HOW MUCH FOOD?

[chickyduck]

How many bags of feed should you go through weekly with 2 hens, 15 chicks, 1 duck and 10 ducklings? Our chicks and ducklings are 6 weeks. We have about 1/6 of an acre that they get to graze on from 8am unail 7-9pm.

PS the ducks ate all my lettuce in the garden.

 

[Bigwig]

A 50lb bag or a 25lb bag. Also chicks and ducklings require a different type of food than adults.

 

[chickyduck]

Yes I do. I have chick to hen, layer feed, all purpose poultry pellets, chicken scratch and oyster shells. My chicks use the chick to hen while in the garage at night, I put them out in the mornings to forage. My hens get there layer feed in the pen in the morning and evening and oyster shells, and they forage all day. My one duck and ducklings get the all purpose poultry pellets in morning and evening thrown out in the grass. I also throw out scratch once daily for all the poultry. Next week my chicks will be outside during the night.

 

[henless]

A 50 lb bag of feed lasts my 12 hens for a month or so. I haven't paid attention since I've added 8 more chicks. I feed starter to all of them, so I don't have to buy more than one type of feed. I like the higher protein content, so that when I feed treats, it doesn't lower the protein too low. They also have grit and calcium available. They get treats daily, plus cabbage or alfalfa daily for their greens. They have a large run, but no access to free ranging at this time. They have access to their feed 24/7.

 

[NapaChicknGal]

Hi - I'm new to this crazy venture and I love your website -- it seems lately that feed is being gobbled up. I have two feeders - one I got at feed store that has a few holes -- was recommended for 3 birds -- now I have 3 more and I got a weird feeder with second group and they couldn't quite get feed out, so I took cat/dog feeder and have been using that for a few wks however, feed in both gadgets is disappearing -- found a mouse a few days ago but today I put 4 cups in cat/dog feeder and it is G-O-N-E!!!!!!! And other feeder was half full and eaten down to less than inch.
Also another broken egg -- in newer coop!!! I'm getting really depressed. I collect 4 and 5 eggs per day, last wk two days I got six -- am I asking too many questions?

 

[junebuggena]

Yes I do. I have chick to hen, layer feed, all purpose poultry pellets, chicken scratch and oyster shells. My chicks use the chick to hen while in the garage at night, I put them out in the mornings to forage. My hens get there layer feed in the pen in the morning and evening and oyster shells, and they forage all day. My one duck and ducklings get the all purpose poultry pellets in morning and evening thrown out in the grass. I also throw out scratch once daily for all the poultry. Next week my chicks will be outside during the night.

You could simplify things a lot by feeding an 'all flock' or 'flock raiser' type feed and supplement your laying birds with oyster shell. That way, you don't need to worry about who is eating what. Feed should be available all day long for all the chicks.

 

[junebuggena]

Hi - I'm new to this crazy venture and I love your website -- it seems lately that feed is being gobbled up. I have two feeders - one I got at feed store that has a few holes -- was recommended for 3 birds -- now I have 3 more and I got a weird feeder with second group and they couldn't quite get feed out, so I took cat/dog feeder and have been using that for a few wks however, feed in both gadgets is disappearing -- found a mouse a few days ago but today I put 4 cups in cat/dog feeder and it is G-O-N-E!!!!!!! And other feeder was half full and eaten down to less than inch.
Also another broken egg -- in newer coop!!! I'm getting really depressed. I collect 4 and 5 eggs per day, last wk two days I got six -- am I asking too many questions?

You might try removing the feed at night. Chickens don't eat at night, so all it's really doing is attracting pests. My 11 large breed hens go through at least 2 or 3 pounds (8 to 10 cups) of feed a day. They also get to range about a half an acre all day long. I don't think a 4 cups of feed a day is all that bad considering. It takes a lot of energy to produce all those eggs.

 

[DanEP]

You might try hanging your feeders at about shoulder height for your girls too. It makes it harder for the girls to bill out food and for mice to reach it,just don't hang it next to anything the mice can climb on to get to the food.

 

[MikeTheGardener]

I have 7 chickens and I go through a 50 pound bag of food every 3 to 4 weeks.

I have a 5 gallon feeder that I refill every Sunday.

 

[NapaChicknGal]

Dear Mike the Gardener--how do you keep bluejays out of your feeder?