over feeding?

[Chew593]

My husband thinks we may be wasting food by giving our chickens an unlimited supply. I have (6) 9 week olds and (4) 5 week olds and they stay in their run at this point. I am under the impression that they will only eat what they need as far as starter feed goes, and there's bound to be some spillage. He thinks we should be able to feed them a set amount every day (like dogs) I don't want to argue with him, but I'm not really sure about the answer either. Thanks in advance.

 

[Akane]

They should have food available all the time. Some people even just use chick starter as their bedding in the brooder so they have an unlimited amount and don't have inedible bedding to try to eat. Chickens are foragers that evolved to eat constantly. Cats and dogs evolved to catch prey and eat meals. Chickens will eat a huge variety of foods and will pick and nibble on bits here and there all day long. They should not be left without food. Some species of grazing animals like horses or guinea pigs can even suffer serious health problems from not having food available 24/7. A guinea pig's digestive tract is in danger of shutting down within 4hrs without food. Some animals are designed for meals and some aren't. Cats, dogs, and similar carnivores that hunt prey are. Chickens are not as sensitive as herbivorous grazers but they are not designed for meals. The only ones that will over eat are meat birds. Unless you're raising broilers you should give your chickens access to food all the time and never let their feeder run empty.

 

[codybird]

Chickens will eat something.

Feed or each other.

 

[Wifezilla]

Dogs shouldn't be limited either. They should have free choice of a GRAIN FREE high quality low carbohydrate high protein food if you feed them kibble.

 

[Akane]

Dogs generally should be limited. Majority of dogs will over eat even on better quality kibble. It's frequently a problem of getting people to switch to higher quality kibble. They let their dog eat free choice and not only does it stay fat but they spend a fortune because the dog is eating 5-10times what it needs to. So they decide they can't afford it and go back to a cheap kibble that just keeps the dog fatter.

Where the better the kibble the less they need to eat on it so it actually doesn't come out anymore expensive even when you get a $50-$60 bag of food. My current dog is the first we've had that wouldn't just inhale all food in sight. Even after trying various kibbles for years our aussie shep would still gulp down everything put in his bowl no matter how fat/full he was and no matter what it was. Dogs and cats did evolve to get meals and eat minimal bits of carion they find in between those meals. They do not have the digestive tract or metabolism for constant small food intake like chickens and grazing animals.

 

[rizq]

I agree that a dog's weight needs to be managed by limiting its food. And most vets idea of "normal" weight is too fat. You should be able to easily feel (but not see) your dog's ribs and their belly should tuck up (in most breeds). It has been proven (in a study by Purina, I believe) that dogs on the light side of normal live 20% longer (I cannot find the link to the study, my numbers may be off).

I have only had one dog I would have been able to free feed without her overeating. She was a really hard keeper because she would not eat. If I free fed her, it made it worse. I actually had to skip a day of feeding once a week to keep her eating (it sounds awful, but fasting is totally natural and she would stop eating for several days instead of just one if I did not do this) ... even then she was rarely at an ideal weight, she just would never eat enough consistently enough for a dog her size.

Anyway, that is irrelevant to the discussion, lol. Sorry.

I always make sure to feed my chickens enough to ensure that there is some left over the next day. I do not like them being without food. However, I am not really sure that is best either. We butchered several roosters a few months ago and they had significant amounts of fat on the meat and (more problematically) around their hearts and livers. Perhaps it is the type of feed rather than the amount. Our chicks ALWAYS have feed, I tend to freak out if their feeders run empty

I think we feed more of our layer pellets to the rats than to our chickens though

Working on that problem.

 

[Chew593]

thanks for all the feed back, and I'll relay the info on to DH. Keep the comments coming... the more info I have the easier it'll be to convince the man.

 

[cassie]

Just ask him how he would like it if you limited HIS food. BTW, we feed our dogs free choice too. They don't have a weight problem, but they do get a lot of exercise.

 

[citrusdreams]

Can you elevate your feeder to the level of their chest? If they can't scratch in it, they will waste less of it. If your feeder is in the henhouse, can you hang it from the rafters or maybe hang it off a bracket on the side of the wall?

You can try elevating it on a cinder block or some level rock.

But yes, free choice, all the time. If they're free ranging or have a pen to graze in, you'll find that you'll have to feed them less than if you were only feeding them their feed.

 

[ging3rhoffman]

Feed and water should be avaliable at all times. We hung our feeder and waterers and they dont spill out anything when they are bumped into. We keep our feeder and waterer at back level and it works great. I dont see a morsal on the ground.

About feeding dogs free choice. I feed mine free choice and neither one of them are fat, matter a fact one is on the skinny side. They are shihtzus so that may make a difference, i dont know.