if and how much to feed my free range hens

[JustGodAndMeNow]

I have approximately 75 hens and 2 roosters, 8 ducks and 2 geese. The free range on about 5 of our 13 acres all of the time. We live in central NC. Do they need a commercial feed in addition to that and if so how much is sufficient? Thank you so much.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

For optimum egg production and health, they need a complete feed. Besides a complete complements of amino acids there may very well be other things chickens need that won't be available in the forage, like salt, selenium, vitamin K, etc...You probably have good forage now but that many animals will deplete the protein sources available in a given space. I would free feed them a couple days and see how much they eat. You could start with about 10 pounds a day and see how quickly they go through it.
I have a friend in NC that turns her birds out in the morning and feeds them late afternoon.

I'm feeding fermented feed and feed them when I let them out in the morning and then let them forage for the rest.

 

[Mountain Peeps]

For optimum egg production and health, they need a complete feed. Besides a complete complements of amino acids here may very well be other things that chickens need that won't be available in the forage, like salt, selenium, vitamin K, etc...You probably have good forage now but that many animals will deplete the protein sources available in a given space. I would free feed them a couple days and see how much they eat. You could start with about 10 pounds a day and see how quickly they go through it.
I have a friend in NC that turns her birds out in the morning and feeds them late afternoon.

I'm feeding fermented feed and feed them when I let them out in the morning and then let them forage for the rest.

x2

 

[gander007]

I have 7 Geese 4 ducks 3 guinea hens and some 50 free range chickens not including cooped up chickens and I use close to 10 gallons of fermented feed a day but I only have a couple of acres but free ranging you should still feed them just to keep them in the yard ....

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I have 7 Geese 4 ducks 3 guinea hens and some 50 free range chickens not including cooped up chickens and I use close to 10 gallons of fermented feed a day but I only have a couple of acres but free ranging you should still feed them just to keep them in the yard ....

That's a lot of FF but I see you are in Death Valley so likely don't have much forage.
I was going through about 7 gallons a day for an equal number of birds but all chickens and some of them were young.
Since spring has finally arrived and one can't stop things from growing here this time of year I'm down to about 3 gallons a day.

 

[gander007]

Quote:

That must be nice but we got about 3 inches of rain this year and not much grows with out water even the stage brush did very little blooming this year so I am sure this fall a lot of stage brush is going to turn into tumbleweeds ,,,, OUCH.....




I took this photo around January of this year ....

 

[centrarchid]

I have approximately 75 hens and 2 roosters, 8 ducks and 2 geese. The free range on about 5 of our 13 acres all of the time. We live in central NC. Do they need a commercial feed in addition to that and if so how much is sufficient? Thank you so much.

Even 13 acres will be tight without supplementation. Without supplemental feed of some sort they will range farther afield to meet their needs. If they go too far flock bust up to occupy roosts closer to quality feeding areas and / or become more vulnerable to predators. I suggest putting out feeding stations and start with about 50 grams of feed per bird. Then play around with amounts. You should see that when too little feed is applied the birds range farther. Then play around with lesser quality feeds such as scratch. What you are looking for is a mix between modest intake of lower quality feed, ranging habits that still keeps flock where you want it, and good health with good productivity of birds.

Presence of livestock can greatly impact how birds forage as can the available plant community.

 

[JustGodAndMeNow]

Yes mine tend to wander off too, so I feed them to keep them in the yard.

Everyone is mentioning fermented feed, what is the difference between that and regular feed?

 

[centrarchid]

Fermented feed can taste better. The fermentation process can break down some complex carbohydrates into simpler sugars and alcohols thus impacting taste. Some anti-nutritional factors may be broken down. Some of the additional byproducts can serve as vitamins. A down side nutritionally is some nutrients can be greatly reduced by action of the fermenting organisms.

I use a for of the process routinely with oats and even whole corn that are soaked for a few days. All seeds swell greatly and many go through initial stages of germination activating some vitamins making them more available. Primary reason for me doing such is that is a route for getting water to birds during periods of extreme cold when waters are constantly frozen over.

It can be a headache for two reasons; best is product has been fermented under a consistent set of conditions for a consistent amount of time which means batches taking up valuable floor space. Second reason is the sweet smells attract pests.

 

[JustGodAndMeNow]

Thank you so much, that answer was so informative!

All of you have been wonderful with your helpful answers!!