Homesteaders

[rancher hicks]

I feed grow and show and everyone looks great and is very healthy. The entire flock free ranges all day so even with 150 birds I only use 100lbs of feed a month. The meaties eat a lot more though. There is 22 of them and they eat 100lbs a month.

150 birds on 100# of feed. How is their laying %?

 

[KlopKlop]

150 birds on 100# of feed. How is their laying %?  

Same question! I have a flock of 60 and we use about a hundred weight in 10 days even with free ranging. I probably could feed them a little less but still

 

[Beekissed]

I have 24 right now but normally run around 35 for spring and summer here and normally I'll feed 100 lb out over several months...usually last around 3-4 mo. I've found that my chickens stay in better condition in the warmer months if I don't feed them much formulated, grain based feeds than if I fed them more. Right now they might be sharing 6 c. of fermented feed per day among them, if that. Laying is excellent right now, even though the hens laying are also currently in the middle of molt.

 

[rancher hicks]

I am wondering if my birds that are in the run are eating out of boredom, because I'm using more than 100 pounds a month..

What is meant by "formulated grain based feeds?" and 6 c. ? What type of feed is everyone feeding?

Perhaps I should be rationing how much they get each day. There is no way I can go for 3-4 months on 100 pounds of feed. Is there something else they are getting?

I don't have access to a mill unless I drive pretty far. I feed commercial pellets with 21% protein. Should I reduce that? When I went with 16% my bird molted something fierce that year. Right now I might have two that are molting.

Bee, what do you consider excellent laying? Percentage wise that is.

 

[Beekissed]

I am wondering if my birds that are in the run are eating out of boredom, because I'm using more than 100 pounds a month..

What is meant by "formulated grain based feeds?" and 6 c. ? What type of feed is everyone feeding?

Perhaps I should be rationing how much they get each day. There is no way I can go for 3-4 months on 100 pounds of feed. Is there something else they are getting?

I don't have access to a mill unless I drive pretty far. I feed commercial pellets with 21% protein. Should I reduce that? When I went with 16% my bird molted something fierce that year. Right now I might have two that are molting.

Bee, what do you consider excellent laying? Percentage wise that is.

Formulated grain based feeds are those typically fed to our chickens...they are recipes that are formed according to what percentage of each material in the recipe creates a balanced for poultry health ration.

6 c. is 6 cups for 24 LF birds between 5 mo. and 3 yrs of age. I've had fall times when I was feeding 1 1/2 c. of FF to 14 birds per day, so I'm feeding more now than I have in the past. I'm currently tapering them off from where I was feeding TOO much this summer.

I'm feeding just a 16% protein layer mash that is fresh ground at the local mill. No name brand on it...plain white bag. Then that feed is fermented, so they are eating almost half what they would if it were just fed out as is in a dry, unaltered ration.

The something else they are getting is real chicken food....that to be found out on the land~huge and plentiful variety of greens, seeds, bugs, worms, small reptiles, etc.~ and scavenged from butchering, garden scraps, cooking/kitchen scraps, fruit drops, etc. Real omnivore stuff.

I also use a breed that is genetically predisposed to stay in good condition on range fare....not all chickens are created equally when it comes to feed thrift and foraging abilities. I also cull for this feature, so no slackers in the flock and no feeding of those who haunt the feeder instead of getting out there and working for their tucker. My last flock sire was just such a bird, so as soon as he had a likely replacement in the offspring, he was terminated. His son is a great forager and doesn't depend on the feeder for all his grub.

Don't know much about percentages...school is too far in my past and I hated math, but I have 9 layers on hand, 2 are three yr olds, 2 are 2 yrs old, and 5 are approx. 1 1/2 yrs old and I'm getting 5-7 eggs per day and have been doing so since the heat wave broke here...before then it was more like 4-5 per day and I had a 2-3 broody wannabes then.

Right now they are all molting...so, typically, laying should taper a little, especially as the days shorten,but not happening.

 

[Chicken girl 15]

150 birds on 100# of feed. How is their laying %?  

I get 3 less eggs than i have layers per day.

 

[lazy gardener]

I am wondering if my birds that are in the run are eating out of boredom, because I'm using more than 100 pounds a month..

What is meant by "formulated grain based feeds?" and 6 c. ? What type of feed is everyone feeding?

Perhaps I should be rationing how much they get each day. There is no way I can go for 3-4 months on 100 pounds of feed. Is there something else they are getting?

I don't have access to a mill unless I drive pretty far. I feed commercial pellets with 21% protein. Should I reduce that? When I went with 16% my bird molted something fierce that year. Right now I might have two that are molting.

Bee, what do you consider excellent laying? Percentage wise that is.

If your birds don't have access to good quality free range, every day, then they have to rely on what you feed them. Formulated grain based feeds are feed developed from a mixture of grains and other additives that are designed to go into the bag providing the nutrient levels listed on the tag. Protein is one of the important things to look at. If you are feeding nothing but chicken feed (pellets or crumble) and they don't have much in the way of kitchen scraps, 16% is adequate. But, many people give the higher protein % under the assumption that kitchen scraps, unless there is some meat in there will decrease the total protein intake for the day. One could argue either way re: how much protein a free range chicken takes in. It depends (IMO) on the quality of their range.

Bee has excellent range available: lots of it, plenty of open meadow that is mixed variety with lots of seeds, plenty of insects, lots of white clover, access to a garden, and wooded area with all of the associated goodies to be found in and under the detritus that make up the forest floor. Even bacteria and fungi found there are a huge part of a free range chicken's diet.

Bottom line is this, IMO: IF you have good free range available, and can let your birds have unlimited access to it without having your flock wiped out by predators or crossing onto neighbor's property, THAT's the best feed available. But, there may not be enough forage available to meet the flock's needs. Even in Bee's case, where she has an almost perfect set up, she DOES offer FF at the end of each day. If you have a typical yard that is for the most part mowed, and manicured gardens, it will SUPPLEMENT the chicken's diet, but would not be expected to replace the formulated feed. Given access to this type of range, you would see a reduction in the amount of feed consumed. Obviously if birds are confined to coop and run almost exclusively, they will eat a lot more formulated feed.

As for having a mill near by, I don't believe there is even one in my state. I am at the mercy of the big box chains that provide feed that is sometimes of questionable quality. (age being one of the primary factors that will quickly turn an ok bag of feed into a worthless compost additive.) I think I also pay 25% more for my feed than Bee does!

I see you beat me to it, Bee. How'd I do answering for you?????

 

[Beekissed]

Very well, LG!

People free range for many reasons....saving money is one of the great reasons, among the many.

I get the impression when many people picture free ranging they have different pictures in their mind, according to what they've seen or read about or even what they typically do. A person who gets home from work and then lets the chickens out to range about the yard for a couple of hours isn't going to see much savings on feed costs....those chickens have likely been eating free choice feed all day so they aren't real motivated to hunt for food as much as chickens who find breakfast, lunch and dinner out there, but they do enjoy what food they may find.

Others think of free range as paddocks surrounded by electronetting wherein they move a coop and when that piece of grassland is pretty beaten down and depleted, they will move the coop and paddock....those chickens will typically have free choice food available also and due to being confined to a certain patch of land each day for awhile, they won't find the variety and quantities that a true free ranging bird will. Too many feet trampling and scratching that patch of land, too many hunters in one area...no leaves, woodland, hiding places but the grass for the life there. Those folks probably won't see much savings on feed costs either...more than the previous group, but still not as much as an actual free ranger.

At will free ranging of chickens on land with a variety of hunting scenarios that have not filled up on feed when they got off the roost in the morning will be utilizing the food out there on range more than the two previous groups. For the better part of the year those chickens will be filling their crops throughout the day on free food, so when they finally come to the coop of an evening, they won't have as much room for filling up a crop on bagged feed. Bagged feed, at that point, is more like having a dessert before you go to bed....something to top off your gut before you go to bed. Not much feed consumed then but it's easy food, so they still eat it like it's ice cream.

Come winter they are still out there eating what they find when the snow is not too heavy, so still finding crop fillers until it gets so cold that the ground freezes and everything else does too...even then they will dig through light snows to graze any greens still growing...here that means clover and some types of grass. Winter time they depend on those bagged feeds more, so feed consumption goes up.

All in all, it's a huge cost savings to free range, while keeping stocking rates and quality of forage in mind when doing so.

 

[Chicken girl 15]

Same question! I have a flock of 60 and we use about a hundred weight in 10 days even with free ranging. I probably could feed them a little less but still

the neighbors grow hay and varying grains in their field. Plus my chickens go over to the horses on the other side of us and clean up their barn. I keep my feeders half full at all times. I'm not skimping them.

 

[KlopKlop]

the neighbors grow hay and varying grains in their field. Plus my chickens go over to the horses on the other side of us and clean up their barn. I keep my feeders half full at all times. I'm not skimping them.

Maybe i will start weaning their supplied feed. they have more than enough area to be ranging for food. I do feed them some in the AM and some in the afternoon. I think i will start weaning off the AM feed