Can My Chickens Really be eating this much?

[Big Bubba]

I've got 4 RIRs that are only 12 wweeks old. Every morning I feed it about 2.5 pounds of feed. When I come home in the late afternoon it is always gone. I refill and it is finished by dark.

Today, after filling it up in the afternoon I came out 10 minutes later and saw most of it was gone. Doesn't seem possible.

A couple of things I've thought of. First, are the chickens possibly just scratching it out of the feeder and then eating it up off the ground? Also, I've seen up to 10 birds in there (they sometimes get stuck in there), It doesn't seem likely they could be eating up that much of the feed; could they?

Any idea how much 4 RIRs 12 weeks old should be eating?

TIA.

 

[Trefoil]

If they are eating that much, and the 10 minutes later scenerio suggest they may well be, then I would try another brand of grower. Because what you are giving them isn't fulfilling their needs.

 

[txnative]

If you've got 4 birds and you're seeing 10 birds, what are the other 6? If they are wild birds they have learned where a free and easy meal is

 

[Big Bubba]

The wild birds I'm seeing are finches. I would guess most people raising chickens have an issue with wild birds coming around taking some free food.