Feed Amount

[Reedo5]

I have 9 chickens who are going through about 50lbs a week of layer feed does that sound normal or a little on high side?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Very high... you are losing feed to waste or pests.

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

Agree with the above.

How much space do they have?

 

[lazy gardener]

At the very most, your birds should be eating about .2 - .25# of feed per bird per day.

.2 x 9 x 7 = 12.6#/week or .25 x 9 x 7 = 15.75#/week

You are loosing a lot of feed either to waste or to rodents. I'd be looking at your storage methods, and see if they are billing a lot out onto the ground. To further reduce your waste and to improve your flock's nutrition, you might want to consider fermenting their feed. FF = no waste.

 

[jennyf]

Second the comments. I have nine also and a 50 lb bag lasts me about 3 weeks on average. I do feed kitchen scraps and ferment feed as well.

 

[21hens-incharge]

That is way to much. My 31 birds go through about 18 to 20 pounds a week. Most of mine are still growing so eat more too.

Do you feed inside the coop or outside? Can wild birds access the feed? Do you find rodent droppings?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

What sort of feeder are you using?

 

[Folly's place]

I agree. There are feeders that limit waste, either home built, or purchased. I like the Premier1supplies.com yellow plastic feeder, as I'm not going to build anything myself, or ferment. Are you feeding in the coop, or outside? I've had critters enjoying my bird's feed at times, and had to fix that problem. Mary

 

[Reedo5]

Thanks for all the feed back defiantly should be able to head in the right direction, I have a long metal feeder with the holes down each side I think that may be it, there run out side is about 15x20 roughly and there coop inside is about 8x10. I haven't seen any rodent droppings but did spot a rat in our barn probably back in early spring but haven't seem him since and I keep the feed bags tied up and haven't had any holes chewed in them. I am going to have to switch to a different style feeder I am thinking.

 

[lazy gardener]

You are bold to leave a bag of feed out. Aside from the likely consequence of a rodent accessing it and spoiling it before you find the damage (rats and mice will defecate and urinate throughout the bag, so even if they don't cart it off, they will make it unuseable.) Rats can chew through plastic. Mice will also do so if given more time. Also, leaving your bags of feed out makes them more prone to absorb moisture, making them prone to mold. If you've seen one rat, you most likely have an infestation. Usually, they are very well hidden, and you may never see them, only see their damage: as in... your feed is not lasting as long as it used to. Are you leaving feed out at night? During the day, your freeloading pests can include chipmunks, squirrels, birds, and even ground hogs.