How much food for 4 Free Range chickens ?

[POChicken]

Hi, This is my first time with chickens. I have four 6 month old chickens for egg laying that wander our 1 acre yard during the day. We have open lawn, forested area, and garden area. My question is: since they are roaming around, do I have to feed them much? I have been feeding, but my husband thinks they can just eat bugs and garden scraps all day. Can they?

 

[Love my Critters!]

It is best to feed them a crumble feed. Mine free range all day to on about 2.5 acres and they always have laying crumble available. I know you need to feed the laying feed when your girls start to lay, and I think it is grower feed before then. But yes, you should have it available to them at all time, IMO, to make sure they get all the nutrients they need, especially when laying eggs. Congrats on the new chickens, you'll be an addict soon

 

[3KillerBs]

How much commercial feed would you expect a ranged/pastured/tractored laying hen to eat in a day?

 

[glitch]

For the past month I've only feed my 3 hens a cup of pellets in the morning when I let them out for the day......they free range over my 2 acre lot and then they get scraps at dusk before they are cooped for the night. I haven't noticed any difference in the quantity or quality of the 2 to 3 eggs I get each day.

 

[madmantrapper]

My 10 chickens free range most all day and eat (grower finisher) about 6 to7 pounds every other day.

 

[Suziers]

My 5-18 weekers only range for an hour or so every night. They eat about 2 1/2-3 cups of grower per day. They also get a corn/sunflower seed scratch every day (about 3/4 cup) and treats in the evening usually two hardboiled eggs and a handful of cherry tomatoes. And several handfuls of weeks/clover.

 

[gritsar]

My flock of 14 free ranges all day. I still have layer pellets available to them in the coop at all times. There's times when they may not have much luck with finding bugs and such while free ranging and the girls always want a bite to eat when they come back to the coop to lay.
During our current heatwave I've noticed they are actually eating more of their pellets. They are spending most of the day laying around in the shade; too hot to forage.