How much feed does a hen eat?

[godisgood]

How much feed would free range 6-7 lb hens eat if you gave them lots of scraps?

 

[ambrosia]

one quarter of one pound....


thats the average, and my hens hold just under that...

I only use the weight of my feeder (12 lbs) against how often I fill it, as a guide. I also used the total number of pounds I have purchased vs. the number of days I have had my girls... I hope this helps

 

[ambrosia]

per hen...oops

 

[VelvettFog]

Really depends on the breed in question and their environment. Impossible to answer without knowing those two things (and even then just a guess as all birds are individuals)


Peace,

Fog

 

[bleith]

I have 4 pullets, 3 of them laying and one of them starting to squat. They are about 34 weeks old and I let them range in the yard a minimum of 5 hours a day, usually all day and they eat about 50-60lbs of feed every 3 months. That comes out to about 5 lbs a month for each bird which is about 2.5-3 oz a day each. hope that helps

 

[Chris09]

The average feed intake for a medium-weight production type hen should be .25 lbs of feed per hen per day. (most all hatchery stock would qualify as a production type hen)

Chris

 

[Ariel301]

Quote:
This is if they are on a commercial 15-16% pelleted or crumble feed and kept in confinement. It will be higher if your feed is lower in nutrition, lower if your feed is higher in nutrition. (They have to eat more to meet their needs if the feed has less nutrients) If they are free-ranging on land that has plenty of things to eat, and they are birds that are inclined to feed themselves, they will eat less bagged feed, potentially none when the weather is good. In winter, there is usually less to eat, and they will eat more bagged feed. If they are lazy and don't feel like foraging, they will sit around eating bagged feed, and will eat more than a bird that likes to run around and hunt for food.

 

[Chris09]

Quote:
This is if they are on a commercial 15-16% pelleted or crumble feed and kept in confinement. It will be higher if your feed is lower in nutrition, lower if your feed is higher in nutrition. (They have to eat more to meet their needs if the feed has less nutrients) If they are free-ranging on land that has plenty of things to eat, and they are birds that are inclined to feed themselves, they will eat less bagged feed, potentially none when the weather is good. In winter, there is usually less to eat, and they will eat more bagged feed. If they are lazy and don't feel like foraging, they will sit around eating bagged feed, and will eat more than a bird that likes to run around and hunt for food.

The above recombination is for a average backyard laying hen that is on a average commercial feed of 16 to 18 percent. Also the average backyard laying hen doesn't need anything higher than a 18% protein unless she is molt or breeding)[/i]

The only bird that should be on less than a 16% protein feed is growing fowl.


Chris

 

[Cgetz11]

If I have 11 pullets and 6 laying hens how much food should I feed them per day.

 

[CAjerseychick]

My 16 Jersey Giants 8 n 12 weeks old are going through 50lbs every 2 months(they get scraps and range about in our yard as well)-- they love to eat!