How much do chickens eat in a day?

[CrotonChickens]

I feel like we are going through a heck of a lot of food and am thinking a little creature (chipmunk) might be getting into the food at night. If so, it's easy enough to put the food in the garage, but was wondering how many lbs. of feed a chicken eats typically.

Thanks!

 

[Fred's Hens]

This varies greatly depending on size, age and breed. 6oz of feed is a pretty close estimate. If you are losing feed overnight, that is pretty easy to check on. Frankly, I detest feeding rodents. I use a ration management system, but it requires much more attention to detail than 24/7 availability.

I feed heavy in the early am, usually before 6 am. They take virtually all day, pecking at it, to eat it all and they get all they want. At 4 pm, if they have managed to finish off the morning feeding, I'll feed them a lesser quantity, as I want them to clean it up before going to roost at 8 pm. There is then no feed for the night time visitors. This method also means I do not need to physical pull feeders each night and re-place them in the early am. It might be worth a try to see if your suspicions are correct.