How often do you buy feed?

[PrettyBirdRocky]

We go through roughly one 50# bag a week, 23 + chicks. So when chick days started at TSC we bought four bags. What we by is cheaper than our local mill and easy for me to handle. When we add more greens to their diet they eat less free choice

We also still feed dumor chick a start and grow with heavy dose of oyster shells on side. The higher protein has helped them molt easier

 

[Loving my girls]

Hi hun
I am a real geek and have a spreadsheet
I calculate how often I buy a sack and how long it lasts, from I can calculate how much feed I go thru in a year and how much, on average, each hen is eating throughout the seasons.
So, I do have a wood where they do the locust thing and eat anything that moves and lots that doesn’t however I’ve calculated that each hen eats on average 96g per day throughout the year. They are medium breed.
Hell, I am SO embarrassed
Hugz

 

[MamaHutch06]

Hi hun
I am a real geek and have a spreadsheet
I calculate how often I buy a sack and how long it lasts, from I can calculate how much feed I go thru in a year and how much, on average, each hen is eating throughout the seasons.
So, I do have a wood where they do the locust thing and eat anything that moves and lots that doesn’t however I’ve calculated that each hen eats on average 96g per day throughout the year. They are medium breed.
Hell, I am SO embarrassed
Hugz

I love this! I have a spreadsheat that keeps track of every $ spent on the flock. it includes everything from day 1: brooder, coop construction, upgrades as well as feed etc... I am also keeping track of just the coop construction cost.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Works better for me not knowing the expenses.
I'll be making a layer feed run here in bit.

 

[Loving my girls]

I love this! I have a spreadsheat that keeps track of every $ spent on the flock. it includes everything from day 1: brooder, coop construction, upgrades as well as feed etc... I am also keeping track of just the coop construction cost.

Oh thank you for this you make me feel so much better.
Hugz

 

[PrettyBirdRocky]

Works better for me not knowing the expenses.
I'll be making a layer feed run here in bit.

Lol I laugh bc I'm better off not knowing too lol yes we have our girls for eggs but they are pets too, so they get what they need lol

Now my husband keeps track of all animal feeds and expenses. But we also have two dogs(who have medicine) two cats, a giant pleco(fish) and a leopard gecko... Oh and two teenage boys who eat everything in sight lol

 

[The Moonshiner]

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I buy (roughly) monthly. Because we are hot/humid in the summer I try and drop that to every third week in summer, and in winter (or what passes for winter around here) I can buy 6 weeks worth without worry about mildew. Assuming you aren't in a mold/mildew prone environment, and are getting freshly milled feed, six weeks is no concern.

As others have observed, pelleted feed and whole feed last longer - less surface area to volume, slower degradation of certain oxygen sensitive vitamins and vitamins, marginally harder for foreign organisms to colonize (again, reduced surface area). I also have been known to make a mash of pelleted feed for young birds - I like a consistency like thick oatmeal, not like white gravy. Helps to add a little water, stir, and wait for it to hydrate before serving. It **seems** to help reduce incidence of pasty butt for me, but that's purely anecdotal, and may result from confirmation bias on my part. It DOES help reduce waste as compared to dry crumble.