Is it normal for my 12 hens to only go through 35lbs of feed a month..?

[laboroflove]

Holy moly that’s a lot of feed! good luck getting them under control!

Yeah it is!! Thank you. I went and got the bait today and will put it out tonight. They say it works fast.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Yeah it is!! Thank you. I went and got the bait today and will put it out tonight. They say it works fast.

Hopefully it works for you!

 

[troyer]

Yup all are really healthy, a good weight, have shiny feathers, bright red combs! I didn’t think mine went through a much smaller amount of feed until I saw how much other flocks go through here on BYC and other sites!

With a high quality feed they don't need as much. I used to feed low quality feed because it was cheaper. When I fed some different higher quality feed because the farm store had sold out of the cheaper stuff, I noticed a difference immediately. Like yourself I wondered if they were getting enough. I ended up finding out that it was actually cheaper to feed the high qulity stuff because they ate substantially less. The higher quality feed had more available nutrients therefore the hens needed less.
It sounds like you are doing an excellent job with your hens.

 

[troyer]

Yeah it is!! Thank you. I went and got the bait today and will put it out tonight. They say it works fast.

Put out pans of water as well, after eating the bait they become thirsty, drinking water helps to activate the bait even quicker.

 

[Iluveggers]

Yeah, that’s a problem we are having…rats I have bait out but they aren’t eating it. They would rather chew through my feed bins (plastic trash cans) than eat the easily accessible bait. I was told another kind to try, so I’m picking it up today hopefully at the feed store.

We go through 100 lbs easy a month for just 12 hens….and rats

Is there a way you can keep the bags/bins indoors? I keep my feed in a room off of the garage, and I bring in the chicken feed nightly so there are no mice or rodents attracted at night.

 

[laboroflove]

Is there a way you can keep the bags/bins indoors? I keep my feed in a room off of the garage, and I bring in the chicken feed nightly so there are no mice or rodents attracted at night.

I guess we could but I don’t really have anywhere to put it. It would be sitting in our dining room.

We also had mice/rats inside our house, which we got rid of, but now they are in the barn and chicken house and the same bait isn’t working. I don’t know what happened this year. It’s like they just exploded out of nowhere.

 

[CaliforniaMountainChicks]

With a high quality feed they don't need as much. I used to feed low quality feed because it was cheaper. When I fed some different higher quality feed because the farm store had sold out of the cheaper stuff, I noticed a difference immediately. Like yourself I wondered if they were getting enough. I ended up finding out that it was actually cheaper to feed the high qulity stuff because they ate substantially less. The higher quality feed had more available nutrients therefore the hens needed less.
It sounds like you are doing an excellent job with your hens.

Thank you! That definitely makes a lot of sense! Also makes me feel a lot better about the price tag of $42 for 35lbs lol... I was so confused as to why my flock of 12 only ate 35lbs a month when others ate 60lbs or more, yet my chickens are healthy as can be! I'm glad to find out that it's a mixture of feeding a higher quality feed and my compost system in their yard.

 

[CaliforniaMountainChicks]

Yeah, that’s a problem we are having…rats I have bait out but they aren’t eating it. They would rather chew through my feed bins (plastic trash cans) than eat the easily accessible bait. I was told another kind to try, so I’m picking it up today hopefully at the feed store.

We go through 100 lbs easy a month for just 12 hens….and rats

Perhaps you could try storing your feed in metal trash cans with metal lids? Rats can’t chew through them like plastic bins. That’s how I store my feed and I haven’t had any issues! I do have 4 barn cats that patrol the property and barn so they help keep the population at bay too.

 

[laboroflove]

Perhaps you could try storing your feed in metal trash cans with metal lids? Rats can’t chew through them like plastic bins. That’s how I store my feed and I haven’t had any issues! I do have 4 barn cats that patrol the property and barn so they help keep the population at bay too.

I do have one metal trash can. I can start adding more.

My barn cat is of no use unfortunately, especially since my neighbor keeps cat food out for cats to come eat.

 

[Avocadoman]

I’m just wondering if it’s normal for my 12 hens to only go through 35lbs of feed a month. For reference I have 6 standards and 6 bantams. Even with the bantams the ‘average’ amount my flock should be eating is about 60lbs a month (from things I’ve read online and here in BYC) I feed scratch and peck grub layer pellets. That’s their main source of feed as I don’t free range, they’re just in an enclosed 1,450sq ft chicken yard with shrubs and fruit trees. They only get about a tbsp of scratch each at night in the winter and healthy scraps every couple of days. They’ll get grass and weeds that I pull about every day too. All are completely healthy, and all lay nice eggs with hard shells! Just curious if it’s normal for my chickens to go through such a small amount of feed and if anyone else’s flock also doesn’t eat the ‘normal’ amount!

It probably depends on temperature too. I notice my chickens eat way more when it's cold and just sit around in the shade when its hot.