free range and feeder location

[Dona Worry]

I keep it simple: food and water 24/7 in a predator-proof coop.
When free ranging, they eat some in the morning, but come back to the coop a little before dusk and top off before bed.
During exceptionally dry or hot periods, I keep 3 extra waterers out of the coop-- one on my back porch where they congregate for treats, one in the favorite bushes on the north side of the house, and one in the lilacs where they like to dust bathe.
The rest of the time, there are either puddles, or the waterer in the coop 24/7.
I have a 3 gallon metal waterer. In the summer it is on a wide, flat piece of marble (don't ask) and they don't tip it over. Now, for winter, it rests on a heated base, and they still don't tip it over.
The coop is secured before dark, so no waste to predators, and my chickens waste very little. 11 chickens in the coop last almost a month on a 50lb bag of pellets, free choice.
I give treats every day, mostly because I feel like it, not because they need them. Usually apples, tossed in the run, but sometimes watermelon or zucchini. They also get a scoop of '7-grain premium blend' for scratch most days (don't ask).
But if I am not home for a day, and someone needs to tend the chickens, it is literally as simple as opening the door and collecting eggs, because the food and water is already there and ready.

 

[Nksg75]

Since you bring up donkeys, I have been considering adding a donkey pair or donkey/ pony pair. Do you have an estimation on how much it costs you to feed your herd of 3 for a year? I understand the donkeys are good protectors from predators - does that include scaring off feral dogs and feral cats?

Well, they are not mine at all. I am in the process of moving from a suburban neighborhood right now to a rural town with acreage, so I have my chickens on someone else's pasture land. These are her donkeys, and they recently added an older mare.
Tell you the truth many people here in south Texas don't do much for their donkeys by way of extra feed. They usually just let them graze the land, and occasionally add some hay.
I grew up pampering my horses, and I truly can't tell you the cost of it.
The one thing about the donkeys is to know this:
Yes, they are pretty good about alerting everyone if a dog/coyote comes near, but if you have a fox problem, I don't think they see them as they would a dog.
We had a fox snatch a few chickens while in the pasture with the donkeys. Granted it's a large pasture, and these are mini donkeys.

 

[Shadrach]

There are four donkeys here and they don't scare away any chicken predator. I've had hawks for example fly withing a few feet of them and they don't bat an eyelid.
The donkeys here survive on what they graze and morning and evening hay feeds.

 

[centrarchid]

I have 2 coops and about 30 chickens. They free range and I have feeders inside the outer covered run portion of their coops, and I have also placed water buckets and feed trays outside in many locations as they roam over a good acre + of land. I feel like I waste a ton of feed though, although they do use the feed outside. Do others also supply extra feed outside of the run or do you think this is unnecessary?

My free-range birds are almost without exception provided feed some distance from where they roost. I like to place the feed near patches of cover that are convenient for me to walk to, ideally in some sort of loop centered on where feed is stored and water kept. It quickly gets into a situation where time conservation is always high on your mind when carrying heavy containers.

Much the time the feed does not represent a complete diet, especially during the production season when the forage is pretty good.

One acre will be tight for 30 birds if you want them to get significant nutrition from foraging.