Can’t afford rising feed prices

[igorsMistress]

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/

That has not been my experience, not by a long shot.

 

[igorsMistress]

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.

3 oz is a bit light. 1/3 to 1/2 cup of feed per day is the average.

 

[Greta A]

I have 10 hens I let them free range all day and lock them up at night. I also get mash from a local brewery for free. I also feed them kitchen scraps. I do give them some commercial chicken food but they do not eat much. I regulate it on what they want to eat. Now during winter. The eat about 2 cups of commercial grain twice a day. And even then they leave some. I get about 4 eggs a day currently and about 6 a day in the summer. ( I have two older hens who stopped laying and a new hen that never started laying) So I feel that I am doing well.

 

[igorsMistress]

They may could use? If that’s what you meant we do add diatomaceous earth on occasion (that is our wormer for all our animals)

This doesn’t work, DE is not effective when wet, but may be good for some external pests. If you suspect worms you can often have your regular vet send a fecal sample for testing, it costs me $40 a year to have my flock checked, so you know if you need to treat, and what you need to treat for.

 

[Brooks_]

3 oz is a bit light. 1/3 to 1/2 cup of feed per day is the average.

IDK. At 4 ounces/day, a bad should only last me 9.5 days. In reality, it's about 12.

 

[igorsMistress]

This is a problem for me too. I don't currently have chickens but I am getting some in the spring and I'm not exactly rich and the feed price's are so high now.

This is a problem for me too. I don't currently have chickens but I am getting some in the spring and I'm not exactly rich and the feed price's are so high now.

Get a feeder that wild birds can’t raid and that keeps mice/rats out. This is usually the problem with high feed bills.

 

[igorsMistress]

IDK. At 4 ounces/day, a bad should only last me 9.5 days. In reality, it's about 12.

Sure, results will vary and it depends on if you have forage available, plus if you give treats and such. I only give limited scratch a few times a week and no kitchen scraps. Maybe part of a melon or cuke on a really hot day but otherwise only feed and water.

 

[Shabby Chic-Hens]

I’ve seen online that some people go feed-free with whole grain berries, bugs, and other foraging.
Has anyone here tried to cut back amounts by a good deal or even entirely omitted chicken feed?
I was planning on letting them summer over my garden bed this year instead of gardening, but husband is looking at abandoning the chickens all together. If he does that I’ll have to do a garden or lose both outdoor pleasures. (Because if I don’t labor on the weeds, and the chickens don’t than it’ll be impossible to get back.)
Hoping y’all have some better ideas than I’m coming up with.

Maybe you could get old fruit and vegetables from your local grocery store for free or very cheap? I know that my local grocery store does that.

 

[WI chickens]

I've never had chickens "overeat". I free feed mine and I've never measured the amount they eat. It varies wildly. I would be very hesitant to start rationing their food.

In the summer my chickens free range and I hardly go thru a bag a month with 30 chickens. I give mine free access to my food forest and my (large) compost piles. They spend most of the day flattening the piles for me and eating bugs. Now that it's winter, I go thru a lot of food.

 

[NatJ]

at about 20 hens they eat a large bag of feed every week. Are we overfeeding them? I wonder.

How many pounds of feed are in that bag?

20 hens might be expected to eat about 35 pounds of feed each week. (More or less depending on the size of the hens, the weather, and how much other stuff they are eating.)

when feed is reduced the egg production goes down with it. We have not been overfeeding, just have too many big ladies. The next chickens we get will need to be better foragers.

It sounds like you have it figured out