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I cannot even begin to imagine feeding that many birds store bought feed. I'd be broke. I buy in bulk from our local mill. Because we raise our birds for meat we do not feed certain common feed ingredients -- animal by products, preservatives, etc. -- so we have it custom milled to our specifications so as to not contain those ingredients. Even if we did not require a custom mix however, I would still buy in bulk from the mill for the discount. If you're not doing this already definitely look into it.
Hanging your feeders, if you do not already, will help to reduce any waste, but keep in mind it's just a part of having birds as well. You cannot feed them enough and ensure they waste no feed, it just won't happen. They're going to spill it. My ducks take whole bills full of feed and walk around spilling it out all over the place, and then what's left they dunk in the water and make a bigger mess. It's the nature of the beast.
The 1/4 lb per chicken rule of thumb is a non-freerange guideline and you can expect a lower amount of feed per bird with them free ranging, but how much less depends on the quality of the range they have to forage in; which will vary even on the same property with the time of year, recent weather patterns, etc. You could be looking at as little as 1/6 lb per chicken per day or, in more food-scarce times, as much as the maximum or more if the birds are in heavy production. So, in other words, in the times when the earth is bountiful and there is ample foraging opportunity you may be able to feed as little as 150 lbs of feed per week. During other times -- winter, for instance -- you will be feeding 300+ lbs of feed weekly with your current flock. The times in between will vary in between those two according to how much forage is available, what weather conditions are, etc.
I would also caution you against mixing a prebagged feed with corn to stretch your bucks. Doing so compromises the nutritional density of the feed and saves only minimally at best as the birds must eat more to meet their nutritional needs.
WOW ! I have my work cut out for me. I will have to call around to see what mills that will be able to help me as far as feed. You must have been reading my mind because I have been using cracked corn to stretch the feed but now since you have mentioned that, then I have to stop that. I'm not sure what to ask for when I call the local mills but maybe someone there will be able to help me out. This is Louisiana, so I already know I will have limited resources. I think many older farmers are still stuck on just throwing some corn on the ground and allowing them to free range is still a good idea but I don't think that straight corn is good for any animal.
Everyday is a learning process. I'm so glad that I posted my question and even more glad that everyone is posting such great information.
