how much feed?

[Bram]

Do you feed a specific amount each day, or do you just keep the feeders full?

 

[wombat]

I'm no chicken expert, but I noticed that nobody had answered your question, so I'll take a stab at it:

We feed commercial feed twice a day, with garden scraps in between. We also let ours free-range much of the day.

I usually gauge how much to feed in the evening by how fast they come for it. If they scramble to empty the feeders, they get more. If they are fairly indifferent, then I don't top the feeders off.

If your birds are confined, it's easier to estimate the feed levels. You can leave the feeders full if you're not going to have a problem with wild free-loaders, or with birds "billing out" and wasting a lot of feed. etc. Ours are happier to free range, though, so I don't keep the feeders full.

Since ours are out quite a bit, so I try to judge the evening feed level by their behavior (and trying to guess how many peanuts the kids have been feeding them by the shells lying about).

 

[SeralTaooke]

As long as all of your chickens have access to food, you can feed whichever way you like. *Most* chickens are not greedy, and will eat what they need; under-feeding is a bigger problem. You will notice they eat more in the winter.

The biggest problem with keeping the feeders "topped" is the amount of waste it produces. Having a large container that has enough food for all the chickens but that a chicken cannot stand in, and keeping it 1/3 to 2/3 full to minimize wastage, is usually pretty good. Most automatic feed dispensers are designed so that chickens cannot scratch.

 

[cybercat]

Alot depends on if your supplementing or not. Most just have a feeder full and leave it at that since chickens will eat what they need when they need it. I do 2 feedings a day bacuase i give enough to last that long ( and we have not built the coop feeder yet) so I feed in morning and evening. Once we have the coop feeder done I will fill it and leave it and not do anything but check it to be added to or for mold.

Now with chicks they must have food availble 24/7 since they are growing machines.

 

[d73]

I use this feeder and just keep it full all the time. I have 13 birds about 4 months old and it works well for all of them. I have zero waste. I keep it about 6" off the ground.



http://www.tractorsupply.com/livest...t/poultry-hanging-feeder-chick-12-lbs-2167133