How much should I feed??

[windleysmith]

I have 18 chickens and 3 Ducks. The Ducks are about 3 years old and Quit Laying last November and not an egg since. The Chickens are about 16-20 weeks old. Right now I am feeding 3 32 oz cups of laying pellets in the morning and 2 at night. Is that enough?? They gobble it down in about 20 minutes. I read that I can add Flock Feed and Cracked Corn. They are in a 30-50 run and pick bugs etc during the day. They seem to be growing well. The Ducks are down right Fat. (Sorry for the F word!!!) I am in the process of putting up nest from Tractor Supply that I used 3 years ago. I had 3 boxes for 4 hens, did not know I did not need that many ;0 Is three going to be enough for my flock now? I am still working on uploading pictures to help me identify any Roos. My computer will not upload the pictures for some reason. Sits at "0"% forever. I will figure it out at some point. Thanks for your help.

PS. I also read that you can use Hi protein Cat food as a treat now and then. Is that Correct????

 

[Lamaremybabies]

I'm not really sure how much you're supposed to feed them. I think you're fine as long as they're not too fat or too skinny.... (helpful I know)
I currently have 15 chickens, 5 ducks, and a goose. I give roughly three full ish 2 quart scoops of grains in the morning. Which comes to roughly 96 ounces of feed. My birds are all healthy. However, I also make sure that they free range everyday for at least a few hours. Oyster shells and grit are constantly available as well. Plus kitchen scraps a couple times a week. Nothing unhealthy though, usually scraps from salads or I will cut up extra fruit that type of thing.

 

[rjohns39]

Once they are laying, about 4.5oz per bird per day as long as they have fresh grass and bugs. I know folks who do use cat food but I don't. If you want to give them a high protein snack that's chocked full of vitamins, give them a can of pink salmon, juice and all. I keep mine on grower until they actually start laying.

Edited to add: scratch should be given in moderation (junk food) as it very low in protein. Treats should not be more than 10% of their diets. Fish products should also be limited, some say 5% others say 12% so I stick close to the 5% mark.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

IMHO, chickens are voracious eaters and should have feed available at all times during the day. When their crop is empty, they are hungry and they'll eat something. If feed isn't available they'll eat bedding, feces, stones, sticks, whatever. I'd rather them eat feed when they're hungry.

Don't count on them getting many bugs because that many birds will rapidly wipe out any crawling things in a pen that size.
With a good quality feed, cat food should be unnecessary.

How long have your birds been on layer feed? 4% calcium is too high for young birds.

 

[windleysmith]

They were on starter until about 1-2 weeks ago. They were put out in the run then. Before I had them in my Garage. What a mess. Do they need Grit if they are in a dirt pen? The feed has oyster shell already in it. At some point I will start letting them out in my front yard but was worried they would not go back into coop when I needed them to.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Once they sleep in the coop a few nights, they'll go back in at dusk.
Grit is cheap so I provide it even if they free range.
The layer feed is usually 3.5-4.5% calcium. It never hurts to provide oyster shell in a separate container for those hens that need more calcium.

 

[windleysmith]

Once they are laying, about 4.5oz per bird per day as long as they have fresh grass and bugs. I know folks who do use cat food but I don't. If you want to give them a high protein snack that's chocked full of vitamins, give them a can of pink salmon, juice and all. I keep mine on grower until they actually start laying.

Edited to add: scratch should be given in moderation (junk food) as it very low in protein. Treats should not be more than 10% of their diets. Fish products should also be limited, some say 5% others say 12% so I stick close to the 5% mark.

So 95 oz of food a day... I am already feeding 96 plus 64 at night. Am I overfeeding?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

You can't overfeed if using a complete feed. They won't eat more than they need. You can overfeed treats and scratch.
A bantam leghorn will eat much less than a LF Jersey Giant.
Also, depending on the type of feeder, they can be wasting a lot of feed so everyone's results will be different.

 

[rjohns39]

So 95 oz of food a day... I am already feeding 96 plus 64 at night. Am I overfeeding?

Probably not. 4.5oz was from a field trial for optimum laying performance. There are also studies that cite however much they can eat in 30-45 minutes. Based upon your observations you're probably just fine.

 

[Lamaremybabies]

So 95 oz of food a day... I am already feeding 96 plus 64 at night. Am I overfeeding?

I don't think so. Keep in mind I also free range pretty much every day from around 2pm until they go to bed, plus I give them treats.