How Much is ENough?

[mommacb]

All our bags of chicken food have had slightly different advice... so I wanted to know from some people who have done it themselves- how much food do 20 chickens need each day and do you put it all out at once or do mealtimes? Our chickens are about 2.5 months old. I noticed some really runny poop from some- does that mean they are getting water but not enough starter? Thanks in advance for any advice!!

 

[Roosterlover5]

I put out some out in the morning and some at 12:00 ish to make sure that they haven't eaten it all.

 

[chickendude]

I have always kept the feeder full at all times. They will eat when they need to. As for the starter... I feed starter grower up until they day they start to lay. Then I switch over to a layer feed. Usually around 5-6 months old depending on the breed.

 

[fiddlebanshee]

I provide food and water 24/7. They will not overeat, they stop eating when the crop is full. The runny poop can be totally normal, it has nothing to do with the ratio food/water I don't think. Somewhere in one of the threads on here is a very helpful poopchart where you can compare different kinds of poop to determined if the chicken has a problem or not. You can do a search for it. Many of them are rather wet. So I wouldn't worry if the chickens are also eating and drinking well.

 

[mommacb]

thanks so much, this was super helpful )

 

[mommacb]

I have always kept the feeder full at all times. They will eat when they need to. As for the starter... I feed starter grower up until they day they start to lay. Then I switch over to a layer feed. Usually around 5-6 months old depending on the breed.

thanks so much for the advice on when to switch, that was going to be my next question! ))

 

[Imp]

20 chickens should roughly go through about 50#(1bag) of feed per week, depending on breed, waste, etc. I think chicks/pullets are way more piggy than adults, but that may just be me.
I check feed and water usually once per day

Loose stool can be normal ceacal poop. Here is the infamous poop chart:

http://www.chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=17568.0

 

[fiddlebanshee]

Quote: I think this also depends on what else you feed them and whether or not they free range. My chickens don't even make the 1/4 lbs per chicken average. They eat much less, more like 1/8 lbs per day per chicken (they're 8 months) and I'm getting an average of 11 eggs out of 14 chickens, so they're laying well. I am feeding them lots of greens, mealworms, yogurt and other high protein snacks as well as seeds (sunflower/millet/wheat berries etc). I can't let them free range so I figure that's as close as I can get to a free ranging diet.

 

[NewBreeder]

I also have food down all the time making sure they don't run out

I notice when the grass starts growing and they are out my chickens eat very little of the food;
and prefer to eat what is on the range, making a major difference in the eggs they produce