Rooster only feeding

[NellaBean]

I have a rooster only bachelor pad pen..........I've been using regular layer pellets in there but would like to cut corners if possible. There are only 4 boys in there and 3 are extras I can't seem to find anyone who wants....all bantams, so not terribly "meaty" either.

Since they are not breeding or producing eggs like my layer girls, what could I feed them in place of layer feed? Scratch? Could I mix it 50/50? Scratch is $7.40 a bag here VS layer feed that is about $12-$13 a bag. Feed costs have gone up at least 25% in the last 1-2 months, darn it.

 

[TNBarnQueen]

My husband stops by our local bread store outlet and buys 100lbs of bread for $6....the chickens love it..this is their mid-afternoon treat. I don't know for sure how this would affect their quality but if you have access to something like this it would help some on your feed bill. Most times the bread is whole wheat and types like that. You just have to make sure that it is not molded. My breadstore is very good about making sure their feed bread is good quality...sometimes it is not even out of date.

What do you other chicken wranglers think about using bread?

I also feed a lot of fresh vegetables from my garden and friends give me extras they don't need from theirs. It is a little bit of work but I even froze some things and root cellared some for winter. They even lose squashes and pumpkins! It at least helps during the warm months.
Terry

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Some folks buy the higher protein feed (20%). I think it's called something like game bird or flock raiser? Then they buy a bag of scratch. They feed both, and the higher protein feed can be diluted a little without harm.

I don't know the price of the higher protein feed, though.

Oh, and yeah- I need to go get some bread for treats at the outlet store too!!!!!