How much food do my chickens need need?

[KZN Chicken farmer]

Hi, I would like to know how much food I should feed my chickens. Sizes range from small to large. The breeds I have are Aseel, Australorps, Brahmas and mixed.

 

[Naser]

The should have food available all day

 

[KZN Chicken farmer]

The should have food available all day

 

[Lizzy733]

All day, good quality feed. If your run is not sparrow proof or they are free-ranging, I would recommend investing in a 'grandpa' feeder so you're not feeding the entire neighborhood. It will save you heaps in feed in the log run.
It's really surprising how much a flock of sparrows can eat.

 

[KZN Chicken farmer]

All day, good quality feed. If your run is not sparrow proof or they are free-ranging, I would recommend investing in a 'grandpa' feeder so you're not feeding the entire neighborhood. It will save you heaps in feed in the log run.
It's really surprising how much a flock of sparrows can eat.

Sorry for my ignorance but what is a ‘grandpa’ feeder?

 

[Lizzy733]

Sorry for my ignorance but what is a ‘grandpa’ feeder?

They are also called treadile feeders. This is a lidded feeder where the chicken must step on a tread to open the lid and access the feed. The tread cannot be opened by light-weight animals such as mice or small birds. If they are not available in your area, you should be able to find plans online to make one DIY.

 

[Ebony Rose]

I don't mind feeding the few birds that visit my buffet; I use a giant 8" tall by 22" wide plastic garden bowl as a feeder, the sort with the rounded interior walls. My chickens love to get into the bowl, kick the food around a bit before finding the best bites (kind of funny since it's all ground together). The dish is tall enough that what hits the sides of the bowl fall back down into it, and I've had as many as six bantams in it at once. The powdery bits (food dust) that my chickens leave behind are the scraps that the wild doves are enjoying.
I haven't seen any sparrows in the food bowl. I'm wondering if the reason that I don't see them eating my feed is because I feed my chickens in my covered carport (since I don't own a car); and I call my entire fenced yard, about one-quarter acre, the chicken run. I've finally moved my chickens out of the mango tree as ~something~ tried to attack them in the middle of the night last week, I'm guessing an owl; I spent three hours with a flashlight searching for my birds. They've since been moved onto my enclosed back porch. They're sleeping atop a quail cage that I've placed an empty feed bag on to keep their poop off of their downstairs neighbors.
I have six bantams, thirty quail. They all get quail layer feed (21% protein and surprisingly NO calcium). It's the best available feed in the country that I live in and I consider it to be substandard feed for my quail, but suitable for my chickens.
Whatever food powder is left behind by my quail & chickens, I'll later mix with water, yogurt, mashed hard boiled eggs, bits of fruit or veggies either canned, dried, diced or grated. I even use leftovers of whatever I happen to have on hand to moisten it up and bind it together; THIS I call a treat, and they seem to enjoy it too, as it's seldom that anything is left over when I prepare it this way.

 

[Naser]

Sorry for my ignorance but what is a ‘grandpa’ feeder?

You can use trigger happy chicken feeder, it is cheaper and it works
http://triggerhappychickens.co.uk/
In this video it is very low, rats will be able to use it here

 

[Shadrach]

They need from 75 grams to 120grams depending on live body weight.
This varies with egg laying cycle.
Depending on your keeping arrangements this can vary with forage availability.
It is not always advisable to leave feed down. I supervise the feeds for the chickens here; they free range. It takes a good fifteen minutes to make sure all the chickens get fed properly. The pullets and cockerels get to eat when the seniors have finished.
I feed twice a day unless it's been very dry during the spring and summer months and three times a day during the winter.

 

[KZN Chicken farmer]

I don't mind feeding the few birds that visit my buffet; I use a giant 8" tall by 22" wide plastic garden bowl as a feeder, the sort with the rounded interior walls. My chickens love to get into the bowl, kick the food around a bit before finding the best bites (kind of funny since it's all ground together). The dish is tall enough that what hits the sides of the bowl fall back down into it, and I've had as many as six bantams in it at once. The powdery bits (food dust) that my chickens leave behind are the scraps that the wild doves are enjoying.
I haven't seen any sparrows in the food bowl. I'm wondering if the reason that I don't see them eating my feed is because I feed my chickens in my covered carport (since I don't own a car); and I call my entire fenced yard, about one-quarter acre, the chicken run. I've finally moved my chickens out of the mango tree as ~something~ tried to attack them in the middle of the night last week, I'm guessing an owl; I spent three hours with a flashlight searching for my birds. They've since been moved onto my enclosed back porch. They're sleeping atop a quail cage that I've placed an empty feed bag on to keep their poop off of their downstairs neighbors.
I have six bantams, thirty quail. They all get quail layer feed (21% protein and surprisingly NO calcium). It's the best available feed in the country that I live in and I consider it to be substandard feed for my quail, but suitable for my chickens.
Whatever food powder is left behind by my quail & chickens, I'll later mix with water, yogurt, mashed hard boiled eggs, bits of fruit or veggies either canned, dried, diced or grated. I even use leftovers of whatever I happen to have on hand to moisten it up and bind it together; THIS I call a treat, and they seem to enjoy it too, as it's seldom that anything is left over when I prepare it this way.