How to limit meat bird food?

[coledabomb]

I have one meat hen and six bantam hens and the hens need 24/7 according to someone else on this. So the problem comes of how do I restrict my meat birds feed to let her live longer But at the same time allow my other hands to have 24/7 access? They share the same everything and are in a flock all day every day.

 

[NatJ]

The bantams are smaller than the meat bird, and probably fly better too. So you can probably set up something where they can reach the food, but the meat bird cannot.

You might be able to make a pen with bantam-sized openings and put the food inside it. Just be sure the food is far enough from the openings that the meat bird cannot reach her head in and eat anyway!

Or you might be able to put the food up on something (like a table), where the bantams can easily fly up but the meat bird cannot.

Or you might be able to make a feeder where the bantams can put their heads in to eat and the meat bird cannot, but it's probably harder to get the right size holes for that. There is usually more difference in body size than in head size.

(Of course the meat bird still needs SOME food, so you'll need to give her the right amount once or twice a day, if you have a feeder for the bantams that she cannot access.)

 

[coledabomb]

The bantams are smaller than the meat bird, and probably fly better too. So you can probably set up something where they can reach the food, but the meat bird cannot.

You might be able to make a pen with bantam-sized openings and put the food inside it. Just be sure the food is far enough from the openings that the meat bird cannot reach her head in and eat anyway!

Or you might be able to put the food up on something (like a table), where the bantams can easily fly up but the meat bird cannot.

Or you might be able to make a feeder where the bantams can put their heads in to eat and the meat bird cannot, but it's probably harder to get the right size holes for that. There is usually more difference in body size than in head size.

(Of course the meat bird still needs SOME food, so you'll need to give her the right amount once or twice a day, if you have a feeder for the bantams that she cannot access.)

THANK YOU SO MUCH I never would have thought of any of that! How much would a Cornish cross need a day anyway

 

[Ridgerunner]

Or you might be able to make a feeder where the bantams can put their heads in to eat and the meat bird cannot, but it's probably harder to get the right size holes for that.

NatJ, have you seen these. That's a technique used to feed the hens and roosters differently for the parents of the Cornish X. Without the research to know exactly what size to make the holes I'd be really nervous about trying this with my chickens. I found these to be very educational, they got rid of some of my misconceptions about raising the parents of the Cornish X.

You might be able to make a pen with bantam-sized openings and put the food inside it. Just be sure the food is far enough from the openings that the meat bird cannot reach her head in and eat anyway!

@coledabomb the creep feeder is a traditional way to feed smaller animals of all kinds without the bigger ones being able to eat. If you do an internet search on creep feeders you may get some inspiration. I built this out of scraps for baby chicks being raised by a broody hen with the flock but you can certainly get a lot neater. An easy way might be to get some wire mesh the bantams can get through but the hen can't.

 

[NatJ]

How much would a Cornish cross need a day anyway

For normal laying hens, a common estimate is 1/4 pound to 1/3 pound of food each day. That's about 3/4 cup to 1 cup each day.

I found a post from a few years ago that mentioned feeding 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups of feed to an adult Cornish Cross each day:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/cornish-cross-as-a-pet.1333778/#post-21785809

I know there are people who keep them as pets, with limited food, but I'm having trouble finding actual numbers.

 

[NatJ]

NatJ, have you seen these. That's a technique used to feed the hens and roosters differently for the parents of the Cornish X. Without the research to know exactly what size to make the holes I'd be really nervous about trying this with my chickens.

Yes, I have seen those.

For what size to make the holes, I would make a hole and watch what the chickens do, and then change the hole size if needed. With a small backard flock, that's usually easier than trying to research the "right" size. You can watch each individual chicken to see whether it is able to get food or not. I'm guessing that some size of chicken wire, or maybe wire mesh with 1" by 2" holes, might work. But that's a guess that would have to be tested.

But I agree that the creep-style feeder, that allows the small chicken to walk in and prevents the large chicken, will be easier to get right. That's because the body sizes are very different, while the head sizes are just a bit different.

@coledabomb the creep feeder is a traditional way to feed smaller animals of all kinds without the bigger ones being able to eat. If you do an internet search on creep feeders you may get some inspiration.

Another source of inspiration:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/integrating-new-birds-at-4-weeks-old.72603/
This article talks about making a pen the little chicks can go in and out of, but the big chickens cannot. (They're using it to introduce small chicks to the flock of adult chickens, but it's still a good example of making a pen that only certain sizes of chickens can enter.)