how much feed to give your chickens

[Big C]

You'll get the hang of it. They will easily "waste" feed if you have an unending supply. You'll know when to refill your feeders/bins. If you can range them more, they will get the green/bugs/etc they want besides their ration you feed.

 

[woodmort]

Hang or elevate your feeder to about their shoulder height and the birds won't scratch out too much food. Also I have found that, once they get to the laying stage, pelleted food gets spread around a lot less than mash or crumbles. Chickens don't do well if you ration their diet, it is better to keep a basic food--grower, layer---in front of them 24/7. Then you can toss BOSS (Black Oil Sunflower Seed) or other treats to them as you want--go easy on the scratch grain though.