how much *should* they be eating? is there an average?

[spish]

a few weeks back i tried a new wormer with my chickens (one you have to add to the feed)
it was a 7 day course, so the instructions said for 20 chickens use the whole 60g tub with a 20kg sack of feed. as i have 60 chickens, i mixed up three tubs of wormer into 3 sacks.

im guessing this was serious overkill and i should have thought it out a bit more. there is no way on earth my 60 chickens go through 60kg feed in 1 week, yet this was the recommended feed allowance for the 7 days for 60 chickens...........!
do chickens really eat 1kg of pellets per day??????
after the 7 day course i still have 1 1/2 barrels of medicated feed left over... (so my chickens went through 30kg pellets in 7 days..and these were generous helpings to what they usually get, they are free range so scratch around all day and the neighbours throw all their scraps over too


so now im worried ive a) not given enough wormer and b) not feeding the chickens enough!


how many kgs pellets a week per chicken is average?? i understand theyd eat less free ranging than cooped up chickens but surely theres a guide somewhere. they chickens dont feel thin so must be getting adequate food...but winter is coming too so would like to know how much i should be feeding as 'free range' food will be scarce?


and does anyone know if the leftover wormer laced food will keep until the next time i need to worm them (in the spring?) if i keep it sealed and dry?

 

[Highlander]

It wouldn't be 1kg each per day, it would be 1kg each per week, no? And that sounds about right really. Is it Flubenvet you are using? I mixed up the tub with the bag of feed as directed and my bunch got through it, I might have had a bit left over but I just kept feeding it to them until it ran out, I think they might have got it for 9 days instead of the 7. As long as your feeders are always full and the chickens look healthy and happy then I wouldn't worry too much about the numbers to be honest.

 

[pgpoultry]

Even my oversized Brahmas don't get through anything like a Kg of feed per day.

If chickens free range they eat a tremendous amount of forage in preference to the tasteless stuff that comes in bags (the exception being poultry corn which they love), so don't bother much with the feed you have put out.

Unless they are getting thin, don't worry.

Sandie

 

[spish]

Quote:
sorry my bad..1kg each per week.......no wonder i thought it sounded a lot..1kg per day...where was my mind when i figured that one out! yes it flubenvet

 

[Highlander]

lol, no worries. We all have days like that!