Put down what you are reading and erase that information from your mind.
What each bird or flock needs cannot be found in a book because each bird and flock are different. Bantam breeds won't need what standard breeds need and layers won't need what meat birds need, free rangers won't need what confined birds need, etc.
That is a standard that someone dug up somewhere from some USDA recommended source, I'm thinking, because I simply cannot imagine anyone thinking that this standard holds true in a backyard flock. For one, you simply cannot insure that each bird is going to receive her quarter pound unless you are feeding each bird individually...if you're not, Suzy Orpington is going to eat half of Betty Australorp's feed and get tremendously fat, have laying issues because of it and die an untimely death.
They will always camp outside your door like refugees...even right after filling their guts with an enormous meal. I've never once seen one of my flocks sated in their hunger...a chicken's appetite is never really put to rest for long and they are opportunistic eaters, so they are constantly on the watch for opportunity. Always. There never really is "enough" in their world. Ever. Trust me on this.
This is what I have found about feeding FF...use the same scoop and feed the same amount that you fed dry. As the grains are swollen with scoby fluid, they are displacing more area than a dry kernel or feed fragment. Half again their normal size in most cases, depending on the grain. So, try just feeding the same number of scoops you fed as dry ration and it's likely you will get approximately the right amount. But, I never encourage anyone to stick to the same feed rations day and day out each day, like a robot that has no reasoning.
Look at your birds for general condition and laying performance. Look at their mobility and if they are quick on their feet~ or if they are running like linebackers instead? Do they waddle when they walk, pushing themselves forward like it's a chore to take that next step? They are too fat. If they run from side to side on their feet instead of in a quick scissor motion with their legs, they are too fat. If they only range a little bit around the coop and don't get very far from the food source of the coop...they aren't hungry enough to truly forage and hunt.
Are they looking a little slim, with their full crops fully noticeable on their chest when normally you can't see their crop that distinctly? Could be they need a little more. When their crops are not full, do you notice a big overlapping line of feathers on the chest? Could be they need more. Other than young birds that are not mature, when you pick up your birds do their breast bones feel abnormally sharp? Could be they need more food. When you pick them up and you can't feel their breast bone at all, they are either a CX ready for butcher, or your gals are too fat.
It's these little adjustments that I encourage people to do and not to hold some standard in a book as the starting point of what is accurate for a bird. If your birds are confined, they do not need continuous rations...they aren't doing anything, so why are people feeding them like a workhorse? They are couch potatoes getting very little exercise, so their needs for more nutrition isn't real.
If they are free ranged,it will be according to the amount of food they can forage, so let them forage all day and then feed them and you will get a realistic idea of what their nutritional needs are throughout the year. But adjustments must be made for optimal health...not just for optimal nutrition amounts.
Sorry...you probably didn't need to hear all that but that's been bugging me for some time now, these so-called amounts per bird. It's so standard when we are dealing with anything but the standard conditions on this forum...those amounts are for confined feeding operations for battery hens, where the companies have to have that formula to set it into their machines for dispensing.
Order as much feed as you think your flock will go through in a month or two and store it somewhere it will stay fresh and dry. That's my very best advice!
