Cheapest Healthiest Way to feed chicken and ducks.

[JusticeFamilyFarm]

Ditto! Petco and pet stores in general are much more expensive for feed. They're fine if you need supplies for your fish tank or dog, but for feeding needs and livestock- definitely look for feed stores in your area and try them instead.

 

[Obyli]

Umm....honestly, i live in a city and i ve NEVER seen any other people around me has ducks/chickens. I put pic on fb and people are like wth- -. Petco is the only shop that has chicken feed. Even PetSmart doesn't.

 

[RareBreedFancier]

You need to google feed stores. I don't know where you are but I can tell you there should be a stockfeed store around even if it's a bit of a drive. Buying expensive bags that only last 5 days is crazy, much better to go for a drive and stock up on a month or two worth of food at a much cheaper price.

I give my chickens waste greens and fruit from the produce store I frequent. The owner knows me and always gives me a big box. (I have a lot of chickens, 60+) I also give them all the veg trimmings, stale bread, general leftovers if they are sitting around in the fridge. I have bought day old bread from the local bakery too, they love it but I don't like to give them to much. A big flour bag lasts them a week. I grow some veggies just for them, they go nuts for beet leaves, rainbow chard and kale in particular. All these treats are low in protein though so I can't give to much.

As well as making sure your birds aren't wasting feed, make sure wild birds and other pests can't steal it. The local sparrows have made a nuance of themselves here thinking there is an easy free feed. If the door is open they fly straight into the run and help themselves so I had to move the feeder into the night house where the sparrows dare not go. I was amazed at the difference that made to feed use.

 

[SycolinWoodsChickens]

Another thing to consider is how many male birds you have in your flock. Why keep 3 drakes? We have 5 hens and 1 drake and it works great. We originally had 5 drakes and 5 hens. Three drakes went to freezer camp and this Spring we re-homed one drake because the girls were being over bred. Our feed bill dropped a lot because the males were eating twice as much as the females. Same thing when we reduced our chicken flock by ONE roo last year. We absolutely saw a reduction in our feed bill.

 

[dragontamer56]

Well i don't know how much it is every where else, but a bag of feed in Montana is only $15 for 50 pounds.

 

[Obyli]

Ok i really don't think there is a stockfeed store, maybe they had it but they close it because NONONE owns chicken in my area/ducks. I live in California,Torrance 90503 if u wanna know.

 

[202roosterlane]

Same in Arkansas at Tractor Supply. Is much higher at Atwoods. But ATWOODS has a little better ingredients. Spent the afternoon reading labels after reading on BYC.... I also noticed a huge difference once I hung the feed in poultry hanging baskets. They scatter very little now and eat it daily from the ground.

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[ducknutt]

Hi I free pasture .. from 8 to sunset or so.. my ducks eat grass. and bugs and i give them duckweed in their water.. I stop their morning feeding of grain as they were getting lazy.. i check them during the day to see if they are carrying any food ... and they are.. I maybe in charge.. but not the boss...

 

[Beekissed]

As stated above, free ranging provides the healthiest and cheapest supplement to your feeding ration. You might also find that keeping a continuous feeder may also be feeding the local rodents....you'd be surprised how much they can carry off and store for their families.

I free ranged at all times. I bought 50-100 # bags of whole grains like wheat, oats, barley, cracked corn, sunflower seeds, oyster shell and laying mash. I mixed my ration equally and fed once a day....evening feeding in the warmer months and morning for colder. I used a trough style feeder with welded wire over the trough to prevent scratching and flicking. I only put out as much as the chickens can eat at one time with only a little left over for a second small feeding/snack.

Also as stated, supplementing with garden produce or salad trimmings, family leftovers, etc. will also fill bellies.

The whole grains seemed to fill them up on less amounts than just laying mash. The whole grains won't mold as easily when stored in large amounts. Cull any birds that are not needed or not producing, not fulfilling your flock's desired traits/genetics or just causing trouble in general. Too many good, productive chickens out there to feed free-loaders, problem children, or weaklings.

Remember.....chickens won't be cheap if you think with your heart and you can't save money on sympathy.

 

[wolftracks]

I have a lot of feed stores here, but I pay $24 for 80lbs of pellets. I haven't found cheaper