Daily rounds

[Kandypeeps05]

How many times a day do you feed your birds? My birds living in a run full time and don’t get access to free ranging due to predators.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I feed once daily. They free range the rest.

My experience is completely inapplicable to your management methods. You don't say where you are - environment matters - but for most with a secure run and dry conditions - free feeding with large gravity feeders of whatever design is a practical method that lets them go extended periods without refill. In much moister environments, crumble can be an issue, pellets might perform better. And if you feed ferment or mash, gravity feeders won't work for that at all.

No one right answer, or everyone would be doing it. (Except that one guy, because there's always that one guy...) Thousands of wrong answers - some of which aren't wrong for everyone.

 

[3KillerBs]

When I get a buildup of dust at the bottom of the feeder I dump it into a dish, wet it into mash, and the chickens think I'm giving them a treat.

When there is excessive spillage I simply don't refill the feeder until they've cleaned up what's on the ground.

 

[Weeg]

I feed my birds once a day in the morning. If they're out by the afternoon I top it off.
You only need to feed daily if you are soaking or fermenting the feed, which is what I do. If your feeding dry, just fill a feeder and feed free choice. Chickens should have access to food 24/7.

 

[TooCheep]

I’m just worried about feeder contamination I guess

That's reasonable. Here are some prime feeder issues I an think of:

1. Water getting into the feeder- generally easy to solve with some form of cover.
2. Feed being scattered around and wasted- there are feeder designs that are very good at reducing waste.
3. Mice/Rats/wild birds getting into your feed- all are problems and the solutions depend on your specific setup.
4. Chickens pooping in their feed bowl- Don't use an open feed bowl as it is subject to all of the problems above as well as this last one.

All of these are quite solvable if you have a specific problem.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

A good consideration. I've had no issues with crumble and Florida humidity, but rain forest level moisture could be different

Nor have I, except when I used the J-style PVC feeders. Those plus humidity and darkness and time... not good eats. But then J-feeders don't work well with crumble regardless.

and @My Very First 6 Chickens like @3KillerBs and many others, I make wet mash to control waste/deal with "fines".

 

[SilverBirds]

My system allows me to only feed them once every 3-4weeks (I have 24 birds eating one 50lb bag plus they free range). Depending on how many birds and the type of feeder you use affect how often you feed them.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

I top off my feeders once a week, but they can go 3 weeks. I use 4' sections of 4" pipe screwed to the wall and dumping into a rubber bowl. I screw the pipe into a stud so its about 2" above the bottom of the bowl. I have 4 of them in my hen house with 13 birds.

The reason I top off weekly is in case I have to evacuate for a fire or leave for any reason I know they have 2-3 weeks worth of food and water.

 

[3KillerBs]

I have large feeders that I fill up several times a week for my large flock.

Dry feed in dry feeders hung up at the level of the birds' backs so they don't kick bedding into them isn't subject to contamination -- unless you have a rodent problem.

 

[Poodlemum]

Before flockdown, once a day. Now they need twice This year's job is setting up a big feeder, I just redid their water for easier maintenance. I have several coops that I feed once a day still. Then everyone gets random scraps thrown in and edible enrichment