Feed management woes

[RDchicken99]

Hello BYC!
After doing some calculations, I discovered that we have been giving the flock a little too much food. I am aware that you can’t really overfeed chickens, but keeping the rising feed costs in mind, I’ve figured that it’s best to not be giving too much extra.

I have 31 birds, and after doing the math, I need to be giving them about two scoops of feed per day. (About 16 cups)

The way I’ve usually gone about feeding them is to give them their feed in the morning, for them to eat throughout the day, however, the birds have gotten increasingly ravenous in the mornings. They act like they haven’t seen food in years! They act so crazy it’s almost impossible to get inside the coop with all of them stampeding at your feet.

This would leave me believing that maybe I should try ‘free-feeding’. I had read that chickens like when you have food constantly available for them, they feel more comfortable knowing that they can get food when they want. So, I put about a five gallon bucket worth of feed in their gravity feeder, which lasted about two days, they weren’t nearly as crazy the next morning, so that was a win. But after measuring the feed out, that was five days worth of feed that they went through in only two. As a test, I measured out two days worth of food into their feeder. This was before I put them to bed in the evening. The next morning they had eaten it all…

So, I’m back to feeding measured amounts in the morning, but I can’t figure out how to best work this. How do you all feed large flocks??

I’m stumped..

 

[I Love Feather Babies]

Hello BYC!
After doing some calculations, I discovered that we have been giving the flock a little too much food. I am aware that you can’t really overfeed chickens, but keeping the rising feed costs in mind, I’ve figured that it’s best to not be giving too much extra.

I have 31 birds, and after doing the math, I need to be giving them about two scoops of feed per day. (About 16 cups)

The way I’ve usually gone about feeding them is to give them their feed in the morning, for them to eat throughout the day, however, the birds have gotten increasingly ravenous in the mornings. They act like they haven’t seen food in years! They act so crazy it’s almost impossible to get inside the coop with all of them stampeding at your feet.

This would leave me believing that maybe I should try ‘free-feeding’. I had read that chickens like when you have food constantly available for them, they feel more comfortable knowing that they can get food when they want. So, I put about a five gallon bucket worth of feed in their gravity feeder, which lasted about two days, they weren’t nearly as crazy the next morning, so that was a win. But after measuring the feed out, that was five days worth of feed that they went through in only two. As a test, I measured out two days worth of food into their feeder. This was before I put them to bed in the evening. The next morning they had eaten it all…

So, I’m back to feeding measured amounts in the morning, but I can’t figure out how to best work this. How do you all feed large flocks??

I’m stumped..

I’ve got 30 that I feed using a large tub with supposedly waste free feeders. I ordered them off Amazon. There were 6 that come with covers so I can open as many as I need. I never open all 6. Three is the most I open. I do have small feeders in each coop so they all can eat. When I go out in the afternoon to get eggs, I close the three on the tub. They have flicked out enough on the ground to eat the rest of the day. By the time I go out to close coop in evening they have finished what was on the ground. I only put feed in the coops about twice a week. Tub easily holds 100 lbs of feed. They eat about 50 lbs a week.

 

[RDchicken99]

I’ve got 30 that I feed using a large tub with supposedly waste free feeders. I ordered them off Amazon. There were 6 that come with covers so I can open as many as I need. I never open all 6. Three is the most I open. I do have small feeders in each coop so they all can eat. When I go out in the afternoon to get eggs, I close the three on the tub. They have flicked out enough on the ground to eat the rest of the day. By the time I go out to close coop in evening they have finished what was on the ground. I only put feed in the coops about twice a week. Tub easily holds 100 lbs of feed. They eat about 50 lbs a week.

I’ll look into that! Could you send a picture of your setup? That might work for me.

 

[Mosey2003]

You can absolutely overfeed chickens, and depending on your feed it might not take as much as you'd think. Overweight hens have way more trouble with fatty liver disease and things like becoming eggbound.

 

[Yardmom]

There are currently 26 birds in my coop and I am feeding approximately 3 scoops (24 cups) now that there is not much to be found free ranging. I have seen the estimates of a half a cup a day. I have also seen 3/4 of a cup a day as the recommended amount. Maybe I need to look at my own setup and see if some is wasted, but I think they need more than a half cup if they are full sized breeds.

 

[Mosey2003]

There are currently 26 birds in my coop and I am feeding approximately 3 scoops (24 cups) now that there is not much to be found free ranging. I have seen the estimates of a half a cup a day. I have also seen 3/4 of a cup a day as the recommended amount. Maybe I need to look at my own setup and see if some is wasted, but I think they need more than a half cup if they are full sized breeds.

There's no way of knowing how much feed is in half a cup or a scoop unless you weigh it. Layers should be getting an ounce per pound of their body weight. A typical layer weighs 4lbs, so they should be getting 1/4lb of food each.

 

[K0k0shka]

Their needs vary throughout the year and throughout their lifetimes. It's very difficult to put a precise number on that and feed a set amount. Chickens who are fed a nutritionally complete commercial feed free choice are unlikely to just get fat. They usually get fat from people overfeeding them table scraps and scratch grains (corn especially). If you restrict their feed, of course they are going to act ravenous - not only would they possibly not be getting enough food that way, but you have also introduced uncertainty into their lives, so they will want to cram while the gettin's good, because there may be no food later. So they'll binge to stock up. Give them a complete commercial feed free choice, and nothing else. And they'll be fine. If the cost of feed is too high for you, look for other brands or adjust your requirements (some people insist on organic, or gmo-free etc. but those are more expensive with questionable, if any, benefits). Or cut down on the number of chickens you have.

 

[SourRoses]

They don't eat more than they need to satisfy their nutritional requirements. Perhaps try a higher protein feed? We keep ours at 20% or higher.

As @K0k0shka said, body fat on chickens does not come from quantity of feed (under 6% fat in commercial feeds), but from fatty treats including scratch, bugs, etc.

For anyone really wanting to ration their chicken feed, you have to base it on weight of the birds, not number of birds. Every breed and individual is different.

 

[K0k0shka]

For anyone really wanting to ration their chicken feed, you have to base it on weight of the birds, not number of birds. Every breed and individual is different.

And this is very hard to do because there's no way to ration each individual bird's portion based on their own individual weight and requirements. Some chickens are pushier and will shove others out of the way and prevent them from getting their share. If feed is limited, there's a risk that the more submissive individuals will be left underfed if they can't get their exact ration (because it was either eaten by the others, or spilled). The chickens may get even more competitive if feed is limited, and guard or exclude others even more than usual. If feed is available at all times, the shy chickens can wait until the others move away and grab a bite at random times of the day when nobody is at the feeder.

 

[I Love Feather Babies]

I’ll look into that! Could you send a picture of your setup? That might work for me.

I’ll get a picture this afternoon