newbie to chickens(feeding)

[rothy]

hi every one, iv recently rescued some ex battery hens, 8 days ago. iv got 6 hens and was wondering how much to feed them each day? iv been giving them a cup full of pellet a cup of corn and a cup of peelings,wheat an veg each, but its all gone by 11am each day am i over feeding or they just greedy guts!! they also get worms and grubs from scratching round the garden. any help would ge great thanks.

 

[ranchhand]

Hi rothy,

As a general rule, hens should have access to food 24/7, also known as free feeding.
Go easy on the corn, until cold weather, and even then it should be a treat, not the majority of their diet. The main feed should be layer crumbles or pellets, with the others stuff as a treat only.

 

[ArizonaNessa]

and ditto on what Ranchhand said

 

[ShaggysGirl]

hi

Yep get a feeder and keep it full of pellets of crumbles, every thing else is just treat. I feed about 2-3 cups of scratch with Black oil sunflower seed mixed in and they get veggies, meal worms bug what ever they find when we let them free range.
Have fun with them.

 

[Rennie]

Chickens are greedy .. They will eat whatever you give them making you think they are always hungry, Ive learnt this the hard way

 

[catdaddyfro]

Quote:
Yes they are greedy, so if you will keep the feed available for them during the day, they will actually eat less of it than just giving it at random. They actually just gorge themselves when you feed them at random. I feed mine only what they will eat during the day before they go to roost, simply to keep the critters from coming in at night to get themselves a gutful.

And yes keep the grains and treats down as they will make the hens too fat and they won't lay as well as they should.

catdaddy

 

[rothy]

thanks for the feed back, i think their doing well then, also they havn't got many feathers being ex batterys, will they get cold?

 

[rothy]

i know that sounds silly but i live by the sea and it gets cold and windy i saw one hen shivvering so i put up i little fence stoping the wind

 

[Rennie]

Quote:
Thats not silly .I think they do get cold even with feathers ..... I might as well wrap mine in a blanket

- It would be easier than what i have done to protect from wind and rain