Free choice feeding vs. Scheduled feeding; opinions??

[Shadrach]

As mentioned above, a lot depends on how you keep your flock.
With my arrangement (free range, reasonable year round forage) It just isn't possible to keep multiple feed stations available 24/7. Everything here it seems will eat chicken food and apart from the other farm animals a lot of wildlife will make use of feed stations if left unattended.
I supervised feed three times a day. I have four Tribes/flocks and yes it is time consuming.
Each feeding session takes about 20 minutes. Breakfast when the weather is hot is least popular, the chickens tending to check what may have appeared overnight in their favorite forage spots which are seasonal.
Mid afternoon is the time most gets eaten.
The last feed before roosting is probably the most important because it helps to ensure they chickens roost with full crops.
However, there is one feed station that permanently has food and that is next to the Muscovy duck houses. This area is difficult for other farm animals to access and the ducks seem to discourage rodent attention. All the flocks will visit this when forage quality or quantity is low.
There is also a feed station just outside my house and because the chickens have grown accustom to a routine they will when hungry appear at my house door in which case I feed them as and when they arrive.
I have tried leaving feed in the coops before but it just attracted mice and rats.
Water is available 24/7 at a number of places.
For chickens kept in a secure run having feed available 24/7 may be feasible but the run does need to be rat proof.

 

[centrarchid]

Here is one of the variations you see when reliant upon significant forage that you are otherwise buffered from by having free-choice access to feed. The last two days and nights have been comparatively cool making so a lot less night flying insects are moving about. As a result there has been less insects the birds can pick up during that first hour or so after sun up. The birds are starting to forage further afield and run to me when I appear to be carrying a feed bucket. Either I step up feed allotments or the birds will push out further, potentially crossing road. They also move faster between areas where they settle down to proceed more slowly. Somehow they are talking to each other indicating when they hit a patch with lots of eats. I think it is in their contact calls.

Overall, part of our yards or pastures are like a large spider web and the chickens are the spiders harvesting what is caught overnight. When insects not flying much, then that web has less in it.

 

[Verbon30]

I keep the feeder full but bring the feed in at night to keep mice and rats away.

 

[Chickassan]

There is daytime food always available. It is split between three bowls, four now since there are pullets and a cockrel.
It will go back to three once they're in the main flock.
The bowls are in one area, they are topped up a few times a day.
Water is available in three stations over an acre. No food or water in the coop, mice and little black ants would become nuisances quickly.
Birds can't eat or drink in the dark anyway.
The only scheduled meals are breakfast and dinner both at 7.
Iv'e learned the birds are astounding time keepers.

 

[Cyber Smoggy]

Mine free range pretty much from sunrise to sunset but I always have their feeders filled up.
They have access to food and water 24/7, not in their coop but in their run.
I only lock mine in the run not the coop so it's always available to them, my run is fully enclosed and secure though so I'm happy with them being able to come and go from the coop late at night or early morning before I set them free for the day.

 

[christymichelle1]

I have never heard of scheduled feedings, if one did do this how do you know how much to feed?

 

[Swhite2415]

These are all good points.
I don't think the original question could be answered correctly if one doesn't know whether the OP's chickens are truly free ranging on pristine pasture or confined to a barren pen.
Most of my birds free range with a lot of territory. This time of year they could almost feed themselves but for at least 6 months of the year they would starve in short order.
I still keep feed before them all day but they use half or less of the feed they use in winter.

Keeping feeders in the coops has really helped control thievery.

Sorry for the late reply!! The app doesnt send notifications and I forget to check Thank you all for your imput!!

Most of my chickens and ducks are USUALLY free range (i have a flock brahma chicks that are penned and a couple bantam polish that are penned because otherwise every twig snapping makes them fly away), HOWEVER, we are currently cleaning up the yard from a camper tear down so they are all penned for the time being but will go back to free ranging. I have, of course, noticed a large difference in the amount of feed we go through with them penned up. No one seems overweight or unhealthy so I'm thinking we may keep them on free-fed for the time being! We don't want any cannibalism here Thank you all again!!

 

[Chickengene]

No one seems overweight or unhealthy so I'm thinking we may keep them on free-fed for the time being! We don't want any cannibalism here Thank you all again!!

Is that actually a thing?
The over eating i mean.
I have seen the cannibalism.
I haven't noticed any more time at the feed trough when they have unlimited access all day compared to days they free range. Usually see one or two at a time at the trough while the rest are scratching, dust bathing, swinging or roosting. Then they seem to rotate shifts.
All my girls seem happily fat and Rodger keeps growing taller, though I expect he will eventually catch up.
I guess chasing six hens all day is enough to keep him lean for awhile. Lol

 

[chkncrazy]

My feeding schedule is pretty easy I have four leghorns, that's for plastic cups of feed and an old cooking pot .... lasts them the whole day.... And of course freshwater.... And they have a huge run so I'm sure there's other food there from the day before and other stuff ... Roughage and such.

 

[V Dutchuk]

So I hope I'm understanding correctly: 1 cup of feed for each chicken and three meals a day? My girls forage all day on a third of an acre. 20 hens and a roo.