how much feed do you use a month?

[chickenlover237]

my chickens are hatching soon and I was wondering, how much feed do you usually go through in a month? how much chick feed do you go through before they don't need it any more? how much feed would I need per month if I have 30 - 35 chickens?

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Now that's a lot of chickens. They waste more as chicks but eat mush more as they grow. Pick up a 50# bag and go from there. You'll probably get around 3 weeks with your first bag. I believe the feed bag recommends starter for first 8 to 10 weeks but you can keep them on it until they are about to lay, 20 + weeks. Or switch them over to a grower mix when you run out of starter anytime after 2 months.

 

[roadrunner0]

Somewhere on the Internet their is a chat from a study done by the university of ? that shows average consumption by breed from hatchling to maturity with different protein contents.. My recollection would be about 1 to 2 ounces of chick starter per chick a day for the first 3 to 4 weeks.. When they hit their growing spurt from 4 to 16 weeks this will increase to 6 ounces per day.. I fed them dry feed for the first 16 weeks then switched to wet.. Meat chickens and layers are fed different feeds and on different schedules to optimize their growth so research is the key.. My 30 1 year old layers are fed 4 pounds of 16% protein laying mash twice a day that I add 1 ounce of additional calcium per pound of feed.. Do not give pullets or younger birds extra calcium with commercial chick starter or grower feeds as it is already formulated for optimum growth and can harm the birds.. I mix the feed with 1/2 gallon of hot water and let it stand for 15 minutes till it absorbs the liquid.. This tricks them into consuming more water and prevents dehydration on real hot and real cold days.. Besides I think they like the warm meal on cold Ohio winter days.. I feed them in a 6 foot trough made from aluminum rain gutter and 4x4 blocks screwed to the bottom.. This has proved to be the most efficient and has reduced waste to almost nothing.. On days that weather permits I feed them outside and let them roam the field.. We do give them treats once in a while like day old bread from the hostess store that we get for $1 per 8# bag with about 1/2# every day or two being the rule for max.. They also get a cup of scratch grains once in a while when they are outside roaming and eating bugs and grass.. Calcium levels are said to be self regulating but our hens refuse to eat oyster shell crumbled chunks and first year hens can lay an egg every other day.. That means the calcium in store feeds is bare minimum and you have to watch for thin shells and supplement with free choice or extra mixed in like I do if they are refusing it.. We also put a few drops of chlorine per gallon in their water as we have unchlorinated well water.. This helps prevent nasties from growing in it and makes for easier monthly cleaning of the dispenser..
Hope this helps out, I have been raising birds for years and this works for me..

 

[Apyl]

I have 25 chicks (started with 30 but had 5 die thru-out the first week) and 4 ducklings, I bought a 50 pounds bag the last week of February and its still is half full. I figure I'll probably get a month or so out of it. I use Purina chick starter, I got it on sale for $8 at TSC.

 

[roadrunner0]

We were lucky last time, we bought 33 chicks and had only 1 die [ they got to stay warm and dry ] although we were unhappy about their bloodline.. Paid for pure bread and you can see some are not so we won't buy from that hatchery again.. They were insistent on getting themselves wet and I had to dry them with a hair dryer several times and that was a pain in the @.. The time before that we lost 3 of 50 meat birds but they were 15 week pullet size.. Grew them too fast by letting them eat all they wanted of high protein diet so my fault.. In the last couple of years we lost a young Buff Orphington rooster due to fighting with the adult, also lost 2 layers for unknown reasons so it happens.. Most people advise against keeping ducks and chicks together, same for turkeys, pheasant and quail.. Something about ducks and the diseases they expose the others to and feed requirements..
I big thing to watch for in their first few weeks is poo butt. That stuff can harden down there and clog em up.. Had several this last bath that I had to hold their hind ends in warm watter for a while till we could get it off and open the #2 shoot back up..

 

[chickenlover237]

cool! thanks guys! More please!

 

[Back on the Farm]

I have 8 chickens (1 year olds) that free range on the farm all day. They've been going through a 50# bag of layer crumbles every month or so. Now that the weather is warmer, they don't want the food - they want to be out in the field, so I'm guessing it will take longer to go through the 50# bag. I only by one bag at a time because I don't want the food going bad, and it will if it sits too long.

With 30 chickens - (depending how far you live from the feed store) start out with a 50# bag or 2 of food and see how long it takes to use up almost all of the feed - then figure out how much you need/want to keep on hand at one time. For me it is no biggie since I'm only about 10 miles from the nearest feed store and I'm out and about everyday so I can always pick up a bag when needed.

Think about how you want to store your food, especially if you keep extra on hand. I store mine in a metal trashcan w/lid in my shed. I just put the full bag of food in the can and fold the bag down on top of the food (kinda like you do for ceral). I don't dump it into the can - keeps the can cleaner and I know that my hens aren't getting any old food. I also keep my food scoop in the can (then I know where it is at all times and it doesn't get used for other reasons).

 

[lambchicks]

I have 33 hens. 50lbs every 2 weeks. Free range several afternoons each week.

 

[ambrosia]

I have 19 nine week olds. They go through about one 40# bag per week. The 15 layers I have go through one 50# bag of feed every two weeks, and they free range daily.

 

[tinzman8]

I would also consider thinking about using a layer pellet instead of crumbles....The chickens dont seem to make as much as of a mess with the pellets, therefore less goes to waste. Just my two cents!