How often do you feed? Settle a squabble!

[jojo54]

My girls have access to feeder and water 24/7. They do get feed a number of times a day besides with leftover produce from the store, a hot meal in the winter, chipped produce the rest of the year. Plus they get scratch, etc. My girls are very spoiled.

Link to my blog about feeding produce and chipped produce:
http://mountaingardengleanings.blogspot.com/2010/10/feeding-chickens-produce.html

Link to my blog about feeding hot meals:
http://mountaingardengleanings.blogspot.com/2011/01/hot-meal-for-my-chickens.html

 

[FiveHens]

No category for me--our small feeders are filled when they run out, about every 3-4 days.

 

[allmypeeps]

Our birds cannot free range at this time as we are in the city, so our hanging feeder is always full of Layeena layer pellets mixed with a handful of oats and a bit of bird seed (fine cracked corn/sunflower/millet)

...veggies/fruit/pasta scraps given when we have them!

*QUESTION: When feeding at certain times...how do u know how much to put out/bird? And how do you make sure the lower birds on the pecking order, or the ones nesting on eggs are getting enough? Birds are foragers by nature, so if they're not free range and they only eat at set times, what do they do to keep themselves busy during the day?- wouldn't they grow bored and more apt to pick on one another?

 

[KimberlyJ]

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[The Tinman]

When I feed mine breakfast or dinner I put out a few bowls of food this way the ones low on the pecking order get a fair share. The ones nesting get spoon fed or I have cups I would put in front of them. I know they are spoiled. To keep them from getting bored on snow days I put a small melon in the coop. They will peck at it all day.
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[kla37]

Ours have food available at all times. I keep the feeder full. They have lots of greens available and some scratch too. They'll be happy to be finding bugs again!

 

[Farmington]

I have 11 standards, and 5 bantams. I fill up a 7# feeder in the evening when I get home, and that usually is empty by the same time, the next day when they are closed up. If the weather is nice, and I can keep the coop open to the run all day, they won't drain the whole thing. So, technically, I feed them once a day, in the evening.

 

[crazeetxn]

Well, I put I don't feed them, basically cause they I have a feeder and the eat when they want...

I will give them some crushed egg shells and scratch after I get the eggs. Hoping it will teach them to lay eggs, get treats

 

[mkearsley]

I also have a container that I fill on a regular basis so there's always crumbles, but mine free range from the second they get up until the second they go to bed, so they can eat all day long. I usually give them their treats in the morning (mainly to keep them from eating all of the dog's food when I feed him in the morning)

Although every now & again I'll feed them scraps from dinner in the late afternoon, too.

 

[Robo]

I fill the feed trolf up twice a day for each pen. They eat a TON right now and my smallest large fowl bird is 7 pounds, the largest is 13 pounds. The bantams are small though. I give them a lot of pumpkins. They are natural wormers too.