From Chick to Laying eggs - how many pounds of feed?

[jjaazzy]

I was wondering if anyone has ever figured out how many pounds of feed does it take to raise a newly hatched chick up to lets call it 6 months AKA Laying age. I hatched a bunch of chicks but all the calls I received were for laying hens/pullets so that got me to thinking how many pounds does it take? What do I have into it? I sent a question over to Purina figured they must know, but I don't know if I sent it over to the right link and anyway I didn't hear back from them.

 

[lazy gardener]

That info is so subjective it would be impossible to answer accurately IMO. Are you talking about chickens in a sterile coop/run with NO opportunity to graze/range? No supplementation, including grass clippings? Table scraps? How much feed will they waste, what breed. So many variables, it would be impossible to answer with any accuracy, IMO.

 

[jjaazzy]

Thank you LazyG, well from chick to 6 weeks they are really just on feed, I realize that there are variables but I have been approached for laying hens and would just like a rough estimate on what I have in to it. I just have not had the right situation to calculate it myself. When I only had a few birds I would buy the 5lb bag and with silkies that lasted forever but as you know bigger birds bigger appetite. I did do a little searching around in the learning center and there was a great article there that explained.

 

[Rod-T]

I was wondering if anyone has ever figured out how many pounds of feed does it take to raise a newly hatched chick up to lets call it 6 months AKA Laying age. I hatched a bunch of chicks but all the calls I received were for laying hens/pullets so that got me to thinking how many pounds does it take? What do I have into it?  I sent a question over to Purina figured they must know, but I don't know if I sent it over to the right link and anyway I didn't hear back from them. 

that's a great question I hope some breeders will chime in and give a detailed answer.. after all they must have a good idea from there records. .
If I had to guess I'd say 25lbs?per chick first 6 months

 

[PowellAnimals]

Based on my last batch of chickens, I would guess about 30 lbs per chicken but that is really a rough estimate.

 

[Folly's place]

It varies a lot, depending on breed, family line, ambient temperatures, grazing, etc. I figure at least three pounds of feed per pound of gain, so a five pound chicken will eat at least fifteen pounds of grower. Then there's the spilled feed! Commercial growers and their very selectively bred chickens have it figured very closely, but my farm flock, larger heritage breeds, is a much less organized entity. I buy a lot of Purina!!! Mary

 

[Rod-T]

I think some feeders waste feed too..there threads on here for no waste feeders. .that I think work good

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

It varies a lot, depending on breed, family line, ambient temperatures, grazing, etc. I figure at least three pounds of feed per pound of gain, so a five pound chicken will eat at least fifteen pounds of grower. Then there's the spilled feed! Commercial growers and their very selectively bred chickens have it figured very closely, but my farm flock, larger heritage breeds, is a much less organized entity. I buy a lot of Purina!!! Mary

X 2 -- if efficiency is a primary factor it would be wise to select the most efficient breeds (leghorns being one of the most efficient - thus such a popular choice for commercial egg production) and to further stack the deck in your favor by choosing a feeding system that reduces/eliminates wasted feed. If you start dealing in large volumes of birds you can look at other savings measures such as purchasing feed in bulk - every small savings helps to contribute to the larger, overall savings.

 

[jjaazzy]

Thank you all! for your input. My question was more in the lines of what do I have in feed money for my birds that I raise, not what is the most economical bird although that information is nice to have as well. I hatch and raise my birds just a few, and feed feed feed and so when it comes time to sell cause someone is in need of a chick or a pullet I would like to know what my money for feed was. Just so that I don't end up short, which no one could ever pay me for my labor but that's farming for ya. You don't do it so you can go buy a fancy boat. You sell the boat to pay for your obsession. Well I didn't sell a boat but you get my meaning. I did find in the learning section a nice article, if you have not ventured into the section of this site I highly suggest it in your free time cause there is so much good info over there. Now if I had a brain left I would tell you the answer I got but I will have to go look at it again but Folly said 5lb bird 15lb of grower. That sounds right. Of course there are variables. I had two little cross beak chicks that were so frustrated trying to eat that they would waist 5lb in a day or so......... But my big gals they clean up what ever falls out onto the ground so I don't think I have waste from the big gals. I actually spin out feed each day from the feeders to make sure they are flowing well. They eat it. So I am going to go with 10 lb of feed for a 10 week old chicken. oh that's easy lets just call it a pound a week. Anyone got issue with that calculation. I don't give treats too much or not at all till they reach 6-7 weeks I am afraid of complications.

 

[song of joy]

I was wondering if anyone has ever figured out how many pounds of feed does it take to raise a newly hatched chick up to lets call it 6 months AKA Laying age. I hatched a bunch of chicks but all the calls I received were for laying hens/pullets so that got me to thinking how many pounds does it take? What do I have into it? I sent a question over to Purina figured they must know, but I don't know if I sent it over to the right link and anyway I didn't hear back from them.

I ran the numbers on this a couple of years ago, but it's based on small sample sizes. During each of two years, I tracked feed consumption for a batch of 6 pullets raised to about 6 months old (POL). Feed use ranged from 23-25 pounds/pullet from hatch to 6 months. Feed cost was approximately $10 per pullet, based on the price of the feed I purchased at that time. These were mostly dual-purpose hens (RIR, barred rock, BO, australorp).

BTW - These pullets free-ranged (mostly during the 3 months prior to their POL, as they were confined in a run prior to that).