How many times a day do you feed your chickens?

[annabelle08]

My chix are 11 weeks old. It has been extremely hot here is OK, I have been feeding my chickens 2 times a day, but often their dish is hardly touched. I know they don't eat much during the heat but should I be worried or cut down to once a day? I always make sure they have water, and I feed them greens from the house. Their pen in under a big shade tree. Any advice os welcome. Thanks.

 

[carlf]

They should have access to a feeder with food in it during all daylight hours. By 11 weeks, you should already have a gravity feeder in the coop that they can get to all day without being "fed".

I started with chick feeders at 4 days, then at 4 weeks switched to a 1 glln feeder.

 

[SueT]

I agree w carif--have feed available at all times. They may be foraging under the tree, eating grass, etc, but they need to have the complete feed available.

 

[dadeo]

I have noticed similar behavior. I let the chickens free range during the day and placed a feeder (the same one they've had since they hatched) a 100 ft or so from the coop to encourage them to come THAT way (away from the nieghbors). At first they'd hover around it and it'd be empty by noon, but now there it's only half empty at "bed time", but they are very actively digging through grass, turning over the mulch in my flower beds, crapping on my sidewalk , etc. Do I need to worry that they're not getting the nutrician they need? There are 25 chickens, about 4 months old. The feeder holds a gallon of pellets.

 

[carlf]

No need to worry sounds like they are getting plenty of natural food in addition to pellets. They will eat what the need to.
Since it's gotten very hot here my hens are eating much less and drinking much more.

 

[dadeo]

Thanks. Here too, which also explains the empty 2-gallon waterer by mid-afternoon and the chickens poaching water from the goats!

 

[carlf]

I would get a second 2 glln watered for that many birds.

 

[CluckerCottage]

We have 2 large feeders and 2 large poultry drinkers for our flock of nearly 40 birds.
We fill the drinkers 3x a day with fresh cold water, fill feeders 2x a day.