How much food?????

[Ducati]

I'm concerned my chickens food is being shared with mice. How many pounds of lay mash should 7 hens and 1 rooster go thru a week?

 

[danielbrown]

You can solve that by putting feeders up at night. How much feed they eat depends on a lot of things but about 15lbs a week is a starting point.

 

[Ducati]

15 lbs a week for 8 chickens? That doesn't seem like enough..

 

[briteday]

When I had only 8 hens... 50 pounds of feed would last anywhere from 4-7 weeks, depending on temperature / time of year, how much they ate while free ranging during the day, how much cast off greens they got from my garden, scraps from the kitchen, etc.

It also depends on the size and age of your birds. I noticed that there was a big increase in food consumption this Spring when they were just under one year of age. I was told by another poultry person that chickens go through "a last growth spurt" ujust before they turn one year old. Also, I have mostly large breeds...Rhode Island Reds, Delawares, ...

 

[digitS']

Leghorn-type hens will eat about 1/4 pound of feed a day at 70°F.

My dual-purpose hens will never eat over 1/2 pound of feed even during the winter. But, let's say that:

1/2 pounds x 7 days x 8 chickens = 28 pounds.

Free-ranging, kitchen scraps, smaller-size, immaturity, warm weather . . . all of these would reduce that total. This is a maximum number. I'd say that everyone is right.

Ducati, you need to find chicken-proof areas near the food where you can put out mouse traps. I find that a raisin dipped in a little peanut butter is a lethal combination - caught 7 last fall near the hen's feeder and in the garage near the feed bag.

Those darn, flea-bitten varmi'ts! Don't be a-givin' up without a struggle!

Steve' digits