some feed in water every night and feed it to the flock every morning. I soak 2-3 cups of dry pellets and it becomes a mash and doubles in size. Sometimes I mix in some flaxseeds. It’s gone by the time they go to bed. Seems to help in stretching out a 50lb bag of feed.

 

[sdm111]

We do give them all the kitchen scraps, which is a pail-ful daily, and they free range half the day, but at about 20 hens they eat a large bag of feed every week. Are we overfeeding them? I wonder.

Feed them and see how much they eat in 15min. Feed that much from then on. Approx 3oz a day for an average chicken. The size of a tuna can of Feed per day.

 

[sdm111]

We store it in plastic containers to keep the rodents etc out. My husband has been putting the feed out every morning and it’s gone in a matter of minutes. We’ve never been able to free-feed these hens because they don’t stop eating. They also free range part time, and get scraps. I’m thinking maybe we are overfeeding them also. It doesn’t make sense to me.

They may could use a worming