Food planning- Are these consumption numbers correct?

[U_Stormcrow]

Wishful thinking. You could get it down that low but you would need an amazing compost system and bug/worm bins.

AGREE.

I have acres of pasture in a VERY forgiving climate - a number of things are already in seed. My ducks eat roughly twice what a chicken does, so I have "64 poultry units" at the moment (my flock is in my sig, below). They have complete accesss to the pasture at all times. The "thumb rules" would anticipate that they need 16# per day to maintain top condition. I am currently feeding 11-12, and considering moving down to 10#/day. That's a considerable savings, don't get me wrong, but its highly seasonally variable.

Even if I can get it down to 10#/day for my flock, that's still 4.5# per bird per month or about 90#/month for a flock of 20.

I am NOT claiming you can't do better than I - to the contrary, I hope that it can be done or I can't improve upon my own efforts - but I am saying that's a very ambitious target even with free ranging...

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Yep, it was taken from a bloggers site when I first started researching. Feel strongly her numbers were off!!

That's what BYC is for, glad we could help. There are a lot of "undocumented" claims on the Internet, and of course BYC isn't immune to them either. But as you hang out here, you will see both a commonality of experiences, and a number of well informed posters who have been doing this for a long time, and have created threads thoroughly documenting their experiences over a period of time.

Memory is tricksies. Numbers don't lie. As I am reminded each time I look at a bird I'm about to butcher, and think it is heavier than it truly is. That's why I make the initial cuts with it hanging from a scale.

 

[HensInTheForest]

AGREE.

I have acres of pasture in a VERY forgiving climate - a number of things are already in seed. My ducks eat roughly twice what a chicken does, so I have "64 poultry units" at the moment (my flock is in my sig, below). They have complete accesss to the pasture at all times. The "thumb rules" would anticipate that they need 16# per day to maintain top condition. I am currently feeding 11-12, and considering moving down to 10#/day. That's a considerable savings, don't get me wrong, but its highly seasonally variable.

Even if I can get it down to 10#/day for my flock, that's still 4.5# per bird per month or about 90#/month for a flock of 20.

I am NOT claiming you can't do better than I - to the contrary, I hope that it can be done or I can't improve upon my own efforts - but I am saying that's a very ambitious target even with free ranging...

Very helpful thanks!!

As a first year enthusiast now I admit a bit obsessed I have learned a ton mostly from this forum and various blogs and am so grateful.

Not trying to achieve those numbers at all this year, it’s was taken from a blog and it must have been an error or just trying to impress people now that I check back on it.

We will be using tractors here due to tall pines and oaks with owl and hawks that abound in our forest. Avatar pic is my rear 2.5 acres. I won’t feed scratch at all and want them as healthy as can be. Will grow trays for them year round when we get there too, still looking at which greens offer them the most actual nutrition not just filler.

Thank You!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Very helpful thanks!!

As a first year enthusiast now I admit a bit obsessed I have learned a ton mostly from this forum and various blogs and am so grateful.

Not trying to achieve those numbers at all this year, it’s was taken from a blog and it must have been an error or just trying to impress people now that I check back on it.

We will be using tractors here due to tall pines and oaks with owl and hawks that abound in our forest. Avatar pic is my rear 2.5 acres. I won’t feed scratch at all and want them as healthy as can be. Will grow trays for them year round when we get there too, still looking at which greens offer them the most actual nutrition not just filler.

Thank You!

I hope the woods surrounding my pasture eventually look like yours - I'm slowly underbrushing to let light in, which means taking out lots of youpon holly. Then allowing the various things in the pasture to self propogate into the woods. Orchard grass and one of the panic grasses tend to be first to establish.

 

[HensInTheForest]

I hope the woods surrounding my pasture eventually look like yours - I'm slowly underbrushing to let light in, which means taking out lots of youpon holly. Then allowing the various things in the pasture to self propogate into the woods. Orchard grass and one of the panic grasses tend to be first to establish.

Sounds beautiful.
5 years ago we couldn’t see thru it from the house, couldnt even walk thru it. Cut trails with our ranger then once the kids were old enough started to really go.

My hubbie and boys have cleared it back further year by year.

Hard work, pulling by hand, also pulling out smaller trees using the ranger and then adding back in about 200 ferns taken from other areas of the land and even commandeering ferns from open fields near us and abandoned ditches.

He cut down out about 20 more trees from this area last year
, not the large oaks but filler trees leaving birch, maple, pine and oaks and it has been nice to see further. TBH this will all be shade by the times the leaves open. So mostly soil not a ton of grass. Had a field of sweet William that was amazing for 10 years in front then died off. Tons of bugs and ticks to eat.

Still have a 60 x 25 brush pile we need to burn from last year.

Work in progress. Never ends!

 

[arion]

I just ran a batch of 44 chicks and they went through 200# in just over 8 weeks. I ferment at this stage as it cuts down on feed waste. Less mixed in the bedding. 4.5#/ chick to 8 weeks. No treats other than a few handfuls of alfalfa leaves.

I'm glad someone asked this question. I have always bought started pullets but this time am starting out with chicks and I really wasn't sure how much they would eat. Only going to get 10 chicks so using your experience that should be just about #50 for the first two months and probably more than #50 for the following 8 weeks as they are growing into maturity.

Don't get to town very often and as I'm picking up the chicks from Tractor Supply tomorrow I'll know to get at least two large bags of starter/grower feed.

Very helpful!

 

[NatJ]

Don't get to town very often and as I'm picking up the chicks from Tractor Supply tomorrow I'll know to get at least two large bags of starter/grower feed.

It is fine to feed starter/grower feed even when they are adults, so leftovers should not be a problem. (Just put out a dish of oyster shell when they get old enough to lay eggs, so they can get the extra calcium they need to make eggshells, if they are eating a food that is not "layer" feed when they lay eggs.)