How much do they eat

[chickenman111]

I have some 8 week old chicks. about how much feed should one eat a day.

thanks in advance

 

[Fred's Hens]

Some chicks? 4? 40? LOL

You feed them heavily in the am. If the feed trough is empty by 3 pm or so, you feed them again, perhaps just a wee bit less than the heavy morning feeding. They would do best on Grower or a Start N Grow type product.

Or just fill a feeder and let them eat as they wish.

 

[aoxa]

Some chicks?  4? 40?   LOL

You feed them heavily in the am.  If the feed trough is empty by 3 pm or so, you feed them again, perhaps just a wee bit less than the heavy morning feeding.  They would do best on Grower or a Start N Grow type product.

Or just fill a feeder and let them eat as they wish.  

What he said

 

[chickenman111]

I have 33 chickens. 13 Rhode Island Reds and 20 Dominiques.

 

[theemon]

im a noob too ok, but i thought u left feed out always for them.....

 

[Fred's Hens]

Answering the amount of feed each bird will eat depends on a few factors that make it difficult. How much do they free range, how old are the birds, what is the temperature, and so forth. When mature?

A large fowl will eat 5 ounces per day. In winter, a bit more as they need calories to produce body heat. 33 layers will collectively eat approximately 8-9 pounds of feed, per day, particularly if the feed is the primary source of their intake. You'll feed a 100 pound bag of feed every two weeks, give or take.

 

[aoxa]

Answering the amount of feed each bird will eat depends on a few factors that make it difficult.  How much do they free range, how old are the birds, what is the temperature, and so forth.   When mature?

A large fowl will eat 5 ounces per day.  In winter, a bit more as they need calories to produce body heat.  33 layers will collectively eat approximately  8-9 pounds of feed, per day, particularly if the feed is the primary source of their intake.  You'll feed a 100 pound bag of feed every two weeks, give or take.  

What else could they forage on in winter? Nothing here for them. Pine needles maybe

My birds are spoiled. They get a lot of leftovers and graze all day. I don't think they eat as much as they could. Especially having over 150 birds. 100 pounds of feed a week is usually what they go through. Not to mention there are turkeys, geese and ducks eating it as well.

 

[mickey328]

Winter is a great time to add various fats to their diet...they need the extra calories to generate more heat. Things like corn and BOSS are excellent. We do "free feed" ie, have their food available for them all day. We don't keep feed in the coop, so from dark to dusk they don't have food available, but come first light we let them out of the coop and they have access to the feeder and they're on grass so they can munch on that and scratch for bugs as well.

We've cut down their feed consumption by about 20 to 25% simply by providing lots of supplements. Any weeds I find, I yank and put in their pen; they get most all the fruit and veggie trimmings from the house, I make yogurt and give them some of that about 3 times a week, they get grape tomatoes, zucchini and cukes from the garden (going to plant a LOT more chicken friendly stuff in the garden next year), clover, comfrey, oats, cheese of any sort that's a bit older than we like to eat (not rotten, of course), I cook any eggs I clumsily break for them.

They also have grit and either oyster shell or ground eggshells available at all times. I anticipate having a larger feed bill through the winter, of course, because so much of the other things simply won't be available. I am in the process of starting several indoor pots of parsley for them so they'll have some good greens through the winter months, plus I'll be making sprouts of various kinds for them. We're also planning a cold frame so we can have spinach, kale and chard for them. IMO greens are really important...the beta carotene contribute to both the color and flavor of the eggs, and the nutrients in them are very good for the birds' overall health.

 

[aoxa]

Winter is a great time to add various fats to their diet...they need the extra calories to generate more heat.  Things like corn and BOSS are excellent.  We do "free feed"  ie, have their food available for them all day.  We don't keep feed in the coop, so from dark to dusk they don't have food available, but come first light we let them out of the coop and they have access to the feeder and they're on grass so they can munch on that and scratch for bugs as well.  

We've cut down their feed consumption by about 20 to 25% simply by providing lots of supplements.  Any weeds I find, I yank and put in their pen; they get most all the fruit and veggie trimmings from the house, I make yogurt and give them some of that about 3 times a week, they get grape tomatoes, zucchini and cukes from the garden (going to plant a LOT more chicken friendly stuff in the garden next year), clover, comfrey, oats, cheese of any sort that's a bit older than we like to eat (not rotten, of course), I cook any eggs I clumsily break for them.  

They also have grit and either oyster shell or ground eggshells available at all times.  I anticipate having a larger feed bill through the winter, of course, because so much of the other things simply won't be available.  I am in the process of starting several indoor pots of parsley for them so they'll have some good greens through the winter months, plus I'll be making sprouts of various kinds for them. We're also planning a cold frame so we can have spinach, kale and chard for them.  IMO greens are really important...the beta carotene contribute to both the color and flavor of the eggs, and the nutrients in them are very good for the birds' overall health.

You make yoghurt!? How cool!

Sprouts are a great idea. Greens are very important. You can tell the difference in egg quality right away if they are not offered greens. My yolks are a beautiful deep golden colour.

 

[mickey328]

Yogurt is dead easy! I bought my last carton quite a while back. I make it from dried skim milk which helps reduce the cost. Just warm a quart of milk to about 100 to 110 degrees F, stir in a tablespoon or so of live culture yogurt and incubate at 100 to 110 degrees for 2 to 12 hours. The longer it incubates, the more tart it gets. I usually do about 6 or 7 hour. I wrap a pot of hot water in a towel and put it and the jar of fresh mixed milk/yogurt in a plastic cooler and just leave it be. When I take it out...it's yogurt! When that jar is getting low, I repeat the procedure using a tablespoon of the last batch to start the next. I give it to the girls as is, and for us, we use it for smoothies or I add fruit and a little honey or whatever The homemade stuff does separate, with the liquid coming to the top...it can either be drained (I use a coffee filter in a strainer) for a thicker yogurt, or simply stirred up for a runnier version.

Our girls love yogurt! I learned the first time I gave it to them to put down the dish and step away quickly...the stuff flies everywhere! LOL, it's a hoot to watch them.