Enough feed?

[21hens-incharge]

Actually my scoop is only about 1 cup

Take a kitchen measuring cup and double check.....just to be certain.

If it is indeed a one cup scoop filling it HALF full once a day for 12 full size birds is plenty.

The thing with to many treats is it dilutes the nutrition they get from the feed they should be eating. That leads to a multitude of health issues.

 

[Brooks_]

Actually my scoop is only about 1 cup

With that much, I'm surprised they even ate food. At least the meal worms were protein.

 

[Grophens]

follow up - the usual estimate is something like 1/4# of feed per bird per day. Obviously, the size and activity levels of your birds will affect that rule of thumb, but its a good place to start. Then watch their behaviors. If they eat all the food in 5 min and are begging for more, they need more feed. If they eat for 15 minutes, then walk away with a big pile of food left behind, cut their rations.

With 12 birds, you are looking at 3#/day as a start, your 50# bag should last a bit more than two weeks.

Hope that helps, apologies for the fast response above - it was meant as a place holder, not snark.

It’s a little hard to watch their eating. I have feeding “tubes” that they have access to all the time. I think they look healthy and they are very active. Thank you for your great info!!

 

[Aapomp831]

Actually my scoop is only about 1 cup

Still... the whole point is that if you give them treats, they won’t eat enough of their food that has all the vitamins and minerals they need. Laying eggs takes a toll on their bodies. We only give corn in the winter time when it’s cold, and my 23 chickens get about half a cup to split amongst themselves. In the summertime, they get veg scraps and that’s it - free ranging is where they will get their extra protein from bugs and such.

 

[Grophens]

Still... the whole point is that if you give them treats, they won’t eat enough of their food that has all the vitamins and minerals they need. Laying eggs takes a toll on their bodies. We only give corn in the winter time when it’s cold, and my 23 chickens get about half a cup to split amongst themselves. In the summertime, they get veg scraps and that’s it - free ranging is where they will get their extra protein from bugs and such.

Thx so much!

 

[gtaus]

I have a small brood of 12 hens. They have access to laying mash all day. Each morning I give them a scoop of cracked corn and a scoop of meal worms. I repeat that in late afternoon. They have a really good sized range area for foraging. Is this enough food? Should I add anything to their diet?

Yeah, I wonder about those things too. Like you, I have my layer feed available 24/7 and they can eat that anytime they want. I throw out chicken scratch in the morning along with any kitchen scraps we might have. I have been mixing my own chicken scratch using about 40% cracked corn, 20% oats, and 20% barley, 20% wheat, and a coloring of sunflower seeds. I throw out about 3-4 cups of my scratch in the morning for my 10 hens. I guess that is too much according to some previous responses.

Last year I turned my chicken run into a composting system, and my chickens will scratch and peck for food in the compost all day long. During the summer I dump all my grass clippings in the run, along with any weeds pulled from the garden or yard. I will continue to throw leaves and wood chips in the run so I do not get too much grass clippings.

In the summertime, when the chickens are out in the chicken run compost, my commercial feed consumption goes down by almost half. They eat lots of grass clippings and I imagine they find lots of bugs in the compost. I suspect that my egg production goes down a bit when they eat so much grass in the summertime, but I still get more eggs than we can eat at home. And the chickens prefer to eat just about anything else before their commercial feed. But they seem healthy and happy out in the chicken run compost so I guess I am not very concerned.

I think if you have layer feed available 24/7, then you don't need to worry about not having enough food. Cracked corn is like cotton candy, so I prefer to feed chicken scratch with other grains mixed in. But I also feed kitchen scraps which may or may not be the best choice for their diet depending on the scraps. If we have old bread, I'll throw that out into the run in limited amounts. I guess feeding them bread might be like feeding them cake. I don't buy meal worms because of the high cost, but hear those are very good for the birds.

So, in general, I guess I would say that your birds are being well fed and if they are healthy and happy, then you don't have to worry too much. At least I don't with my birds.

 

[Cindy in PA]

I feed my 16 hens 1 cup of scratch a day which includes a small handful of black soldier fly larva. That is 16 tablespoons. I only feed it late in the afternoon, after they have eaten their feed all day. I used to feed much more scratch over the years & my chickens were always productive, but I cut back a few years ago. They go through 100lbs of feed in a month.